In pictures: hope of marriage rises in India’s Haryana state

With female infanticide rampant because of a preference for boys, eligible women were in short supply. Sajjad Hussain/ AFP Photo

This fueled an insidious ‘bride buying’ industry and leaving many other men unmarried in a culture that prizes matrimony. Sajjad Hussain/ AFP Photo

Khaps have been blamed for provoking honour killings, public beatings and even fuelling the buying of brides. Sajjad Hussain/ AFP Photo

Often embroiled in controversy, khaps have been branded “kangaroo courts” for their punishments, including fines but also horrific violence. Sajjad Hussain/ AFP Photo

Council head Inder Singh, who has led the push for reform, is trying to ‘erase the bloody past’ of khaps, which dominate swathes of mainly rural, northern India, and are often bastions of caste prejudice. Sajjad Hussain/ AFP Photo

Mr Singh conceded the trend of “bringing in outsiders” as brides created numerous problems, with most of the women struggling to adjust. Sajjad Hussain/ AFP Photo

Meera Deka says she was forced to leave her parents and her home in remote north-east Assam state when she was 25. Sajjad Hussain/ AFP Photo

She was one of the brides sold for $1,330 into one of the villages under the khap’s control. Sajjad Hussain/ AFP Photo

Indian social worker Sudesh Chowdhary, centre, was the first woman representative to be elected into the khap – the local village council. Sajjad Hussain/ AFP Photo

For as long as anyone can remember, families in a cluster of villages north of the capital have lived under two sets of laws — those of the government and another imposed by unelected but powerful men. From marriage to property and even the wearing of jeans, all-male councils, or khap panchayats, have issued diktats that have controlled life in much of Haryana state. Now, in a sign of major reform coming to a corner of the country steeped in tradition, the state’s largest council has allowed couples from neighbouring villages, and even different castes, to marry.