Banning love marriages was not the only resolution the panchayat of Chankoian Khurd village in Doraha passed on April 29, but it also passed resolutions asking youngsters not to wear provocative or short clothes, banned the use of loud music on tractors and announced a fine of Rs 5,100 to whoever is found selling drugs.
Besides the members of panchayat, gurdwara committee and sports club also imposed a ban on the use of loudspeakers by vegetable vendors coming to the village and announced a fine of Rs 1,100 on those who did not comply with the orders.
Following news reports on ban on love marriages by Chankoian Khurd village in Doraha, the panchayat has decided to roll back the resolution to boycott couples opting for love marriage.
Now, they have assured the administration that they are not against couples opting for love marriage.
This resolution was passed on April 29 after a 21-year-old boy married a 19-year-old girl at a gurdwara and in a court in Ludhiana on April 18. The couple was allegedly told to leave the village by Sarpanch Hakam Singh and girl’s family (excluding her father) who did not approve of the marriage on April 29 when they came to meet their families.
However, BDPO Navdeep Kaur claimed that since resolution was never registered in panchayat’s official proceedings, it was ‘illegal’. “We have counselled the village panchayat today as their decision was wrong. I condemn this act of panchayat. However, they have announced its rollback.. The couple will be provided security,” she said.
On Thursday, Block Development and Panchayat Officer (BDPO) Navdeep Kaur visited the village and discussed the matter with the panchayat and villagers concerned. Following the meeting, the panchayat members agreed to roll back the resolution.
The villagers had assured to remove copies of the resolution that had been displayed in the village, she said.
Officiating panch Hakam Singh said, “We are taking the resolution back. The resolution was not officially approved by the gram panchayat.
A girl had married a boy living in her neighbourhood against their parents’ wish. The entire village had taken the decision on the request of the girl’s grandfather who had threatened to commit suicide. We were not acting like any khap panchayat.The decision was taken to maintain peace and set things right in the village.”
DSP RS Dhindsa said, “The situation is normal in the village. The villagers and panchayat told us that they have no objection to love marriages.”
Jagtar Singh, father of the boy, said he never had any problem with the marriage. “We are ready to accept them. Even that day we had no problem. Girl’s family was not ready and after they complained to sarpanch, my son and his wife were asked to leave,” he added.
Girl’s grandfather, Shingara Singh, who had threatened to immolate himself said that “he had problem with a girl and boy living in neighborhood like brother and sister since childhood getting married”, but now he was “ready to accept” them. Girl’s father, Prithpal Singh, said that he too never had problem with couple but it was the “panchayat that asked couple to leave the village”.
Meanwhile, sarpanch Hakam Singh claimed: “We are not against love marriages. We had to pass this resolution just to control the situation that day as girl’s grandfather said he will immolate himself if girl and boy continue to live in village. They got married in a court and when they came home, families were furious. So, just to control the situation we wrote this and signed.
This resolution has not been entered in panchayat proceedings so it is unofficial. We pasted it at some places so that others do not follow same path.” He added: “We will remove the copies of resolution pasted at some points in village. We are rolling it back.”
