People's Democracy
(Weekly Organ of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)
No. 40
October 06, 2013
|
Vol. XXXVII
No. 40 October 06, 2013 |
HARYANA Dishonour
Killings:
Need to Deconstruct ‘Honour’ Concept Inderjit
Singh THE recent
cold-blooded murder of Nidhi, an adult girl,
and Dharmender, an adult boy, on September 18, 2013, in
Garnawathi village near
Rohtak has once again generated a media debate over the
unabated crimes like
murders in the name of so called honour in Haryana and
other parts of AUDACITY
OF
THE
CRIMINALS In the meantime
there have of course been several other
cases of ‘honour’ killing --- dozens of them reported and
many more unreported.
For instance, two girls were killed only within a week of
the Garnawathi
killing. One of the fateful victims was a girl who had
reportedly eloped with a
boy from Bapa village in Yamunanagar. She was traced,
brought back, poisoned
and then strangulated by her father and mother on
September 22. However, if the
recent Garnawathi incident has evoked
more anguish in particular, this is for the reason that
worst kind of cruelty was
perpetrated in the crime and, moreover, the perpetrators
of the crime and
certain other regressive forces (including many educated
persons as well) publicly
defended their misdeed with utmost audacity. Another notable
development in this context is the big
spurt in the activities of some caste panchayats, and
their prompt reactions.
Today, these illegal bodies are desperately seeking to
obviate the main issue
--- that of right to life --- by mischievously repeating
the demand for an amendment
to the Hindu Marriage Act 1955 (HMA). According to their
twisted logic, it is
this act that is the reason for the ‘honour’ killings, as
it leaves for the
family members and parents with no other 'option' but to
kill their kinsmen for
their 'sin' of developing a relationship within the same gotra and/or the same village. The khap
panchayats have also been attributing the crimes against
women to the attire
they wear, like jeans etc, and some of these
self-appointed custodians of
cultural and moral values have also declared a ban on
wearing jeans and using
mobile phones. Some khap
leaders even
went to the extent of inspecting some girls schools in
Jhajjar district on
October 26 last year in order to make sure that their
diktats were obediently
and meekly enforced. One may note that this very kind of
absurdity --- of
blaming the victims themselves for these crimes --- was
publicly displayed in
the aftermath of December 16 gang rape and murder in IDENTITY
POLITICS One important
factor, however, still remains missing
in the entire debate though it has a definite bearing upon
the issue of ‘honour’
killings. It is that of identity politics being nakedly
resorted to by most of
the so called mainstream political parties in Haryana and
other states in the
recent past. What has been going
on during recent years is the
caste consolidation as an electoral strategy, in a vulgar
competitive mode by
various political outfits and other opportunist forces. It
was this factor of
caste identity politics which was subsequently converted
by the RSS-VHP into a communal
flare-up and thus played a role in the Muzaffar Nagar
carnage in UP recently.
It is not just by chance that most of the self-styled
caste bodies have been
allotted large plots of prime lands at almost all district
headquarters in
Haryana by the successive governments in the name of dharamshalas. Interestingly, the size of
such lands as well as their
location depends on the social and political clout a
particular caste enjoys.
The agitation for reservation for the Jats and other
castes is not that much
motivated over the concern for the unemployed youth as it
is aimed at caste
consolidation for strengthening their social domination.
The increasing
instances of attacks on dalits and sexual assaults on
women too are not
unconnected to such pernicious political game that is at
play these days. The incidents of
honour killings, sexual assaults on
women and the persecution of dalits and minorities have
some definite common
links with the perpetuation of identity politics and these
are thus logical
fallouts of caste consolidation as a political agenda. It
can be seen to be gaining
more aggressive postures, particularly in regard to
getting patronage from the
ruling party of the day. The regressive
agenda of caste consolidation has paid
more political dividends in recent years through the use
of gotra as an
emotional tool by caste
panchayats. It is precisely due to the gotra
factor that the caste or khap
panchayats are deliberately posing same-gotra
marriages as a major threat to the socio-cultural
hierarchy giving dominance to
a particular community. In the Garnawathi incident too,
the issue of same-gotra
and same-village marriages has
been used as a shield in order to defend the ignominy of a
most cruel act of
murder. But if one goes by
their specious argument, why was Ved
Pal Moan lynched in Singhwal IMPOSITION
OF A
CUSTOM Thus the demand of
amendment of the HMA for prohibition
of same-gotra
and same-village
marriages would amount to the imposition of a social
custom being followed by a
small community on those regions and communities which
have been following
different customs about marriage and other social matters.
Moreover, one may
say, a custom is not something eternal; it keeps
constantly changing as various
social strata, communities, families and individuals try
to adapt to changing
life conditions. Further, how can anyone force a
prospective couple to marry according
to the HMA only and not under the Special Marriage Act? It is a matter of
fact that in large parts of Haryana
people of some communities do not prefer to marry within
the gotra as
they have the cultural notion
of gotra
brotherhood. Traditionally,
boys and girls of a village community or those belonging
to the same gotra
are presumed to be brothers and
sisters. It is another matter that cases of rapes within
the gotra and
within the village are not
uncommon. But the caste panchayats, and often even the
elected panchayats, not
only tolerate such cases of rape but even they work
overtime to prevent the
aggrieved side from going to the police. They are mostly
found defending the
culprits while compelling the victims and their families
to either reach a
compromise at the level of police or even turn hostile
during the trial in the
court. Surprisingly, these desperate attempts to prevent
the rape cases from being
registered in the police are also made on the same plea
--- in the name of saving
the ‘honour’ of the village or caste. The caste panchayats
also know it well that the amendment
they demand to the Hindu Marriage Act is not only
unwarranted but totally
impractical. While the present legislation is valid for
the whole country,
marriage customs are not uniform even in Haryana, what to
speak of the entire
country, insofar as the so called unacceptability of the
same-gotra and
same-village marriages is
concerned. A NEW
LAW NEEDED AGAINST
‘HONOUR’
CRIMES No doubt a separate
law is required today, but it must
be against the crimes in the name of ‘honour.’ There is
certainly a justification
for such legislation as there is always a dearth of eye
witnesses and other
vital evidence needed for conviction of the accused who
are often none other
than the closest relatives of the deceased themselves. It
is highly
objectionable that the Haryana government is opposing the
proposed draft
legislation against ‘honour’ crimes mooted by the central
law ministry and
supported by women organisations, with the AIDWA having
made an important
contribution to it by submitting a comprehensive draft. Thus the outcry from
the khaps etc regarding amendment to the Hindu
Marriage Act is nothing
but a ploy to protect the patriarchal hegemony and the
status quo with which are
linked the deep rooted vested interests of the dominating
strata. Raising the
bogey of same-gotra
marriages and posing
it as a big threat is to shamelessly defend the gruesome
murders being
committed in the name of ‘honour.’ It is true that
moral degeneration under the
neo-liberal dispensation and its philosophy of blind
consumerism is pervading
fast in our society. But this can be countered only by
alternative healthy and progressive
social values and movements, and not by strengthening the
caste and other
regressive platforms. The false notion of family or
community honour must be
deconstructed with the help of notions of real honour
which lie, among other
things, in respecting women and putting an end to
discrimination against dalits
and minority communities. What is really needed is a
powerful social movement
in Haryana and other regions against social evils like
casteism, female
foeticide, dowry, alcoholism, drug addiction,
vulgarisation of culture, and for
equal rights of women in parental property and in the
wider society.
