Honor Killings

For the past few days, the capital’s most read newspaper, The Delhi Times¸ has been abuzz with a story involving an “honor killing.” Two brothers and their friend were accused of killing their two sisters and one of their sister’s husbands. Why? Because they had put a stigma on their family’s reputation. One of the girls had eloped with the man who was to become her future husband. As if that was not bad enough, they happened to be of the same gotra, which is similar to a clan (meaning that they could be distantly, distantly related). The other sister had wanted to pursue a modeling career in the city. Seeing as they lived in a small town, the idea of a girl working in a big city was unthinkable. To save the family’s reputation and to ensure that other girls didn’t do the same thing, the two brothers and their friend shot and killed the two sisters and their brother in-law.

But this isn’t the most surprising or shocking part of the story. The most shocking part of the story is that the townspeople believe that the triple murder was necessary, and the murderers should be freed. One of the village elders actually said that if his daughter had done the same, he would have killed her too. Each and every village elder (all of them were male) that was interviewed agreed with the idea of an “honor killing.” This town is located only five minutes from the busiest part of the capitol city, but these conservative, traditional values are still strongly enforced.

This incident sheds light on another issue with modern Indian society. The younger generation uses the West as a “guide to life,” while the older generation continues to look to traditional Indian teachings as proper guides. While not always contradictory, in many ways, the two cultures clash. Something as superficial as wearing shorts is thought of as okay in one culture, while in the other culture, it is a sign of being a “loose.” Even deeper is the role of women in society. Only recently has the West come to terms with women being equal to men in society (although some barriers still remain), but in India, this social equality is yet to come. A women’s sphere is still considered to be in the house, while it is a man that is supposed to be the breadwinner for the family. The younger generation is desperately trying to change this image, and more and more Indian girls have entered the workforce. And that is where the divide between the older generation and the younger generation comes in. A divide that is growing each day, and if not reconciled, may see more incidents occurring such as the aforementioned one.