Demand for separate law to curb 'honour killings'

By Nakshab Khan, New Delhi, Nov 4 : As 'honour killings' in states like Haryana and Uttar Pradesh continue to shock, voices calling for action are getting louder. Experts say a separate law is needed to curb the social evil, often backed by caste-based panchayats that hand out death penalties to those defying their diktat.

Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Brinda Karat rues that such killings in the name of tradition have not been recognised as a separate category of crime in the country.

"If you really want to put an end to such violent killings, then nothing short of introducing a separate law to deal with these so-called honour killings will work," Karat told IANS.

She said the conviction rate in such cases is extremely poor because the caste-based panchayats involved in these killings make sure that there is no witness or evidence. She also alleged that other political parties have maintained a deafening silence on the issue for fear of losing their vote bank.

According to the 'khap' (caste-based) panchayats -- which are strongest among the Jat community in Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh -- marriage within the same gotra (clan) is treated as incest. These extra-constitutional panchayats have been handing down "death sentences" to consenting adults who marry within the gotra, saying this is to maintain "honour".

Since the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) does not list honour killings as a separate crime, there are no statistics on these killings. But there are reports aplenty.

To cite one example, in July this year, 21-year-old Ved Pal was lynched by a mob in Singhwal village of Haryana on the diktat of a khap panchayat when he had gone to pick up his wife Sonia. Ved Pal had married Sonia, who belonged to the same gotra, four months earlier, against the wishes of her family.

Congress spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Jayanti Natarajan favours stringent punishment for those involved in such brutal killings but stops short of advocating a new law that can deal with honour killings.

"As far as the need for a separate law to address these so-called honour killings is concerned, it is for the home ministry to examine the issue and take appropriate steps on whether to bring a special law or not," Natarajan says.

Talking about the mindset behind such killings, eminent sociologist Imtiaz Ahmad says people are tied to customs and feel proud to be associated with them and if they are broken they react violently. "The communities are not able to reconcile with the changing trend in society and they are not ready to follow the change."

If these killings are to be reined in, the government should bring in a law to restrict the rights of the panchayats, Ahmad says. "The government has millions of rupees to spend on various projects, but they don't have a penny to invest in advertisement campaigns to educate society," he rues.

On Oct 5, in another case of suspected honour killing, a 17-year-old girl was killed by her brother in Mawana town of Meerut district of Uttar Pradesh for having an affair with a boy.

Former member of National Commission for Women (NCW) Manju S. Hembrom also advocates a special law to contain the killing of young consenting couples on the diktats of caste or khap panchayats.

She says the NCW should approach the government to push for a special law that should also give more teeth to the commission to curb such malpractices.

Meanwhile, the federations of Jat institutions, an umbrella organisation of Jat organisations, has decided to organise a meeting Nov 22 in Chandigarh to check honour killings in the community.

--IANS