Nov 2 2015

The Kaliraman khap panchayat has urged residents of 150 villages to shun the practice of organising a feast “kaaj” on the demise of elderly family members. The khap panchayat adopted a resolution to this effect on the proposal of the septuagenarian patron of the panchayat, Badluram Arya, at its meeting in Sisay village of the district today.

It has been a common practice in families of rural Haryana to organise a feast with an open invitation to everyone belonging to the respective khap or a group of khaps to mark the demise of an elderly person. “This has become an occasion of show-off among the affluent families. With the tag of a social status attached to the function, even the middle class and poor families too have been following the ritual. It’s an expensive exercise but the families have to perform the ritual for the sake of social status,” said Arya. He said it’s a ritual in futility and has become a social evil which must be prohibited. Khap leader Virender Sandwa said the panchayat unanimously agreed to pass the resolution and urged all 150 villages belonging to the Kaliraman khap in Haryana and neighbouring states to stop organising the “kaaj”. “Right now, we have decided to launch a campaign to spread the message. We are not imposing a penalty on the violators at this stage,” he said. Virender said the khap’s campaign for conserving traditional sources of water in villages had received a good response. Teams of khap representatives have actively involved people to clean ponds in many villages so that the water can be utilised for cattle and irrigation, he said.

Deepender Deswal

Tribune News Service

Source: http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/haryana/kaliraman-khap-tells-villagers-to-shun-feast-on-death-of-elderly/153804.html