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Caste panchayats are caste-specific juries of elders for villages or higher-level communities in India. They are distinct from village panchayats in that the latter, as statutory bodies, serve all villagers regardless of caste, although they operate on the same principles. A panchayat can be permanent or temporary.
Contents
The term panchayat implies a body of five (Sanskrit: Panch) individuals, although the number may vary in practice. The number is kept odd to ensure there is no tie when a decision is made. Panchayat members are appointed by consensus.
Responsibilities
Traditionally, panchayats have adjudicated disputes involving caste members in open meetings. The issues brought before these bodies can include: managing temples and schools, property disputes, marital relations, and breaches of community rules (such as extravagant spending on weddings or the eating, drinking, or killing of certain animals, such as cows). Penalties include monetary fines, offering a feast to the caste members or to Brahmins, or temporary or permanent excommunication from the caste. Pilgrimage and self-humiliation are also occasionally imposed. Physical punishment was levied on occasion but is now uncommon.
When the Evidence Act was passed in 1872, some caste members began to take their cases before civil or criminal courts rather than have them adjudicated by the caste panchayat. Nevertheless, these bodies still exist and exert leadership roles within their respective groups.
Historical mentions of panchayats include the Parsi Panchayat in 1818, the Aror Bans Panchayat at Lahore in 1888, and the Prachin Agrawal Jain Panchayat of Delhi, founded in the late 19th century, which runs Delhi's famous Bird Hospital and some of its oldest temples.
Khap
A Khap is a clan, or a group of related clans, mainly among the Jats of western Uttar Pradesh and eastern Haryana. The term has also been used in other communities. A Khap panchayat is an assembly of Khap elders, and a Sarv Khap (literally, "all Khaps") meeting is an assembly of many Khaps. A Khap panchayat is concerned with the affairs of the Khap it represents. It is not affiliated with the democratically elected local assemblies that are also termed panchayat, and has no official government recognition or authority, but it can exert significant social influence within a community. Baliyan Khap, led by the late farmer's leader Mahendra Singh Tikait, is a well-known Jat Khap.