A great sense of honour flows deeply in the blood of every Indian. Throughout history, honour has popped up repeatedly as a central theme in literature and life. The lyrics, ‘sir kata sakte hain lekin sir jhuka sakte nahi’ perfectly encapsulates the feelings of many “proud and honourable” Indians. These lines simply mean, ‘We can sacrifice our heads, but we cannot bow our heads’. So, we can only imagine the lengths certain people go to, just to protect their honour.
The phrase ‘honour killing’ is a tragic contradiction. There is no honour in taking a life to preserve reputation, pride, or patriarchal control. Yet, in many parts of India, young women and men are still murdered by their own families or communities for daring to marry outside prescribed boundaries of caste, religion, or clan and supposedly bringing shame or dishonour upon the family.
Patriarchy lies at the heart of this practice. Women’s bodies and choices are treated as carriers of family reputation, thus curtailing their autonomy under the disguise of honour. Feminist criminology highlights how such crimes reinforce male dominance and deny women their fundamental rights. Men, too, may become victims, especially when they marry outside caste lines, but the control over women’s sexuality remains the central theme of these murders.
Honour killings are acts of vengeance, usually committed by male family members against female family members, who are thought to have brought dishonour upon the family. A woman can be targeted by her family for a variety of reasons, like refusing to enter into an arranged marriage, seeking a divorce (even from an abusive husband), committing adultery or even being the victim of a sexual assault. The mere perception that a woman has behaved in a way that "dishonours" her family is enough to trigger an attack on her life.
Despite the seriousness of this problem, India lacks any specific legal framework addressing honour killings. They are prosecuted under general provisions of the Indian Penal Code, usually as murder or conspiracy. In Shakti Vahini v. Union of India (2018), the Supreme Court strongly condemned these killings and directed states to act against Khap Panchayats that encourage such violence. However, enforcement remains weak. Police often hesitate to intervene in “family matters,” and communities close ranks to protect perpetrators
This is the deplorable reality of India, a nation celebrated as the world’s largest democratic country. What kind of democracy permits the violent murder of individuals in the name of so called honour? What kind of democracy is this, where people cannot freely choose their life partner? In a country like India, where women are revered as Devi and Durga, the act of honour killing exposes the stark hypocrisy that exists in our society. We see that patriarchal values and regressive traditions continue to dominate society, reducing women from symbols of power to mere bearers of family reputation. These crimes strip victims of their fundamental rights and mock the very principles of freedom and equality as enshrined in our Constitution.
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