Khaps undecided over joining politics before Haryana polls

Chandigarh: Who are the major Khaps of Haryana going to back this time? With a fortnight to go for the Assembly elections, the picture is not clear yet. While there have been sharp debates among these informal community organisations over whether to get involved in the upcoming polls by way of supporting particular parties or candidates, at least four Khap leaders have jumped into the electoral fray under party tickets. A faction of the Khap leadership is strongly opposed to their move on the ground that they are a social and as such a non-political entity and entering politics is against their basic norm, custom and traditions. “There are various Khaps in Haryana. These are non-political and social organisations. Their primary mission is to preserve the social order. A few Khap leaders cannot take decision on behalf of the entire Khaps. We do not approve of the decision of some leaders to contest poll on behalf of some political party. They do not have our support,” Kuldeep Dhanda, convener of the Sarv Khap Panchayat (SKP), told Firstpost. Early this month, leaders of several Khaps, including Kandela, Dalal, Barah Kalan, Behra, Sainbarah, Chahal, Rakkhi Barah, Dhull etc held an emergency meeting convened in Jind district by the Sarv Khap Panchayat. The general consensus was that the some of the Khap leaders were trying to misuse the name of Khaps for their personal political gain and this could not be allowed by the community.[caption id=“attachment_1735821” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Poll time. Reuters[/caption] Many Khap leaders had demanded tickets for the assembly polls from different parties in Haryana. In their bid to draw support of the Jat voters, the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and the BJP gave tickets to Khap leaders. While the INLD gave ticket from Beri constituency in Jhajjar district to Santosh Dahiya, Women’s wing president of Sarv Jat Sarv Khap Mahapanchayat (SJSKM), the BJP nominated Baljit Singh (Dada) head of the Malik Khap as party candidate from Baroda constituency in Sonepat and Shamsher Kharkara from the Meham constituency. However, the hopes and political ambitions of Kandela Khap chief Tek Ram Kandela were belied. Tek Ram quit the INLD recently to join the Congress in pursuit of a party ticket, but the Congress denied him one. Seething with anger over the rebuff Kandela has now sought revenge from all political parties for what he calls ‘ignoring Khap leaders’ despite their influence on the Jat voters. Meanwhile, representatives of Saroha, Dahiya and Khatri Khaps have extended support to the Congress. Such is the influence of the Khap leaders over the Jat voters that political leaders of the state rarely gather courage to speak against their decisions. Even when the Khaps were accused of encouraging honour killing, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda did not condemn them. He tried to wriggle out of the tricky question posed by media by saying that, “the law will take its course on the matter”. Speaking to Firstpost, Santosh Dahiya, the INLD nominee from the Beri constituency in Jhajjar, said Khap leaders have all the right to be elected as people’s representatives. “What’s wrong if the Khap leaders stand for election? If they will it will only be for the good of the community they belong to. I am thankful to the INLD for reposing faith in me and I will not let them down,” she said. Khaps of 50 villages in Jind recently asked Tek Ram Kandela to resign as Khap president before entering the electoral fray. He refused. The Jat Mahasabha (HJM) has decided to check Jat leaders from taking advantage of the caste and community factors. Many Jat leaders feel that if any chief of Khap panchayat wants to contest poll in the state, he or she must resign the post. Although there are a number of Khaps in Haryana, five are the most influential. They are Gathwala Malik led by Baljit Malik, Kandela Khap, ld by Tekram Kandela, Binain Khap led by Nafe Singh Nain, Sarvjat Khap led by Sube Singh and Meham Chaubisi led by Tulsi Grewal. Khap leaders are more active in the Jat belt of Rohtak, Jhajjar, Sonepat, Bhiwani, Jind and Hisar. The areas of influence of the Khap leaders in Haryana differ. In Rohtak and Jhajjar belt the most active Khaps are Hooda, Jakhar, Dalal, Ahlawat and Kadian, while in Sonepat and Jind Malik, Dahiya, Kandela, Binain and Dhadain Khaps are very influential controlling majority of Jat villages in the region. In the Bhiwani district, the more influential ones are Sheoran, Sangwan, Panwar, Aheli and Phogat. Satrol Khap has more influence in the Hisar region. Khushwant Singh, social activist from Sonepat who belongs to Baraha Khap, says Khaps should not get involved in politics. “Khaps are a social organisation. They work for the welfare of the entire community. They should not mortgage themselves to some particular party or politics. I strongly oppose the entry of Khap leaders in politics. Khaps must take a single stand of opposing those Khap leaders who hobnob with politics for personal gains,” Singh.