Aamir Khan invites Khaps’ wrath

Trouble seems to be brewing for Bollywood celebrity Aamir Khan with the all-powerful Khap panchayats in Haryana toughening their stand against him for allegedly portraying the Khaps in bad light in his television show. Aamir Khan has invited the ire of the community post the recent telecast of his small screen show Satyamev Jayate which brought to fore the alleged wrongdoings of the Khaps. The Jat Sabha too has joined in to protest against Khan’s show. The All India Jat Maha Sabha state president Om Prakash Maan said they had written to Khan on the issue since the contents of the show presented the Khaps in a manner that was objectionable. The show had highlighted the menace of honor killings in Haryana, where the Khaps objected to marriages within the same “gotra” leading to disastrous fallouts. Khaps have now appealed to their community not to view the serial at home as a mark of protest. Raising the pitch, Khap representatives are demanding the closure of the serial. Meham Chaubisia Sarv Khap president Randhir Singh said Khan need not interfere with Hindu traditions, especially the ones relating to same gotra marriages in Haryana. He said the Khaps were against any honor killing, adding that the serial needs to shut.   Khan’s fifth episode of Satyamev Jayate, that  highlighted the issue of outlandish caste laws and honour killings, has courted the controversy ever since. Khan’s guests on the show included a couple who are allegedly facing life threat for eloping and getting married. It also had relatives of those murdered for merely loving a person and members of a Khap panchyat. The show brought to light the doleful saga of Fehmeeda and Lokendra who eloped from a village in Jhansi in Haryana and got married. They revealed how they have been living in fear since over two years. It also highlighted the alleged police support for the Khaps. Lokendra narrated how he was beaten up by the police despite having a protection order from court. For Aamir Khan, trouble with regard to the content of his show has come in quick succession. Only recently, doctors and representatives of the Indian Medical Association had sought an apology from the celebrity over portraying doctors in an undesirable manner. Khan had so far refused to relent.