Freedom,

Its India's 63rd independence day, and there is a celebratory wave running through the country. At the same time, i see an increasing amount of cynicism. People are questioning the quality of this freedom, the increasing restrictions on it, even questioning why we need to be free at all ("one world, ainnit??") and if we say common language/culture/history entitle us to be free from 'foreign' rulers like the British...going by that logic, the sikkimese, the tamil, the kashmiri and various others would much cherish their freedom from an ethnically and culturally different 'Indians' controlling and running the show from the remote Delhi.

We dont have absolute freedom, but then absolute freedom is a Utopian myth. Freedom is always relative to the past or to the contemporary situation elsewhere. We're politically more free than we were in 1947, economically more free than we were in 1990, in every way more free than our bretheren in Myanmar,North Korea, Pakistan.

We're certainly right to celebrate our freedom. Just look around. That the naxal movement that spoke up for a farmer's right to determine use of land owned by him was given its due respect till it became off-track secessionism (try that in Chechnya) . That We are vocal about right to love and marry as we choose (try that in Afghanistan!) ; women's right to drink in public(try in Saudi Arabia!); to sing & dance and read what we choose to ; that our constitution guarantees fundamanetal rights, and the proper recourse if theyre flouted. That all the above is done by people we elect into office and we dont have to look up to foreign rulers for an approving nod.

So we celebrate our freedom and independence.But its step by step,not a giant leap. Steps to get it, steps to protect it and steps to make it even better. Today is a token celebration of a goalpost, all that we've achieved, all that which is free and correct about our country.The idea is not to sound jingoistic or content, but we should cherish what we have as we concurrently strive to make it better

Jai Hind!

What the Khap ??

What the Khap ??

Share

Today at 1:20pm | Edit Note | Delete

The title is a tribute to the outraged, hyperventilating mass media and its loyal followers on the subject of Khap panchayats.

In popular perception, Khaps are medieval,retrograde,dictatorial self appointed kangaroo courts found in the back of beyond, the remote (not anymore!) countryside of Haryana and UP. Outrage brews readily in the urbanite's head at the cruelty and apparant stupidy of their decisions. Even more outrage brims over when we hear of a ex chief minister (Chautala) and a sitting MP, also national flag hoisting champ (Naveen Jindal) come out and voice their opinion in defence of the Khaps.

The commonly discussed facts are that the Khaps frown deeply on women's inclusion in public life, on marriages in the same gotra (broadly the residents of the same village) and most modern, progressive changes in social life.

Scratch a little below the surface..What is important to a village farmer in Haryana, who is hundreds of miles from administrative instituions of the government and untouched by private sector enterprise? That he gets the maximum (or at least a fair) return on his professional endeavours in agriculture. Do you remember last year the sugar mills,through government manipulation, tried to pull down the minimum buying price of sugar that wouldve added handsomely to sugar mills' bottomline, but sent large hordes of small sugarcane farmers into poverty or een bankruptcy? How many of us even remember something like this happened..but we do remember the 2 day road blockage caused in delhi by farmers marching in and demanding reversal of the price policy. The person who led this rally, and eventually saved a lot of farmers by forcing the govt to reverse the policy was Chawdhury Mahendar Singh Takait, The most prominent of Khap leaders and president of Bhartiya Kisan Union.This is just one recent example of many fights for farmer's rights. When there is a land dispute or a property dispute in a village among neighbours, they have an option to go to the Khap or to the district administrative machinery for a resolution. Time and again, the Khaps have proven themselves to be faster, fairer and less prone to fall to temptation of exploiting the situation than the apparantly modern and systematic government machinery.

It is because of their proven capability and track record as an efficient administrator and judicial authority for material disputes that the word of khap is taken as law in the villages they operate in. They bring a sense of law and order to places which would otherwise have been completely lawlwss lands.

Now, problem is that with increasing urbanization and education of the country, the khaps are feeling outdated,increasingly irrelevant and are extremely insecure about their thinning support base. This is making them take extreme steps and start invoking ancient guidelines which they cannot justify in the current setup.

I think Navin Jindal is right in saying that the Khap as an institution has its place and merits. I would add that as lobby groups and as arbiters of material disputes, theyre fine as they are. What the government and judiciary ought to immediately do is quash their quasi-judicial authority over personal law matters like marriages, education, moral code etc. Khaps should not have any business meddling in personal affairs of people.

That's my two bits. Views welcome.