NOIDA SUBURB saw the gruesome killing of a 16-year-old girl on Monday by her own three brothers. They were allegedly frustrated by the fact that their sister was in a relationship with a boy in the neighbourhood and had to hear bad comments from the residents around. The brothers, as reported by samachar.com also objected to the relationship. The ‘honour killing’, as it is infamously called, happened between December 28 and 29. Hitting her on the head with a metal rod, they throttled her when she refused to give up her relationship with the boy. This is nothing new as killing for honour is very much prevalent in India. Things like this truly bring out the fact that India still has a long way to go before it can be called a developed country. A country that is still developing should have people who are open to ideas and are aware of the happenings in the rest of the world.

Religion is a big cause that instigates people to go to any lengths. The saving of the honour of the family name and the religion is more precious to people and they can go to any lengths and even kill their own daughters. To cite an example, we can talk about the two Muslim women in an Uttar Pradesh town, 40 km east of Delhi, who killed their daughters after they eloped with Hindu Bihari labourers. The victims probably had inkling about the matter as they sought police protection after they returned to their hometown but they eventually lost their lives.

When the cases and the headlines were mounting in 2011 regarding the daily cases of honour killing, a Panchayat in Bhatinda openly criticised the concept of honour killing. They even passed a resolution stating that they would fight tooth and nail against the people who are involved in honour killings. Although in a sea of people who support the ritual, this might be a tear drop but at least a step has been taken towards the positive side.

Notorious Khap Panchayats have been openly passing death sentences against the men and women who dare to marry outside their castes or against their parents’ wishes and ironically police and the administration in the states like Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab have only been mute spectators. Successive governments have failed to curb the practice as they can’t afford to lose their votes, which are decided by the elders, heading these panchayats. In such circumstances, love-birds who marry surreptitiously are left with just one option – leave their homes and settle in other cities.

Many would think that the ritual of honour killing or saving the honour happens in the rural India but when people look at international media, there are reports of people killing girls in the name of honour in the United Kingdom and the United States as well. However, mostly all the people involved are either NRIs or at least they have Asian links.