INDORE: Alarmed by eight instances of elopement in the past six months, Panchewa village panchayat in MP’s Ratlam district on Saturday issued a decree, calling for total social and economic boycott of the families whose children opt for love marriages.The ‘Khap-style’ decree sparked tension in the village, prompting Jat community members, along with Rashtriya Jat Tejveer Sena, to approach district collector and SP on Tuesday, demanding action against the people responsible for the decree.SP Amit Kumar told TOI, “We are conducting ‘Jan Samvad’ (public dialogue) in the village to educate residents that such diktats constitute a direct violation of fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution, including the right to choose a life partner.”Six people have been placed under a legal bond to maintain peace, he added.Viral videos from the panchayat meeting showed a man reading from a register, outlining a complete boycott of the families where ‘love marriages’ had been reported. The man is heard saying that barbers and priests are forbidden from serving the targeted families, villagers are barred from buying goods or milk from them, and their farmland cannot be leased.Anyone assisting the couples or providing shelter faces immediate expulsion, the decree mandated further.Among those facing the diktat is a couple who married in June 2025. Despite both families eventually accepting the union, they were publicly shamed at the panchayat.“We married by choice and consent, settling down peacefully into our conjugal life. However, these self-styled leaders are now harassing us with unconstitutional orders,” the couple stated at the public hearing.
