Love is a possibility that we all strive towards. Love is personal, love is political. But love is not perceived to be a personal act in the patriarchal society where other factors like a person’s class, caste, religion, and gender weigh in. Suddenly, it becomes everybody’s business. According to some ‘progressive’ family members, a love marriage is allowed as long as they have attached their ‘terms and conditions’ to it. Here, the ‘terms and conditions’ simply refer to ‘same caste and religion’. Whereas, the less progressive families shun the idea of love marriages altogether, bringing in the discourse of family honour and tradition which is just another way of controlling a person’s life and choices. Going against these prescribed rules, results in the abhorrent custom of ‘honour killings’ that still persists in India.
‘Honour killing’ is the deliberate act of killing in the name of honour, of the ‘izzat’ of a family. It constitutes a ruthless act of murder carried out by family members and relatives of those who either marry or attempt to marry, against the preferences of their family, in accordance with their personal choices. These heinous killings are always justified by “claiming that the victim has brought dishonour upon the family name or prestige”. In a society which is guided by patriarchal norms, the idea of an acceptable love between two people is not predicated on a love that abstains from causing hurt or abuse to the other. Here, an acceptable love, or rather, an acceptable marriage, is based on a love between a man and a woman within one’s own community or a forced love between two strangers chosen by their respective family members. The factors that contribute to these killings are multifaceted in nature, ranging from having a pre-marital relationship to marrying within the same gotra or outside of one’s caste. Even after 77 years of independence, people are deprived of the right to choose their partners.
The mentality of maintaining the ‘purity’ of one’s family, thriving on the ideologies of Brahminical patriarchy, is the major driving force of these cold-blooded murders. This notion of purity comes from the prescribed codes that govern the caste-based society the product of which is graded inequality. Caste creates a “separatist feeling—the feeling of being aliens”. The shame that is associated with these events are caused by the complex divisions and norms existing in the society. If a person marries within one’s gotra, it is seen as an incestuous marriage.
If they marry outside their caste, it is viewed as affecting the so-called purity of the caste as the entire system of caste is driven by the notions of inferiority and superiority. The stringent rules of a caste-based society prevent inter-caste marriages even though the constitution provides the right to exercise one’s life and choice. In India, the public sphere is guided by two opposing authorities as Aniruddha Mahajan writes in Round Table India. There is a formal and an informal authority. While the formal is the state and the constitution, the informal authority usually comprises the ‘khap panchayats’ which has no legal basis.
The conservatism of khap panchayats and their decisions which always stand against women, controlling their sexuality and being at every single facet of life, gives a strong support to these murders and are almost always responsible for ushering them into action. Khaps are basically clans that share their lineage with a common ancestor. The major function of khaps today, as explained in an article is to settle disputes in an area and to ensure that proper social and religious customs are being followed. Khaps have a huge influence in many rural areas in India. The verdicts of the khap panchayats especially threaten the young girls by questioning and restricting their personal choices, driving them to their end.
In most cases the victims of these ‘honour killings’ are women, although men are also targeted, mostly men from marginalised castes, by the social groups that are high on their fanaticism. However, in the said patriarchal discourse, it is often always the woman who is forced to bear the burden of the family honour and prestige. The body of a woman in this male dominated society is not treated as her own. It is seen as a property that is to be owned, first of the family that she is born into and later of the family that she is married into. The sexuality of a woman is constantly policed by the so-called agents of morality around her. The body of a woman is reduced to a singular organ, that is, the uterus, which needs to be controlled and dominated. It is viewed as an object to be conquered, as a site of ceaseless exploitation and dominance.
How can there be any remotest sense of honour in these ‘honour killings? The sick mentality of male dominance results in a gruesome act of murder, the loss of an innocent life. The hatred that spews in the heteropatriarchal discourse is so deep rooted that it starts viewing the very tender notion of love as a crime. This hatred not only expunges the lovers, but also puts an end to the love and affection towards the family member by placing their status and reputation above everything. A report by The Tribune delves into the gory details of one of the recent killings that took place in Gurugram under the pretext of preserving the family’s honour. The lines read — “While the mother and brother pinned down Anjali, her father allegedly strangulated her to death…Sources claimed that family has proudly confessed the crime and has no remorse.” In most cases, the perpetrators do not show any sense of shame or guilt in committing these crimes. There is, instead, a great amount of pride, that they feel because the sick idea behind this is that of teaching a lesson to and taking revenge on those who have disgraced the family name, no matter who that person is.
The thought process of immediate kins and neighbours often works in sync in these cases, allying with the accused, against the victim. Where does the idea of family and its honour disappear when such violence are inflicted on the family member? Here, hatred takes over love, licking it with the flames of violence, allaying it piece by piece, till the only thing left behind are the ashes.
The cases of ‘honour killings’ are grossly underreported and are categorised under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) as either murders, kidnappings, or injuries. This vagueness leads to a difficulty in determining the root cause of these crimes. A report by the Dalit Human Rights Defenders Network (DHRDNet) explores how there is almost little to zero legislative or social remedy for these innumerable cases of honour killings that keep on surfacing. Even though the law is designed for the people, the power stays with a select few in the hegemonic structure of society. As per an article in the The New Indian Express, the data recorded by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) stated that in India the number of honour killings reported was 25 each in 2019 and 2020, and 33 in 2021. In fact, between the years 2017 and 2019, around 145 incidents of honour killings were reported. However, there are many such cases that have not yet come to light owing to the lack of accessibility, reporting, and other social factors. In most cases, the neighbours and families successfully bury these gruesome acts of violence.
The people that justify these killings under the pretext of morality, fail to realise that morality is a fluid and subjective notion. They fail to question the forces working behind these norms. What needs to be asked is that who dictates these moral codes of conduct? It becomes pertinent to dissect the layers of social behaviours dictated by morality. The CJI DY Chandrachud pinpointed this very aspect of morality in his speech. He highlighted that morality is dictated by dominant groups which overpower the weaker ones. In this social set up, as DY Chandrachud points out, even if the consent of the weaker and vulnerable groups is attained, it tends to be a myth. Against the force of love that unites, stands a violent force of brahmanical patriarchy, dictating the code of morality that governs the caste-based society which thrives by dividing people.
About the author
Saundarya is a Junior Research Fellow, pursuing M.Phil. in English from the University of Delhi. She researches Dalit literature and culture and explores the politics of marginal literature and its representation. She has an M.A. in English from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi.
In her spare time, she experiments with her brush and paints anything and everything.
