Gurugram: When the ‘Sarv Jatiya Khap Mahapanchayat’ announced a social and political boycott of Haryana Agriculture Minister J.P. Dalal Saturday for controversial remarks on some farmer leaders in the state, they also announced a symbolic fine of ‘one dhela’ — one of the smallest denominations used in ancient India.
The ‘fine’ was imposed after Dalal made some allegedly disparaging remarks concerning wives, daughters, and daughters-in-law of farmer leaders at a public meeting he addressed in Loharu on 26 November 26. The move raised some eyebrows, not only because the currency has long since fallen into disuse but also because of how meagre it was — dating back to at least 2,400 years ago, one ‘dhela’ is the equivalent of half a paisa.
So what’s the point of imposing such a fine? According to khap leaders, the idea isn’t to recover the money but to tell a person what he’s worth.
“When a khap panchayat imposes a fine of one dhela, the message to the person is that he’s worthless,” Karambir Fartia, president of the Sheoran 52-84 Khap, who presided over Saturday’s mahapanchayat, told ThePrint.
According to Attar Singh Sheoran, former director of the Haryana Institute of Rural Development (HIRD) at Nilokheri, Karnal, it’s not uncommon among khaps to impose a fine of one dhela.
“There are two reasons for this,” he said. “One, khaps don’t have the legal authority to impose a monetary fine on anyone and so they can’t ask them to pay a fine. Second, by imposing a fine of one dhela, which anyway doesn’t exist, khaps shame the person by telling him ‘this is your value in the eyes of khap leaders’.”
On his part, Dalal told ThePrint he had already “apologised” in a Facebook post on 5 December but if people wanted to “continue to play politics, it’s their choice”. In a long post on Facebook on 5 December, Dalal said that he “took back” his words but that the remarks were meant for “anti-social elements who frequently use indecent language” while referring to him.
“Some people have a problem with the fact that I’m popular among my people. Those who met Saturday are doing politics under the garb of a khap mahapanchayat,” Dalal said.
At the meeting in his Loharu constituency last month, Dalal, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, advised the public to beware of farmer leaders who “instigate an agitation for their selfish ends”.
“They used to keep sitting idle here. I know all of them. Now, if I speak, they will say I speak badly about them. Their own wives don’t listen to them and they claim to be farmers’ saviours. I know them all. Some of them have three criminal cases against them and some have five. Someone’s daughter-in-law has eloped, and someone’s daughter. And they claim to be your leaders,” Dalal said.
Despite the Facebook post, khap representatives continue to demand that Dalal apologise before the mahapanchayat.
Besides the representatives from Sheoran 52-84 and Phogat Khaps, the Bharatiya Kisan Union’s (BKU) national spokesperson Rakesh Tikait, Sanyukt Kisan Morcha leader Mahinder Jewali, Yuva BKU president Ravi Azad, and former Loharu MLAs Somvir Singh and Om Prakash Gora also attended the meeting.
Also Read: Khap panchayats — the role & history of complex social institution in Haryana & western UP
‘Huge insult’
In ancient India, three phootie cowries (broken sea shell) equalled one cowrie; 10 cowries equalled one damri; two damris equalled one dhela; one dhela equalled 1.5 pie; three pie equalled one paisa; 4 paise equalled one aana and 16 aana equalled 1 rupiya.
Phrases such as “yeh to dhele ka aadmi bhi nahi hai (This man is not worth a dhela)” are common expressions, said Fartia of the Sheoran 52-84 Khap, adding that imposing a fine of one dhela is an age-old practice in this part of the country.
“In olden times, when a khap panchayat imposed a fine of one dhela, it was considered a huge insult to the person on whom it was imposed,” he said.
Balwant Singh Phogat, president of the Phogat Khap Panchayat, said there was no question of recovering the fine amount imposed on Dalal. “The idea is to put a person to shame and tell him what the mahapanchyat thinks of him,” he said.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
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