UP khap says yes to family planning

Displaying a change of heart, a ‘khap’ (caste panchayats), generally known for their bizarre diktats and regressive outlook, has decided to promote family planning in Uttar Pradesh.

The decision to promote family planning was taken by a meeting of the ‘battisa khap’ (a khap that consists of 32 villages) at Bhainswal village in western UP’s Shamli district, about 500 kilometres from here on Monday.

According to reports, the meeting was attended by people from several nearby villages in the district and outside.

The chief of the village body, Baba Surajmal, said the residents of the villages would  launch a door-to-door campaign to create awareness on  population and encourage people to adopt family planning.

The participants also said that the low-age marriages should be discouraged and for this purpose, an awareness should be created among the youths studying in colleges.
“We are unanimous that there should be no pressure on the people to adopt family planning. We will only try to convince them”, Surajmal said.

The khap would also take the help of the women in its campaign.“Without the participation of the women, the campaign will not succeed and so we will seek their help as well,” he remarked.

It has also decided to seek cooperation from the members of other communities.

Population explosion
“Population explosion is a national problem. It concerns everyone”, he said.
Surajmal said that the campaign would be launched from Bhainswal village to start with and would be taken to other villages in the district, and outside afterwards.

The initiative was a welcome change especially as the khaps are known for their hardline stance on several social issues like inter-religious marriages and love marriages.
The khaps had recently banned jeans and also asked girls not to carry cell phones.