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Home/Anthropology/Mains PYQ/2020/Paper II/Village India, Urbanisation & Social Change
UPSC MainsAnthropology Optional Paper II 2020 10 Marks Model Answer Available

‘Khap’ Panchayat — 2020 Paper II

Question · 2020 · Paper II · 10 Marks

'Khap' Panchayat

Model Answer

VAID ICS

Approach

  • Demand of Question: Explain the nature and functioning of Khap Panchayats and critically assess their role in contemporary rural society.
  • Structuring the Response: Define Khap, describe its social basis and functions, then discuss its authority, controversies and constitutional limitations.
  • Key Dimensions to Cover: Clan organization, Haryana–western Uttar Pradesh, marriage rules, gotra exogamy, customary authority, honour, gender and constitutional rights.

Model Answer

Introduction

A Khap Panchayat is a traditional, clan- or territory-based council found particularly among sections of the Jat population of Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh and adjoining regions. Unlike constitutionally established Gram Panchayats, Khap Panchayats are customary social institutions without formal constitutional status.

Social organization

A khap may comprise:

  • several villages;
  • members belonging to a common or related clan;
  • territorially linked kin groups.

Traditionally, Khaps performed functions such as:

  • dispute settlement;
  • regulation of marriage;
  • maintenance of community norms;
  • collective decisions during crises;
  • coordination among villages.

Marriage regulation

Khap authority has been particularly associated with enforcement of:

  • gotra exogamy;
  • village exogamy in some areas;
  • prohibitions on marriages considered socially inappropriate.

These rules reflect the perception that members of the same gotra or certain neighbouring villages share kin-like relations.

Contemporary controversies

Some Khap interventions have been criticized for:

  • restricting individual choice in marriage;
  • opposing inter-caste or same-gotra marriages;
  • reinforcing patriarchal control;
  • sanctioning social boycott or coercive action.

Thus:

Customary authority ↔ Individual rights

Courts have emphasized that customary bodies cannot violate the life, liberty and autonomy of consenting adults.

Anthropological perspective

Khaps demonstrate the persistence of kinship-based authority within modern democratic society, but also the tension between customary norms and constitutional citizenship.

Conclusion

Khap Panchayats remain important as institutions of local social organization, yet their legitimacy in contemporary India must operate within the limits of individual liberty, gender equality and constitutional law.

2026 Critically examine the salience of F. G. Bailey's study on Bisipara village of Odisha. 2025 "The village was not merely a place where people lived; it had a design in which were reflected the basic values of Indian civilization." Who said this? Elaborate. 2024 Digitisation of rural economy 2024 Compare and contrast the approaches of M.N. Srinivas and L.P. Vidyarthi to social change in village India.

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UPSC Anthropology Optional 2020 — Paper II

28 questions

1(e) 'Khap' Panchayat

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper II > 5.1 Indian Village > Traditional village institutions
2020Paper IIVillage India, Urbanisation & Social ChangeModel answer available

5(b) 'Narmada' Man

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper II > 1.2 Palaeo-anthropological evidences from India > Narmada Man
2020Paper IIPrehistoric ArchaeologyModel answer available

5(c) Concept of 'Dominant' caste

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper II > 3.2 Caste system in India > Dominant caste
2020Paper IIIndian Society, Caste & CivilizationAnswer coming soon

5(e) Concept of Ethnicity

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper II > 7.3 The concept of ethnicity
2020Paper IIEthnicity, Tribal Movements & Social ChangeModel answer available

5(a) Concept of Sanskritisation

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper II > 5.3 Indigenous and exogenous processes of socio-cultural change > Sanskritization
2020Paper IIVillage India, Urbanisation & Social ChangeModel answer available

1(b) Debates on 'Aryan' invasion

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper II > 1.1 Evolution of Indian Culture and Civilization > Post-Harappan cultures > Aryan debate
2020Paper IIPrehistoric ArchaeologyModel answer available

1(d) Dravidian languages

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper II > 2. Demographic profile of India > Linguistic elements > Dravidian family
2020Paper IIIndian Society, Caste & CivilizationModel answer available

5(d) Linguistic minorities in India

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper II > 5.2 Linguistic and religious minorities and their social, political and economic status
2020Paper IIIndian Society, Caste & CivilizationModel answer available