Recently, there has been a spate of honour killings and it has been a burning issue for sometime in India. On one hand we claim that we are progressing by leaps and bounds and becoming an economic Superpower which is more often represented by a so called "shining India” and such other fantastic and well coined phrases while on the other hand it is a matter of shame that we have the laws of Medieval India supporting such heinous crimes still existing in our society not only in rural India but also in metropolitan cities like Delhi.
Perpetrators of honour killing have become bold and are killing their own family members and loved ones in broad daylight without any remorse. What is still worse is that the community they belong to seems to support them and hold them in high esteem for saving the honour of their family and community. Numerous such barbaric acts of honour killing have at last forced the government to consider amending laws to award stringent punishment to offenders involved in honour killing.
Honour killing is defined as a death that is awarded to a woman of the family as well as her paramour for marrying against the parents' wishes, or for having extramarital or premarital relationships, marrying within the same gotra or outside one's caste or marrying a cousin. Sociologists believe that the reason why honour killings continue to take place is because of the continued rigidity of the caste system. Hence the fear of losing their caste status through which they gain many benefits makes them commit this heinous crime. The other reason why honour killings are taking place is because the mentality of people has not changed and they just cannot accept that marriages can take place in the same gotra or outside one's caste or that their sub-ordinates, the girls who obey their each and every order meekly dare to choose their own husbands.
Honour killing has found a great supporter in Khap Panchayat which has great social and political importance. The Khap was a system of social administration and organization in the republics of North-western Indian states such as Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh since ancient times. Khap is a term for a social - political grouping and used in a geographical sense. It is an irony that even in the 21st century the age old tradition, customs and social administration like khap panchayat are so powerful and revered. According to the medieval tradition people living in adjoining villages belong to the same clan, regardless of their gotras, and are ruled by the principle of brotherhood. Marriage between two people in adjoining villages is thus thought of as incest, and prohibited by the Panchayat. The Khap Panchayats are demanding a change in Section 5 of Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, to disallow marriage between couples from the same gotra and living in the same village. Kangaroo village councils in such States execute 'death sentences' and other acts of violence with impunity even as the hapless administration looks on.
What can we do to prevent such a heartrending thing from happening? Firstly, the mentality of the people has to change. And when we say that the mentality has to change, we mean to say that parents should accept their children's wishes regarding marriage as it is they who have to lead a life with their life partners and if they are not satisfied with their life partner, they will lead a horrible married life which might even end in suicide. Secondly, we need to have stricter laws to deal with these kinds of killings as this is a crime which cannot be pardoned because humans do not have the right to write down death sentences of innocent fellow humans.
