Khap
Encyclopedia
The Khap and Sarv Khap (सर्व खाप) was a system of social administration and organization in the republics of Northwestern Indian states such as Haryana
, Rajasthan
and Uttar Pradesh
since ancient times. Khap is a term for a social - political grouping and used in a geographical sense. Other parallel terms are Pal
, Ganasangha, Janapada or republic
.
The term `Rajan, Rajanaya' has been taken to denote a monarchical system. A closer look shows the term was used at that time for the householder, the head of the household, and he would participate in the Sabha or assembly. In later times this took on a monarchical connotation, as Raja
, Maharaja
, a term familiar to most of us.
In the texts of Pāṇini and later Buddhist texts we find references to 16 republics or Great Republics Janapadas
, or Mahajanpadas' and the reference are to the period circa 600 BCE (conventional dating). We find references to names of republics like Mall, Licchavi
, Sakya
, Yaudheya
, Agreya, and so on. We find Indian and Western sources referring to these republics e.g. in the invasion of Alexander (circa 325 BCE) where Alexander comes wars with the Malloi or Malli
, Kshudrak, Paur, Puru
, Kathi
republics. We continue to find the republics referred to as the Yaudheyas, Malls etc are found dominating the Northern Indian landscape in what is now Punjab
, Sindh
, Rajasthan
, Haryana
and Uttar Pradesh
.
The Sarv Khap (or all Khap) Panchayat (council) represented all the Khaps. The individual Khaps would elect leaders who would send delegates, who would represent the Khaps at the Sarv Khap level. It was a political organization, composed of all the clans, communities, and castes in the region. The republics of the Yaudheya
s who dominated this region from 600BCE to 400 CE preceded it. They had there a similar system of governance, and their coins and seals are found in this whole region, Rohtak
Haryana was one of the capitals and a major coin mint.
After the fall of Kushan Empire
northwest India was divided in to small republics. These small republics could not defend against invaders. So there were formed federation
s of republic
s known as Ganasanghas. One such Ganasangha was on the banks of Sutlej River. Another Gansangha of Arjunayana was in the region between Agra
and Bharatpur
. Dr Budh Prakash says that the Yaudheya
s are related with present Dahiya
clan and Arjunayana Ganasanghas were the present Joon
clans.
s have always organized themselves into clans or under Panchayat system; both typically Aryan
. A clan
was based on one large gotra
(clan) or a number of closely related gotras under one elected leader whose word was law. Mutual quarrels of any intensity could be settled under his orders. In time of danger, the whole clan rallied under the banner of the leader.
A number of villages grouped themselves into a Gohand
. A number of Gohands formed a ‘Khap’ (covering an area equal to from a Tehsil
to a District) and a number of Khaps formed a 'Sarva Khap' embracing a full province or state. For example, there was a "Sarva Khap" each for Haryana
and Malwa. At what level a Panchayat should gather depended upon the magnitude of the problem and the territory it involved.
was the `Khap'. Others were Pal
, Janapada, and Ganasangha etc. The Khap consisted a unit of 84 villages. The individual villages were governed by an elected Council, which was known as the Panchayat. A unit of seven villages was called a Thamba and 12 Thambas would form the unit of 84 Villages. We also find Khaps of 12 and 24 villages. Their elected leaders would determine which units would be represented at the Khap level. These Khaps are found to be spread all the way from Northwest India down to Madhya Pradesh
, Malwa, Rajasthan
, Sindh
, Multan
, Punjab
, Haryana
, and modern Uttar Pradesh
.
, Mathura, to the Sutlej River in the Punjab
was known as Haryana
, dominated by Jats and it is of this region that we speak, when refer to the Sarv Khap of Haryana. The influence of the Sarv Khap extended to the Malwa province in Central India, Rajasthan and Sindh. With the ebb and flow of history, the boundaries also expanded and receded.
In recent times, the Khap system has attracted criticism from groups, citing the stark prejudice that such groups allegedly hold against others. Women's Organisation AIDWA has made allegations, in some cases where the Khaps are alleged to have initiated threats of murder and violence to couples who marry outside of the circle.These allegations however have not been supported with any evidence.
The Supreme Court has declared illegal ‘khap panchayats' which often decree or encourage honour killings or other institutionalised atrocities against boys and girls of different castes and religions who wish to get married or have married.
“This is wholly illegal and has to be ruthlessly stamped out. There is nothing honourable in honour killing or other atrocities and, in fact, it is nothing but barbaric and shameful murder. Other atrocities in respect of the personal lives of people committed by brutal, feudal-minded persons deserve harsh punishment. Only this way can we stamp out such acts of barbarism and feudal mentality. Moreover, these acts take the law into their own hands, and amount to kangaroo courts, which are wholly illegal,” said a Bench of Justices Markandey Katju and Gyan Sudha Misra.
Haryana
Haryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south...
, Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
and Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
since ancient times. Khap is a term for a social - political grouping and used in a geographical sense. Other parallel terms are Pal
PAL
PAL, short for Phase Alternating Line, is an analogue television colour encoding system used in broadcast television systems in many countries. Other common analogue television systems are NTSC and SECAM. This page primarily discusses the PAL colour encoding system...
, Ganasangha, Janapada or republic
Republic
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
.
Historical background
The Indian social fabric was organized around the village unit, from time immemorial, as making shifted from nomadic to settled agricultural practices. Throughout the last few millennium the society of the Indian sub continent, was organized in various forms, tribal, village, monarchical or republican the mode of governing was that of a council of five, which in time was called a Panchayat. We find that the republican form of society existed from the most ancient times known to us. In various times the society coalesced around monarchical forms, but the republican societies did not die out, but maintained their existence with remarkable resilience. We find references to the republican sources in our ancient literature, some of the most ancient as being the Rig Veda. The dating of this work in now generally accepted to be in the circa 2500 BCE period. The forms of governing society are that of the `Sabha’ or `samiti’ i.e. gathering/assembly. The Sabhapati, the president of the Sabha was elected. ·The term `Rajan, Rajanaya' has been taken to denote a monarchical system. A closer look shows the term was used at that time for the householder, the head of the household, and he would participate in the Sabha or assembly. In later times this took on a monarchical connotation, as Raja
Raja
Raja is an Indian term for a monarch, or princely ruler of the Kshatriya varna...
, Maharaja
Maharaja
Mahārāja is a Sanskrit title for a "great king" or "high king". The female equivalent title Maharani denotes either the wife of a Maharaja or, in states where that was customary, a woman ruling in her own right. The widow of a Maharaja is known as a Rajamata...
, a term familiar to most of us.
In the texts of Pāṇini and later Buddhist texts we find references to 16 republics or Great Republics Janapadas
Janapadas
The Janapadas were the major realms or kingdoms of Vedic India which, by the 6th century BC, evolved into the sixteen classical Mahajanapadas.-Etymology:...
, or Mahajanpadas' and the reference are to the period circa 600 BCE (conventional dating). We find references to names of republics like Mall, Licchavi
Licchavi
Licchavi was an ancient kingdom in Nepal, which existed in the Kathmandu Valley from approximately 400 to 750. Centuries earlier, at the start of the Buddhist era a powerful republic known as Licchavi existed in what is today Bihar. There is no conclusive evidence of any ethnic or historic links...
, Sakya
Sakya
The Sakya school is one of four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, the others being the Nyingma, Kagyu, and Gelug...
, Yaudheya
Yaudheya
Yaudheya or Yaudheya Gana was an ancient confederation who lived in the area between the Indus river and the Ganges river. They find mention in Pāṇini's Ashtadhyayi and Ganapatha. There are other references to them namely in Mahabharata, Mahamayuri, Brihatsamhita, Puranas, Chandravyakarana and...
, Agreya, and so on. We find Indian and Western sources referring to these republics e.g. in the invasion of Alexander (circa 325 BCE) where Alexander comes wars with the Malloi or Malli
Malli
Mallı is a village in the Goychay Rayon of Azerbaijan. The villages forms part of the municipality of Mallı-Şıxlı....
, Kshudrak, Paur, Puru
Puru
The Purus were a tribe, or a confederation of tribes, mentioned many times in the Rigveda, formed around 3180 BCE. RV 7.96.2 locates them at the banks of the Sarasvati River. There were several factions of Purus, one being the Bharatas...
, Kathi
Kathi
The word Kathi* is used sometimes as short form of Kathleen* is used to denote Kathi People - natives of Kathiawar - a region of India.* was a small princely state part of the Mewas States in former district of Khandesh....
republics. We continue to find the republics referred to as the Yaudheyas, Malls etc are found dominating the Northern Indian landscape in what is now Punjab
Punjab region
The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...
, Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
, Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
, Haryana
Haryana
Haryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south...
and Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
.
The Sarv Khap (or all Khap) Panchayat (council) represented all the Khaps. The individual Khaps would elect leaders who would send delegates, who would represent the Khaps at the Sarv Khap level. It was a political organization, composed of all the clans, communities, and castes in the region. The republics of the Yaudheya
Yaudheya
Yaudheya or Yaudheya Gana was an ancient confederation who lived in the area between the Indus river and the Ganges river. They find mention in Pāṇini's Ashtadhyayi and Ganapatha. There are other references to them namely in Mahabharata, Mahamayuri, Brihatsamhita, Puranas, Chandravyakarana and...
s who dominated this region from 600BCE to 400 CE preceded it. They had there a similar system of governance, and their coins and seals are found in this whole region, Rohtak
Rohtak
Rohtak City is a Municipal Corporation in Rohtak district that styles itself as the "Heart of Haryana". It is located 70 km Northwest of New Delhi and 210 km South of the state capital Chandigarh at the NH 10...
Haryana was one of the capitals and a major coin mint.
After the fall of Kushan Empire
Kushan Empire
The Kushan Empire originally formed in the early 1st century AD under Kujula Kadphises in the territories of ancient Bactria on either side of the middle course of the Oxus in what is now northern Afghanistan, Pakistan, and southern Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.During the 1st and early 2nd centuries...
northwest India was divided in to small republics. These small republics could not defend against invaders. So there were formed federation
Federation
A federation , also known as a federal state, is a type of sovereign state characterized by a union of partially self-governing states or regions united by a central government...
s of republic
Republic
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
s known as Ganasanghas. One such Ganasangha was on the banks of Sutlej River. Another Gansangha of Arjunayana was in the region between Agra
Agra
Agra a.k.a. Akbarabad is a city on the banks of the river Yamuna in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, west of state capital, Lucknow and south from national capital New Delhi. With a population of 1,686,976 , it is one of the most populous cities in Uttar Pradesh and the 19th most...
and Bharatpur
Bharatpur, India
Bharatpur is a city in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It was founded by Maharaja Suraj Mal in 1733. Located in the Brij region, Bharatpur was once an impregnable, well-planned and well-fortified city, and the capital of Jat kingdom ruled by Sinsinwar Maharajas.The trio of Bharatpur, Deeg and...
. Dr Budh Prakash says that the Yaudheya
Yaudheya
Yaudheya or Yaudheya Gana was an ancient confederation who lived in the area between the Indus river and the Ganges river. They find mention in Pāṇini's Ashtadhyayi and Ganapatha. There are other references to them namely in Mahabharata, Mahamayuri, Brihatsamhita, Puranas, Chandravyakarana and...
s are related with present Dahiya
Dahiya
Dahiya or दहिया, classically called the Dimures , is a clan of Jats and Yaduvanshi Ahirs found in Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh in India.-Distribution:...
clan and Arjunayana Ganasanghas were the present Joon
Joon
Joon is a clan of Jat People, which are based chiefly in the state of Haryana, India. Joons are descendants of Rao Joon of the Solanki clan of Rajputs....
clans.
Functioning of Khaps
The ancient kshatriyaKshatriya
*For the Bollywood film of the same name see Kshatriya Kshatriya or Kashtriya, meaning warrior, is one of the four varnas in Hinduism...
s have always organized themselves into clans or under Panchayat system; both typically Aryan
Aryan
Aryan is an English language loanword derived from Sanskrit ārya and denoting variously*In scholarly usage:**Indo-Iranian languages *in dated usage:**the Indo-European languages more generally and their speakers...
. A clan
Clan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clan members may be organized around a founding member or apical ancestor. The kinship-based bonds may be symbolical, whereby the clan shares a "stipulated" common ancestor that is a...
was based on one large gotra
Gotra
In the Hindu society, the term Gotra broadly refers to people who are descendants in an unbroken male line from a common male ancestor. Panini defines gotra for grammatical purposes as apatyam pautraprabhrti gotram , which means "the word gotra denotes the progeny beginning with the son's son"...
(clan) or a number of closely related gotras under one elected leader whose word was law. Mutual quarrels of any intensity could be settled under his orders. In time of danger, the whole clan rallied under the banner of the leader.
A number of villages grouped themselves into a Gohand
Gohand
Gohand is a town and a nagar panchayat in Hamirpur district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. it is situted on UP-SH-21 15km. from Rath & 40km. from Orai-Geography:Gohand is located at . It has an average elevation of 146 metres ....
. A number of Gohands formed a ‘Khap’ (covering an area equal to from a Tehsil
Tehsil
A Tehsil or Tahsil/Tahasil , also known as Taluk and Mandal, is an administrative division of some country/countries of South Asia....
to a District) and a number of Khaps formed a 'Sarva Khap' embracing a full province or state. For example, there was a "Sarva Khap" each for Haryana
Haryana
Haryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south...
and Malwa. At what level a Panchayat should gather depended upon the magnitude of the problem and the territory it involved.
The Khap and its divisions
One of the terms used to denote the republicRepublic
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
was the `Khap'. Others were Pal
PAL
PAL, short for Phase Alternating Line, is an analogue television colour encoding system used in broadcast television systems in many countries. Other common analogue television systems are NTSC and SECAM. This page primarily discusses the PAL colour encoding system...
, Janapada, and Ganasangha etc. The Khap consisted a unit of 84 villages. The individual villages were governed by an elected Council, which was known as the Panchayat. A unit of seven villages was called a Thamba and 12 Thambas would form the unit of 84 Villages. We also find Khaps of 12 and 24 villages. Their elected leaders would determine which units would be represented at the Khap level. These Khaps are found to be spread all the way from Northwest India down to Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....
, Malwa, Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
, Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
, Multan
Multan
Multan , is a city in the Punjab Province of Pakistan and capital of Multan District. It is located in the southern part of the province on the east bank of the Chenab River, more or less in the geographic centre of the country and about from Islamabad, from Lahore and from Karachi...
, Punjab
Punjab (India)
Punjab ) is a state in the northwest of the Republic of India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest as well as the Pakistani province of Punjab to the...
, Haryana
Haryana
Haryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south...
, and modern Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
.
Sarv Khap of Haryana
This region from Western Uttar Pradesh through AgraAgra
Agra a.k.a. Akbarabad is a city on the banks of the river Yamuna in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, west of state capital, Lucknow and south from national capital New Delhi. With a population of 1,686,976 , it is one of the most populous cities in Uttar Pradesh and the 19th most...
, Mathura, to the Sutlej River in the Punjab
Punjab region
The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...
was known as Haryana
Haryana
Haryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south...
, dominated by Jats and it is of this region that we speak, when refer to the Sarv Khap of Haryana. The influence of the Sarv Khap extended to the Malwa province in Central India, Rajasthan and Sindh. With the ebb and flow of history, the boundaries also expanded and receded.
Criticism
Under the backdrop of political rumblings over the sanctity of the Institution of 'Sarva Khap Panchayat', the institution has been critiqued as one in dire need of 'reinterpretation & adaptation, to the extent its integrity and basic structure remains totally uncompromised'.In recent times, the Khap system has attracted criticism from groups, citing the stark prejudice that such groups allegedly hold against others. Women's Organisation AIDWA has made allegations, in some cases where the Khaps are alleged to have initiated threats of murder and violence to couples who marry outside of the circle.These allegations however have not been supported with any evidence.
The Supreme Court has declared illegal ‘khap panchayats' which often decree or encourage honour killings or other institutionalised atrocities against boys and girls of different castes and religions who wish to get married or have married.
“This is wholly illegal and has to be ruthlessly stamped out. There is nothing honourable in honour killing or other atrocities and, in fact, it is nothing but barbaric and shameful murder. Other atrocities in respect of the personal lives of people committed by brutal, feudal-minded persons deserve harsh punishment. Only this way can we stamp out such acts of barbarism and feudal mentality. Moreover, these acts take the law into their own hands, and amount to kangaroo courts, which are wholly illegal,” said a Bench of Justices Markandey Katju and Gyan Sudha Misra.
The role Sarv Khaps played in India
Some well known occasions, when armies and funds were marshaled under the aegis of Sarva Khaps, are:- The Battle against attack of TimurTimurTimur , historically known as Tamerlane in English , was a 14th-century conqueror of West, South and Central Asia, and the founder of the Timurid dynasty in Central Asia, and great-great-grandfather of Babur, the founder of the Mughal Dynasty, which survived as the Mughal Empire in India until...
in 1398 AD was led by Jograj Singh GurjarJograj Singh GurjarJograj Singh Gurjar or Yograj Singh Gurjar was a super commander of an army who fought against Timur in 1398 A.D.He was also known as Jograj Singh Panwar.-Early life:...
, the Gurjar land lord of Saharanpur (UP) and the Commander of Sarv Khap Army. - Battle of MultanMultanMultan , is a city in the Punjab Province of Pakistan and capital of Multan District. It is located in the southern part of the province on the east bank of the Chenab River, more or less in the geographic centre of the country and about from Islamabad, from Lahore and from Karachi...
against Huns in Vikram Samvat 564 (507 AD), - Battle of TaraoriTaraoriTaraori or Tarori, as it is sometimes called in the local dialect, is a city and a Tehsil 16 km north of Karnal in Karnal district in the Indian state of Haryana....
against Muhammad Ghori in 12th Century AD - The battle at the confluence of Hindan and KaliKali' , also known as ' , is the Hindu goddess associated with power, shakti. The name Kali comes from kāla, which means black, time, death, lord of death, Shiva. Kali means "the black one". Since Shiva is called Kāla - the eternal time, Kālī, his consort, also means "Time" or "Death" . Hence, Kāli is...
river against Ala ud din Khilji in the 13th century AD in protest against imposition of heavy taxes and interference in private affairs.
External links
- http://www.khappanchayats.com
- http://www.nipissingu.ca/department/history/MUHLBERGER/HISTDEM/INDIADEM.HTM