Capture dead or alive : against child marriage

This article is from IndianToday.In.

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/khap-wants-woman-captured-dead-or-alive-for-refusing-to-accept-child-marriage/1/201432.html?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

A khap panchayat of the Meena community near Rajasthan's Dausa district has ordered the abduction of Santara Meena, a 25-year-old teacher in a government-run school.

The woman's fault is that she refused to accept her marriage, solemnised around 12 years back, as her husband hasn't even passed the matric exam, is unemployed, as well as an alleged ruffian.

Following the panchayat's decision , Santara's husband Dinesh and her in-laws locked her in a room of her parent's house in Pyariwas village, approximately 15 km from Dausa, on June 16 to take her away forcibly.

Santara managed to escape at around 2.30 am on Saturday and walked a distance of 3 kilometres before taking a bus to Jaipur, which is 60 km from Dausa. She reached a relative's house in Jaipur and contacted senior advocate Hemraj Gaur for assistance.

Santara's scared father, Ram Prasad Meena, also fled the village along with his family, including wife, old mother and two young daughters-in-laws, when he came to know about his daughter's disappearance.

Over the next two days, Hemraj Gaur sent representations to RajasthanChief Minister Ashok Gehlot, district collector and SP of the area, seeking police protection for the woman, but did not receive any favourable response.

On Monday, Santara, accompanied by her counsel, went to meet Dausa collector R S Jakhar, but were asked to wait outside as the collector was least bothered to meet or help them. Following this, the two rushed to the police superintendent S N Khinchi.

Khinchi instructed the station house officer (SHO) of Nangal Rajawatan police station, Laxmi Kant Sharma, under whose jurisdiction Pyariwas village falls, to register an FIR and provide her protection. Interestingly, Sharma was present in the SP's office when Santara and her lawyer went to meet him.

Initially, even the district administration was apprehensive of an untoward incident. The subordinate officers in the SP's office advised Santara and her counsel to leave the premises immediately. But on Tuesday, SHO Joshi said that he had filed an FIR against Santara's husband and in-laws under sections 342 (keeping in unlawful confinement), 448 (trespass) and 147 (assembly intending to commit a crime) of the IPC.

Moreover, Santara's counsel moved an application before the court of the assistant district magistrate for issuing restraining order against the accused for maintaining public peace.

Gaur said that immediately after the panchayat ruling, members of the khap confiscated the house of the victim's father and dispersed his cattle. He also claimed that the villagers had informed him that the panchayat had constituted a group of more than 50 armed men to capture Santara "dead or alive".

Santara told Mail Today that she was scared, but determined not to succumb to the panchayat's pressure. "I am a gazetted officer, why should I accept to live with an uneducated and uncultured man to whom I was married when I didn't know the meaning of marriage. My parents are supporting my decision," she asserted.

Daughter of a labourer, Santara passed her every exam -- from school to her masters in Hindi literature -- in first division. She was appointed as a lecturer in the Government Senior Secondary School of Kherli in Alwar district in 2011 after passing National Eligibility Test (NET) for lecturers in the first attempt.

The panchayat's diktat came two days after she appeared for the preliminary examination for the Rajasthan Administrative Services (RAS), conducted by the Rajasthan Public Service Commission on June 14 in Dausa.

Unfortunately, her elder sister Badaam, who was simultaneously married to Dinesh's elder brother Sanjay, has to side with her in-laws.

Thanks for sharing..please pray for the justice to be given to the woman...please forward this to everyone including the BV team..mayb they might get help from an NGO...

It is extremely sad.

it is vry unfortunate dat @ 1 syd v claim bout our country's devlopmnt bt @ d othr syd d evil practices r still hppning nd morova mntallity of ppl r nt changing,pushng our devlopmnt bckwrds nd d corrupt systm is js hlpng it strngthen and spread its roots...

I know when we read stuff like this still happening and we see the inertia involved, everything looks pretty bleak. But on the flip side, during the female foeticide episode, remember the one village in Punjab wherein one lone man started the process that campaigned extensively with NGO's putting on street plays and such, to educate the people on why female foeticide was evil. Remember the results reported, not only did they overturn the male female imbalance but also spoke about education for the girl child. How proud they looked for the recognition they received for this achievement. Going against the grain is not easy but the results are sweet.

Thank you for sharing this article. I sincerely hope that girl gets the justice she deserves and can live her life peacefully after this mess.

Thanks for sharing this article Parri. Its really saddening that this custom is still prevalent in some parts of India. The smarter ones try to escape it but its unfortunate that they have to face such a tough path to claim their rights and live their lives on their own terms. I sincerely hope the system changes and some strong action be taken to completely irradiate this atrocious custom.

I think Mother Theresa put it very eloquently when she said:

Originally posted by: parri814

It is extremely sad.

One point I want to make is that if it wasn't for shows like Balika Vadhu and Satyamev Jayate we would not know the extent or gravity of such situations. Forget people outside of India, even some within India are not aware that this stuff still happens.

When I watched the Satyamev episode wherein they interviewed one such Khap Panchayat, I was flabbergasted at their thinking process. I must hasten to add that this does not necessarily mean all panchayats are so regressive or conservative. It's just shocking that Incredible India has such deep, dark secrets, and the patriarchal mentality is so entrenched that transforming this is nt only intimidating but NEARLY impossible.

The tyranny of KHAP panchyats, especially in Hindi heartland, is so scary, it makes one wonder whether the state or law of land could actually provide effective protection to the oppressed? The system is de facto parallel power, sustained with staunch support of political powers they beget to successful elections, ironically controlling the very machinery of constitutional govt.(but for some judiciary). But how effective or protective even judiciary can function if the executives of their orders- state or it's force (police)- would tacitly stonewall its just orders? The KHAP's very structure-rigid, orthodox, controlled by sami literate or cunning interested ones, entrenched in maintaining vested interests of patriarchal advantages- sustains ominous ill practices like, bal vivah, gotra tyranny, honour dictates, Nath pratha, social boycotts or even such blatant crimes as abductions or honour killing. And invariably, at receiving end of this medieval patriarchal oppressive system, suffers down and subjugated women. The education-and specially education in girls- alone can build any bulwark or resistance to this bleak picture, as showed here with very real example of Santara. It kindles some hope. And that's why, of all bravadoes and heroics of Anandi re Scripted deliverance of victims in Bal vivah, widow remarriage, Nath pratha, Dhongi Gurus, Dayans etc. I respect her most for her untried efforts for education in girls or illiterate elders.