- The victims complained to the police-collector, demanding legal action.
A case has come to light from Mandwariya village of Sirohi district of Rajasthan, which has raised serious questions regarding the conflict between social traditions and law. It is alleged that some panchs of the village ostracized 43 families from the society for not preparing Malpuas of ghee in the funeral feast. The victims’ families say that after this decision, their hookahs and water have been stopped and now they are facing a crisis of livelihood.
According to the victims’ families, a funeral feast was organized in a family in the village. Due to financial constraints, the family did not make Ghee Malpuas as per tradition and served simple food. It is alleged that being angry over this, more than a dozen Panchs of the society met and decided to socially boycott a total of 43 families, including the family that organized the funeral feast.
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‘Nobody talks, doesn’t give work, isn’t even getting ration’
The victims’ families claim that after the boycott, distance is being created with them at the social and economic level in the village. Victim Tejaram alleges that the people of the village are not even talking to him. He says that many shopkeepers are refusing to supply goods, farm owners are not calling for wages and there are problems in accessing public facilities. At the same time, the victim woman Kamla Devi raised questions and said that Malpuas were not made due to financial compulsion, but what kind of justice is it to punish entire families for this.
Complaint to police, allegation of no action
The victim’s families have filed a complaint against several Panchs of the society in the local police station. He alleges that despite the complaint, no concrete action has been taken till now. After this, members of all the affected families reached Sirohi district headquarters and submitted a memorandum to the district collector demanding justice.
What does the law say?
According to legal experts, social or economic boycott of a person or family can fall under the category of legal crime. According to lawyer Mahendra Singh, there is a provision for strict action and punishment under the law in cases related to social boycott. Now the biggest question is whether a family can be isolated from the society in the name of social traditions? And if this has happened, what steps do the administration and police take in this matter? At present, these 43 families of Mandwaria are hoping for justice from the administration.