Baghpat: Khap mobile ban attracts support from many, denunciation by some

Baghpat (UP), Dec 30 (PTI) People in Baghpat district are divided over the khap panchayat's proscription of the use of smartphones and wearing shorts in public places by those under-18.

In its Saturday diktat, the panchayat also objected to holding weddings in banquet halls, asserting that marriages should be held in villages and homes.

Banning shorts, it suggested the kurta-pyjama for boys and the salwar-kurta for girls. While some have welcomed the decisions, several intellectuals and social activists have strongly opposed them.

Historian Amit Rai Jain termed the decisions "Tughlaqi diktats" and said mobile phones have become a necessity at present.

Talking to PTI, Jain said education, social networking and work are heavily dependent on mobile phones, making any ban impractical. He also pointed out that the authority to frame laws rests with the government and administration, not panchayats.

Deshkhap Mavi's Thambedar Chaudhary Yashpal Singh said he did not oppose the decisions but added that nothing could be imposed forcibly.

He stressed the need to counsel children and instil in them good values, saying cultured children naturally stay away from wrong practices.

The khap's decisions have also received political support.

Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) MP from Baghpat, Rajkumar Sangwan, and Congress leader Chaudhary Yashpal Singh said preserving social values is the need of the hour.

Sangwan said the khap's views were respectable as they strengthen the community.

Thamba Patti Mehar Deshkhap's Chaudhary Brijpal Singh and khap leader Subhash Chaudhary said the panchayat would strive to enforce the ban in coordination with the village communities.

There will be an attempt to extend the bans to the rest of Uttar Pradesh through other khaps, they said.

Former Chhaprauli MLA Sahendra Singh Ramala said the foundation of values begins at home, and if the panchayat had taken such a decision, its members must first set an example themselves.

He also stressed the need for balance in the use of mobile phones, adding that spending time with children and being their friend is equally important.

Earlier, speaking to reporters, Chaudhary Brijpal Singh said that boys here wear shorts at home and outside, and suggested instead trousers or kurta-pyjama, which he described as appropriate attire in line with social norms.

He said boys go out wearing shorts, in the company of women, and such dressing amounts to "an indecent display" for society.

On smartphones, he said they would try to keep children away from them.

Brijpal Singh alleged that both the use of mobile phones by boys and the wearing of shorts were a thing of the RSS, which had them in its dress code for volunteers.

He claimed that the RSS, for a long time, did not hoist the national tricolour at its headquarters, which he called an insult to the nation.

Khap panchayats are traditional, clan-based community councils found mainly in western Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and parts of Rajasthan.

In western Uttar Pradesh, they are largely associated with Jat, Gurjar and other agrarian communities and operate at the level of a village, a group of villages, or a clan (gotra).

Though not part of the formal legal system, they wield strong social influence in rural areas.

In western Uttar Pradesh's Baghpat, Muzaffarnagar and Shamli districts, khap panchayats have repeatedly drawn controversy for issuing social diktats meant to rein in children and youth.

In 2014, a khap in western UP issued an advisory discouraging young girls from wearing jeans or "western clothes" and asked families to ensure they wear traditional dress, for it was "necessary to protect" social values.

In April 2015, several khaps in Muzaffarnagar and Shamli districts came under criticism after meetings where restrictions were proposed on the use of mobile phones by the bachelors. Excessive phone use led to "immoral behaviour," the khaps claimed. PTI COR/KIS VN VN VN