Behind the veil of honour and culture !

A few days back, I got an sms from a friend which read like this: "Once upon a time, there was an island where all the feelings lived together. One day, there was a storm in the sea and the island was about to drown. All the feelings were scared; but 'love' built a boat to escape. All the feelings boarded the boat except 'ego'. 'Love' tried and tried, but 'ego' did not move. Everyone asked 'love' to leave him back and move. But 'love' was meant to 'love'; she remained with 'ego' and drowned! 'Love' died because of 'Ego'".

I remembered this message when I heard the incident of Manoj and Babli being ordered to be killed by the 'Khap Panchayat' for same 'gotra' marriage in Haryana.

It is disgraceful that in a democratic country like India this can happen. This is barbaric and ruthless killing in the name of honour. There is no honour in killing innocent people just because they loved each other and wanted to marry. The civil society must condemn this act in the strictest terms and not allow this medieval practice to continue.

It questions strength of our liberal values as a nation and as a society. India has emerged from one of the oldest civilizations of the world. Gandhi is revered the world over for his teachings of nonviolence. Buddha was born this very land. Today, we boast ourselves as one of the very few liberal democratic countries! We must carry on the tradition.

We should respect people's and community's wisdom and culture, but things which are not acceptable in a civilized society must go. Traditions like 'Sati' and 'child marriage' were in vogue at a point of time, but people like Raja Rammohan Roy fought against these crusades and they are no more accepted. The same way, this must go now.

It is shameful that some of the leaders are sympathizing with the Khap's cause. This politics of vote banks is disgusting, to say the least. The leaders are supposed to lead the people in the forward direction and not backwards. They must not bow down to the pressures from some sections of the society. The same holds true for the judges who decide these matters. Recently, after deciding against the 'Khap Panchayat', the judge got a threat call and requested a transfer. It only encourages the perpetrators of such heinous crime. The judges too should not show their fear in public like this. We must resist these forces at any cost. The Chief Justice of India was right when he appealed for the need for showing greater tolerance and acceptance for lovers (He actually said that one do not check out the other's 'gotra' before falling in love).

Thousands of young people become victims of honour killing every year through out the world; India is among the top countries in this list. In India, it is not anything new. It's very much prevalent in different parts of the country, mostly in Bihar, U.P., Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan. What is more perplexing is that it's prevalent among the middle class and so-called educated section too. In 2001, a middle class family from Punjab settled in Canada did the same to their daughter for falling in love with a Kabaddi player from Punjab and marrying. In this case, the mother herself ordered the killing of her daughter!!!

It's beyond comprehension how can a mother murder her daughter! The big 'EGO' of false honour and prestige does it. It's high time the society realizes this.