No 'chugli’ rule in Chhattisgarh village: Gram committee introduces Rs 5,000 fine

RAIPUR: Can a village regulate gossip of "he said–she said” at local chowks? In Medki, tucked inside Chhattisgarh’s Balod district, residents believe it can. In an unusual social experiment, the community has begun actively discouraging chugli to maintain a healthier, more harmonious environment, treating rumour not as idle talk but as a trigger for conflict. Determined to maintain a healthier social environment, a gram sabha committee in this village has decided to put a hard stop to chugli. The new rule is blunt: anyone found indulging in gossip that targets an individual can be fined Rs 5,000.“The one who spreads gossip often walks away. Others fight,” villagers said during the recent meeting, recalling how stray comments have repeatedly snowballed into confrontations. Village functionaries said the fine would apply to gossip in public places, at chowks, and during religious or social programmes. The message is clear: if you want to criticise, do it responsibly; if you want to complain, do it directly, but don’t turn the village into a rumour marketplace.Vedram Sahu, who signed the gram committee resolution said that any word spoken to hurt the sentiments and honour towards self respect, personal comments against each other will fall under the purview of chugli. If a resident brings it up to the gram committee member, a meeting will be convened and a decision for fine will be taken collectively. He said that the decision of 'no chugli' has been taken in the meeting on Thursday, to be implemented with immediate effect. Medki sits around 3 km from Balod district headquarters, close enough to the town’s buzz and social media’s spillover. Vishwakant Bhardwaj, panch representative, says the social fabric has changed: informal teasing now quickly turns into accusation; a casual remark becomes a “side” taken. In that atmosphere, gossip has begun to feel like a weapon. The new rule aims to slow that cycle down.The gram committee's decision, villagers said, isn’t meant to target any one person. Not their first crackdownThe gossip fine comes on top of an earlier clampdown on alcohol-related trouble. Village resident Chabeel Ram Sahu said Medki already follows a strict community line: selling alcohol or drinking in public spaces can invite a Rs 10,000 penalty. The anti-liquor stance, villagers say, began about five years ago when concerns over addiction and street-level disorder pushed the community to tighten informal enforcement.Now, the village is extending the same “community deterrence” approach to speech.TOI had recently reported about one of the consequences of village gossip in Gariyaband district where two women had brutally killed another woman friend accusing her of "character shaming" them by linking their names to men which they claimed damaged their reputation and led to frequent disputes in their households. Due to the growing resentment the women decided to “teach her a lesson”.