IN THE NAME OF HONOUR : WHEN TRADITIONS ARE
MORE IMPORTANT THAN LOVE AND LIFE “HAMARE GHAR KI IZZAT”

Marriage is treated as an integral foundation of a society that binds people together. It is regarded as a means to establish relations between two families, thus utmost care is taken to ensure maximum cultural compatibility between the two. Studies suggests that majority of people opt for arranged marriages in our society. Reasons are parents will, astrology, traditions, cultural and societal norms. That’s why people don’t prefer love marriage in India. It has been reported that people give into arranged marriages even if they initially wanted to marry their loved one.

According to the Hindu Marriage Act every citizen has their right to choose their life partner after attaining the age of majority. But still majority of adults don’t have right to chose their partner as per their wish for the sake of the honour. If someone goes against their parents wish and marry in the other caste or religion it is considered as dishonor to the family and this dishonor is sufficient to trigger an attack and kill their own kins. Honour killings are part of a community mentality. Large sections of society share traditional conceptions of family honour and approve of “honour” killings to preserve that honour.

Honour killing is an act of killing when the person marry a person disapproved by the family, does  inter-caste marriage which is against the wish and will of the family. The practice of honour killing is not new it has its ancient origins that exist in all most all religions. Honor killings are a very serious problem of violence especially against women which is often a result of strongly misogynistic views towards women. In Patriarchal societies, women are dependent first on their father and then on their husbands, whom they are expected to obey. Thus, they are discouraged from expressing independent desires or making decisions. In June 2012, a man chopped off his 20 year old daughter’s head with a sword in Rajasthan after learning that she was dating men; in March 2021, a father murders his 19-year-old daughter for eloping with her Dalit paramour in Dausa district, Rajasthan; in October 2021, a newly-wed inter-caste couple is murdered by the woman’s relatives in Fazilka district, Punjab. Such incidents shows a scary pictures of the crimes, committed in the name of honour, in reaction to the assertion of sexual rights and freedom of choice regarding love relationships.

A woman attempting to obtain a divorce or separation without the consent of the husband can also be a trigger for honor killings. In fact, the “social stigma” attached divorced women is so strong that most parents would rather see their daughters dead than to have them get a divorce. Thus, it is assumed that they don’t have a right to make decions for themselves. There are some others factors also that can lead to honour killing such as losing virginity before marriage and so on.

Women giving birth to a girl child is also seen as dishonor. In a glaring example from India-Geeta Mahour, and Neetu, , were horribly disfigured when Inderjeet Mahour, , drunkenly poured acid on his wife (Geeta) and two daughters (neetu) as they slept. He also targeted his younger daughter Krishna, who subsequently died, in the attack in Agra, Uttar Pradesh in India. The reason was “Honour”. He was upset that her wife hadn’t brought him a son. India is a patriarchal country-where birth of a male child is considered compulsory.
Men are also brought as a victim of honour killing. When the men violate the customs, the family members of the women or the male family members tend to join hands to kill him.

It is estimated that approximately 1000 people (both females and males) are killed every year in India owing to alleged honour killings due to its complex socio-cultural patterns. In June 2010, scrutinizing the increasing number of honour killings, the Supreme Court of India issued notices to the Central Government and six states including Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan to take preventive measures against honour killings
Khap panchayats which  exists in the form of union of villages are also responsible for  honour killings. Shakti Vahini v. Union of India, is a case in which the court directed the state governments and the police department to make a robust mechanism that can help the society to eliminate the crime of Honour Killing. On the 27th March,2018, the Supreme Court gave a landmark ruling in the Writ Petition (Civil) ,Shakti Vahini v Union of India & ors that any attempt by Khap Panchayats or any other assembly to scuttle or preventing two consenting adults from marrying is absolutely ‘illegal’ and laid down preventive, remedial and punitive measures in this regard. The court’s judgment came on a petition filed by a non-government organisation (NGO) Shakti Vahini in 2010. The petitioner had sought directions to States and the Centre to put in place a plan to curb honour killings. The court held, “the criminal cases pertaining to honour killing or violence to the couple(s) shall be tried before the designated Court/Fast Track Court earmarked for that purpose. The trial must proceed on day to day basis to be concluded preferably within six months from the date of taking cognizance of the offence. We may hasten to add that this direction shall apply even to pending cases. The concerned District Judge shall assign those cases, as far as possible, to one jurisdictional court so as to ensure expeditious disposal thereof.” The judgment also says that Khap panchayats should not take the law into their hands and cannot assume the character of a law implementing agency for that authority has not been conferred upon them under any law. Khaps are caste and community based assemblies – usually comprising elderly men from the Jat community – in northern parts of India that have a say on several issues, including marriage, dowry and the education of children, based on traditional customs.

There is no separate law to punish those found guilty of such murders, and prosecutions are usually among various sections of the Indian Penal Code for homicide and culpable homicide not amounting to murder. Several efforts have been made to create a separate law dealing with honour killings but they have been unsuccessful so far. Apart from Sections 300, 302 murder and its punishment, Section 304, 307 attempt to commit murder Section 120A & 120 B Criminal conspiracy, Common Intention section 34 & 35 are also explored to assess the act of murder from killing.

The main reason contributing to this heinous crime is the mentality of people ,that they are not ready to accept the fact  their childrens can marry in accordance with their own choices be it in their own caste, religion or outside their caste or religion. The caste system is a curse on the nation .Such acts of violence or threats or harassment are wholly illegal .There is nothing honourable in such killings. Honour Killings are heinous and shameful acts of murder committed by brutal, feudal-minded persons. Every person has right to equality and right to life which includes right to marry with their choice thus violating Articles 14, 15, 19,21 and 39 of the Indian constitution..  Once a person became a major, they could marry any consenting person of their choice. There is a need to understand that love marriage are not a sin for society rather if you force someone to get married to that person whom he/she does not like then the person would not be able to lead a happy life. Laws are required to be stricter to tackle these killings and punish them who take laws in their own hand and take away the life of the innocent young adults. Also, it is   high time for the khaps themselves to reform themselves with the changing times.