At first glance it may seem odd that Congress MP from Kurukshetra Naveen Jindal is batting for the khap panchayats of Haryana who are in the eye of the storm for condemning youngsters to death for marrying within the “gotra”. But a closer look would suggest that he is lending his voice to their demands for legally banning such marriages.  In a way, the khap panchayats want to be co-opted into the system by suggesting this legal measure to get rid of what they consider as a necessary social evil.

However, accepting this would amount to trampling an individual’s rights and the freedom of choice, including the right to marry someone of one’s choice, which our constitution grants. Should we then consider Jindal’s brief for the khap panchayats and restrict the individual rights or should we draw a line and tell the panchayats to honour the constitutional framework and not take the law into their hands?