| The British left India in 1947 and 64 precious | | | | on the rise. Thus boys and girls who fall in love in |
| years have elapsed after they left. It must be | | | | their own caste or Gotra are summarily done to |
| remembered that the English ruled India for 200 | | | | death |
| years and they have the distinction of removing a | | | | The government must share the blame for this |
| lot many ills from Indian society. | | | | state of affairs. As after the British left no |
| Thus enlightened Britishers helped in eradication of | | | | stringent law was passed to award exemplary |
| the evils of sati (Wife burning on the pyre of her | | | | punishment to the perpetrators of these honor |
| husband), child marriage and the cult of thuggery. | | | | killings. Unfortunately not only the laws were lax |
| But after they left a lot of reforms were further | | | | but the police force also a showed certain apathy |
| needed to carry on the good work done by the | | | | in tracking and punishing these killers who in the |
| English rulers. | | | | name of honor killed young couples with impunity. |
| Unfortunately independent India has not been able | | | | Another unsavory fact is that most of the killers |
| to eradicate caste and clan loyalties.These are the | | | | were close relatives like father, mother or brother |
| bane of the Hindu religion and sanctified by such | | | | and uncle. In the misplaced notion of honor, these |
| people and saints like Manu the law giver. In a | | | | people have been carrying out honor killings in |
| way the government has also followed a policy of | | | | most states of India. The sad part is that honor |
| regression and caste has come to the forefront. | | | | killings are on the rise. |
| Thus the aim of a classless society free of caste | | | | These killings offer a terrible contrast with the |
| as envisioned by Gandhi and others is as far from | | | | development in other fields like science and |
| reality as never before. | | | | technology. It appears India is still in the medieval |
| With the government supporting the caste | | | | age. The government and the social reformers |
| system, it was inevitable that the gotra or sub | | | | have been unable to rid India of this bane of |
| cast would also gain prominence. The rigid Hindu | | | | caste and a caste based society. |
| society has been unable to come to terms with | | | | There is thus an urgent need for the United |
| the sub caste and clan system. Thus marriage | | | | Nations to intervene,as it did in the case of |
| between sub castes is not tolerated. | | | | apartheid. As the Indian government by acts and |
| In fact the toleration level has become so low | | | | legislation perpetuates the caste system, the |
| that girls and boys who marry in the same Gotra | | | | world must wake up to the menace of a caste |
| or sub caste are liable to be simply murdered. It is | | | | based society which is akin to apartheid and race |
| a fact of life that the number of honor killings is | | | | discrimination. |