The thought of honour and shame and their use as justification for violence and killing is not unique to any one culture or religion. Indeed, honour and honour-based violence are reflected in every society primarily rural societies. Honour killings have been known since ancient times, where senior male within a household, retained the right to kill an unmarried but sexually active daughter or an adulterous wife. Honour killing in India has its origin since ancient ages where people committed homicide of their female family member and portray such murders as an act done to protect the honour of the family. Honour killings has emerged mostly as gender based crime and has been used as a tool to retain patriarchal dominance in the society over women folk. But, this does not mean that the man has been left completely untouched by this evil. There are also incidents of killing of men folk mostly of the down trodden segment of the society who are involved with the girls of the influential families and of upper castes. A typical trend in honour killings has been observed and that is killing of the girl in each single case. If boy belongs to lower caste, then both boy and girl are culled to kill. But if the boy of higher caste no girl of lower caste, there are chances of boy escaping the wrath of social lords. Normally, it is noticed that daughters, daughter-in-laws, wives, etc. are killed mostly for reasons like talking to another man, involving in adulterous relationships, pre-marital affairs, marrying on their own will, etc.
The chief reasons behind honour killings are patriarchy, dominant caste system and caste endogamy. The other reasons noticed in the society for honour killing are highly stratified social order, mental outlook, khap panchayats, skewed sex ratio, inter caste marriages, absence of socio-political movements, lack of intent of government and government institutions and non consideration of present day socio-economic development which provided an opportunity for mingling of people of either sex at work places, educational institutions and new urban dwellings. The roots of honour killing lies in the view that honour of man are linked with his woman and can be hampered because of her conduct. It is because of this notion that they started putting restrictions on woman. Woman and her sexuality became the property of man. Later, this idea was associated with caste system or clan or gotra and thus gave rise to defiance to inter-caste marriage or to marriages done within same gotra. Most of the owner killing cases are associated with marriages. Any change in conduct of society is seen as bringing down the honour of family, tribe or community and only way that seem possible to people to regain such honour is sacrifice of the member of their own family in the name of honour killing.
The social order is highly imperious and advocates for alien treatment with the other castes and segments particularly for the matrimony predominantly in rural areas but the neo-urbanisation is not free from this malaise and infectious leanings of caste and gotras. Almost all marriages whether arranged or so called self choice are solemnised within caste. Egalitarian segments of the society although has broken this myth but here too barrier of economic consideration is profoundly existing. Meaning thereby economic status acts as a newly constructed caste.
Since new economic activities necessitated the compulsion of essential interaction in the new social milieu of the men-women, boys-girls at work place or institutions or residential dwellings. More people are now coming out of their homes including women and girls of all sections of the society to work or for some other activities and this new advent has provided opportunities to mingle with each other freely in the cross section of human oriented activities. Popularity of social media and its vehement use as a tool of communication and entertainment has bridged the gap significantly and brought the people more closer in the faceless mould. It is apparent that social interactions give rise to the newer possibilities of the man-woman contacts and development of relationships. Amongst this large section, a few couple decide to enter in the matrimonial bond which is quite natural which is not acceptable to the patriarchal and feudal mindset of the society. They are pursuance either to break the relationship or ready to be sacrificed their lives. This social outlook bred the eloping from home and seek the protection from courts and police. Some couple get success in getting the protection but most fell to the prey of the self proclaimed social leaders or khaps or the parents in the garb of protecting family honour and mercilessly killed. Despite socio-economic growth, the feudal mindset has not changed. Every now and then news of such extra-judicial killings are becoming headlines of the newspapers. Interestingly, High Courts have fixed benches and days for such protection cases but until social change in terms of accepting such marriage is not happens, courts alone can’t break much ice.
Numerous girls have been killed in the name of honour of family or caste over the years in Haryana and other northern states but the demon of honour killings is still not satiated. It raises its hood when sense such dissemination of love in two consenting hearts. Recently, lives of three youths in Kaithal and Karnal in the name of honour have been snatched. Haryana is infamous for such gory killings and this monster has raised its sting once again and taken away the three precious young lives. As discussed above, the genesis of this criminal mindset rest in the highly intolerance, irrational social behaviour and eulogised thought of family honour. These two incidents in a single day are indicative of how our social system is regressive and feudalistic which permits the parents to turn monster for their own children and not hesitate to take away their lives. The reasons behind such atrocious thinking are absence of social discourse, no freedom to an individual to choose the mate or life partner and no fear of law. These two incidents depict the true mindset of society. The problem of barbaric thought is more societal than legal and needs to be addressed primarily at the level of society; besides taking stringent panel action against the criminals. Its high time for the social organisations and the government to curb this criminal mindset emphatically. But, there is no significant voice against the honour killings in the society. Will the Alambardar of the society or political leaders of all hues think over it? Will this medieval mindset change or take away more lives of the girls or couple who innocently involve in the love as the most sane feeling of a human?
