Muslim boy faces khap ire for same-gotra marriage CHANDIGARH: Haryana's khap menace is crossing religious lines and spreading to the formally casteless Muslim community. An eight-time national wrestling champion, Ikhlash, 22, is facing the wrath of a khap of 360 villages of Meo Muslims for getting married within the same gotra. Little did Ikhlash, a resident of Mewat's Dwarka village, know what he would be up against when on May 9 he married Anjum, whose ancestors had migrated to Rajasthan almost a century ago. Now, instead of planning his honeymoon, Ikhlash, a constable in the Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) at Bhondsi, finds himself and his family excommunicated for marrying the girl, who according to the khap, belongs to the same gotra. Ramzan Chaudhary, who describes himself as the coordinator of khaps and the head of Mewat Vikas Manch, justified Ikhlash's social boycott as an initiative to protect the honor of the villages and the Meo community. "We follow Islam. But, at the same time we strongly follow our tradition derived from Haryana. We don't allow same gotra marriage. The girl belongs to Barkiya gotra which has a strong presence in 22 villages of Mewat here. Her ancestors moved to Alwar in Rajsthan but the gotra remains the same," he said. Ikhlash is making representations to various police officers, including Mewat SP and Gurgaon commissioner of police, seeking protection for himself and the family. "A few people from my village have joined hands. We follow Islam. Be it Islamic law or the Constitution of India, we have done no wrong. They had been putting pressure on me to annul the marriage and offered Rs 30 lakh. We would fight till the end," Ikhlash said. "They did not raise their voice when Sania Mirza got married. I do not know what problem they have with me. We are not a runaway couple. We married at Nuh with the consent and in presence of family members of both sides," he said. Chaudhary said Ikhlash had almost yielded to khap pressure. "It was during the khap meeting held on May 8 that Ikhlash promised to call off the marriage after we assured him help in the future. But he married the very next day," he said. Afroz Alam |
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