Provoked by three cases of couples from the same village marrying each other, a “social panchayat” in Arya Nagar village of Hisar district has given a call for social boycott of such couples and those who support them.The social panchayat adopted a resolution against love marriages, announcing that any couple marrying in violation of prevailing social norms would not be allowed to reside in the village.The social panchayat was attended by many villagers and took the decision on Jattvibeday. Members of the panchayat described such marriages as a growing social evil. Panchayat representatives, the sarpanch and several prominent villagers attended the meeting, sources said.Hanuman Verma, a local resident and BJP leader who attended the meeting, said the entire village unanimously decided to prohibit such marriages and not allow any couple violating prevailing social norms to live in the village. “A wrong precedent is being set in our village. As we consider all daughters (unmarried women) of the village as our own daughters, we regard them as sisters,” he said.Verma said the meeting was called at the behest of the family of a woman who tied the knot with a youth of the same village. The woman’s family had objected to the marriage, following which the entire village gathered and took these measures with the aim of discouraging and preventing such marriages, he said.The village sarpanch, Rattan Singh, said it was a decision of the social panchayat and that all villagers were unanimous in supporting it.“There have been three such instances in which daughters of the village married youths from the same village. However, the latest marriage, which took place a couple of days ago, triggered a reaction among villagers. The couple stayed in the district administration-run safe house for runaway couples in Hisar town for some days,” he said, adding that such marriages were considered to be in conflict with prevailing social norms.Members of the panchayat said the decision was aimed at preventing such cases from increasing and sensitising youngsters to what they described as the social consequences of such marriages.Some natives of the village have also shared posts about the panchayat’s decision on social media.Hisar SP Siddhant Jain said there was no threat to the newly married couple as the girl’s family had also assured the police that they had no objection to the marriage and that the couple could live wherever they wished.A khap panchayat in Jind district last month also took a similar decision, resolving to socially boycott couples who enter into matrimonial alliances in conflict with prevailing social norms.These include marriages between couples who are residents of the same village, belong to neighbouring villages or belong to the same ‘gotra’, as boys and girls are considered brothers and sisters under age-old social customs.Some youngsters, however, opposed the decision on social media, terming it an outdated taboo.