Maharashtra cabinet clears decks to reign in caste panchayats

If the Maharashtra government has its way then illogical decisions like caste panchayats who prescribe a social boycott of people will henceforth be penalised by a punishment of three years imprisonment or a fine of Rs 1 lakh or both if convicted by a court.

The Maharashtra cabinet on Tuesday cleared a move to bring the ‘Maharashtra Prohibition of social boycott Act’ in the forthcoming budget session.

The state government felt that the act was necessary as there were rising cases of people who were ostracised by caste panchayats for various reasons. For instance a caste panchayat in Raigad ostracised a family and imposed a social boycott after one of the women in the family wore jeans, didn’t wear a mangalsutra or a ‘bindi.’ Another caste panchayat imposed a fi ne on a family for marrying a person from the same ‘gotra’. The highest number of such cases was reported from Raigad alone where 34 cases of social boycott was registered with police stations.