2 hrs ago

Hisar Love-Marriage Ban Highlights India’s Culture Policing and Violence

Hisar Love-Marriage Ban Highlights India’s Culture Policing and Violence
Opinion | Bihar Assault, Hisar Marriage Ban: Who'll Stop The Guardians Of Indian 'Culture'? · NDTV

A village group in Hisar said people should not have love marriages.

It threatened to socially exclude couples and their families if they disobeyed.

The group said it wanted to protect the village’s social fabric.

The article says this kind of rule interferes with people’s constitutional rights.

Around the same time, a girl in Bihar was attacked while she was with a male friend.

A 17-year-old girl in Delhi was also allegedly raped after men separated her from her companion.

The author says these incidents show how some people try to control girls’ choices and bodies.

The article argues that neither communities nor governments should decide which kinds of love are acceptable.

Key facts

Hisar decision
A social panchayat banned love marriages and threatened boycotts against those who defied the decision and their families.
Constitutional rights
The article says Supreme Court rulings have held such khap pronouncements illegal under Articles 19 and 21.
Jamui incident
A Class X girl was allegedly groped, lifted and dragged, while her male friend was beaten.
Delhi incident
A 17-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped by three men in a park after being separated from her male companion.
Video evidence
A video of the Jamui assault circulated on social media and triggered public outrage.
Official response
A Bihar minister reportedly called the Jamui assault a “chhutput” incident; the state government later attempted damage control.
Live-in registration
The article says Uniform Civil Code provisions implemented in Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh require live-in couples to register with police.

Quotes

A person from the Hisar village

A villager quoted in the article discussing the community’s justification for restricting love marriages.

“We consider every girl in the village our own daughter.”
NDTV

Sources

Related news