Eliminate the shame of India called honour killings
A case of honour killing in Thotli village in Karnataka’s Kolar district, where a father killed his 19-year-old daughter last week for having a relationship with a man from a “lower caste”, led to a livid Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announcing strict legal action against perpetrators of such horrendous crimes. However, as has been proved so far, honour killing is not a crime that can be deterred by existing laws. These laws deal with murder, not honour killing.
Generally, honour killings target women and girls. In most cases, the perpetrators are the victim’s family members, who commit the crime due to her relationship or marriage with a man outside their “boundaries”. They aim “to protect the honour” of their family, caste or community. This is the most
abhorrent outcome of patriarchy. These crimes often have the blessings of bodies representing certain clans, like the Khap Panchayats in Haryana which provide extra-constitutional blessings for honour killings. They ignore Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Indian Constitution: while the first deals with the right to equality, the second disallows discrimination on the grounds of religion, race, caste, gender and place of birth, and the third deals with the protection of life and personal liberty.
Many cases of honour killings are viewed under the umbrella of “murder”. The absence of a law which specifically deals with honour killings means these crimes are tried under sections of the Indian Penal Code dealing with murder, like 299–304 (murder and culpable homicide), 107–11 (abetting murder) and 120A and 120B (criminal conspiracy). The beastly crime of honour killings will continue unabated because there is no space for guilt in this crime—it instead fosters pride among the killers for “protecting the honour” of the family, caste or community. Although these crimes are increasing in India, there is no precise data on the number of cases in the country. While the National Crime Records Bureau reports only one case each in 2017 and 2018 and 25 in 2019, Evidence, an NGO working to end honour killings, revealed that 180 cases of honour killing took place in Tamil Nadu alone in the five years preceding 2019.
While India may take pride in feats like landing on the Moon to signify scientific progress, crimes like honour killings will continue to be our shame at the social level.