Fourteen families which attended a love marriage ceremony in Chhattisgarh’s Bilaspur district were socially boycotted when they returned to their own places. Community heads of Mahakul Community issued Khap like diktats and the families were allegedly boycotted.
All the social ties with these isolated families were snapped and the families were living in social exclusion for more than six months. Families were not invited to any social functions, the victims complained.
According to victim DP Navgwal, his son Ankit Navgwal had wedded with Akanskha Chouhan December 9, 2020, it was an inter-caste marriage. In the marriage, 14 families of the Mahakul community participated. As the marriage was a love marriage and out of the caste, it irked the community heads of the Mahakul Community.
All the families were imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 for breaching the custom and law of the society. Failing to pay the fine, all the fourteen families were ostracized, and all the social ties with these families including mine were snapped, complained Navgwal.
We are facing a social boycott, complained DP Navgwal, in a letter written to the president of Andha Shraddha Unmulan Samiti Dr. Dinesh Mishra. The complainant said it is a violation of their constitutional rights and asked for intervention.
president of Andha Shraddha Unmulan Samiti Dr. Dinesh Mishra |
The victims of social boycott also wrote a letter to the District President of Mahakul Community earlier seeking intervention and ending of social boycott. But the social exclusion continued.
While speaking to FPJ over phone, Dr. Dinesh Mishra said, it is gross violation of human rights of an individual. As the marriage was legal, I have also written a complaint letter to District Collector Jashpur to intervene and take appropriate action, Dr. Mishra added.
Meanwhile, the District President of Mahakul Community Ganesh Yadav said, on the village level every community has some rules and some prohibitory orders which community members have to adhere to. In this case, something might have happened, but some gross violation of human rights occurred, I am unaware of it. However, I have not received any complaint letter in the case till date, Yadav said.
District Collector Jashpur, Mahadev Kanwre said, I have not received the letter. However, after receiving a complaint appropriate action will be initiated.
