Bathinda: The gram panchayat of Jawaharke village of Punjab's Mansa district has prohibited the residents from marrying outsiders and banned intra-village marriages. Residents who violate this order risk being expelled from the village.
The village panchayat apparently passed these resolutions to stop villagers solemnising marriage with outsiders (migrants) and between people of the same village on Nov 24, but it came to fore on Nov 30 when a copy of the signed resolution became public.
Sukhchain Singh, the husband of Jawaharke village sarpanch Ranbir Kaur, when contacted said, "Sometimes they lure the locals, and going by this, the village panchayat has passed a resolution against anyone marrying the migrants. The same is applicable to those who marry someone from the same village. This practice is not liked by residents.”
In neighbouring Haryana, the khap panchayats (caste councils) had in July 2023 submitted a representation to the then CM Manohar Lal Khattar, seeking amendment of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, and declaring intra-gotra and intra-village marriages invalid in public interest.
The village panchayat has also decided not to support anyone found indulging in drug peddling. No villager will stand as witness or arrange for bail of anyone involved in drug-related cases.