What is honour? The dictionary defines it as respect, reputation and moral behaviour. So it’s amply obvious that there is no honour in ‘honour killing’. But when it comes to inter-caste or inter-faith unions, the term is used with a distorted sense of moral outrage. It’s deeply ironic in a country where it’s claimed that the divine is in every being.
The verdict in the case of Pranay, a Dalit murdered for marrying upper-caste girl Amrutha in Telangana, was delivered after a delay of six and a half years. The court sent one of the convicts, a contract killer, to the gallows and sentenced six others including the girl’s paternal uncle to life in prison. Maruthi Rao, the main accused and the girl’s father, died by suicide in March 2020. One hopes the judgement would bring some closure to the bereaved family.
There have been other such killings in the state since Pranay’s in 2018. But the problem is not Telangana’s alone. Cases have been reported in Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu too. Official data is not a faithful reflection of the grave reality because, in several cases, family members turn hostile in court. The National Law Commission in 2012 had proposed a law—but no political party seems willing to pursue it. Civil society groups have also been demanding a stringent legislation.
A law could indeed be a deterrent; but it cannot be the only solution. The Supreme Court in various judgements such as Shakti Vahini (2018) ruled that honour killing cannot be allowed to happen and clarified that an individual’s choice is protected under Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution. It even issued directions to identify districts where such killings are rampant, provide protection to couples and open a helpline. Not many states, including Telangana, have taken the issue seriously enough. They need to follow the court directives first. Since caste is a malaise that has deep roots in every walk of life, its complete erasure may not be imminent. But governments, civil society groups, political parties and religious heads can at least try to sensitise people to the fact that all are born equal and no caste is any less than another. We must remember that there is honour in love, not in violence.