India caste councils back men over 'honour killings'

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India caste councils back men over 'honour killings'

Caste leaders frown upon marriages within the same sub-caste

Hindu caste leaders in the northern Indian state of Haryana have given their backing to six people convicted last month in an "honour killing" case.

The heads of 20 caste councils also demanded legislation to ban marriages between members of the same sub-caste.

Five men were sentenced to death and one jailed for life over the 2007 murder of a young couple who married against the wishes of village elders.

Elders said they violated local customs by marrying within the same sub-caste.

'Ultimatum'

Caste leaders and protesters held a meeting in the town of Kurukshetra in Haryana state.

"We will appeal to the government to amend the Hindu Marriage Act," the Times of India website quoted Bhalle Ram, head of Bainiwal village caste council in the state, as saying.

"We are giving the Indian government an ultimatum to effect these changes," he said.

Protesters are threatening to block the road between the Indian capital, Delhi, and major cities like Chandigarh and Ambala.

They say they will appeal against the sentence handed to the six men.

Caste leaders say that by local tradition people within the same sub-caste are considered to be siblings.

The young couple - Manoj and Babli - apparently fell into this category.

They were kidnapped and killed a month after they eloped while they were travelling on a bus in Haryana in 2007. Their bodies were discovered later.

Those sentenced to death by the Haryana court last month were all relatives of the girl, Babli, and included her brother, two uncles and two cousins.

The head of the village council in Haryana's Kaithal district, which ruled against the couple's marriage, was given life imprisonment.

The case was brought to the attention of the village council by the family of Manoj, Babli's husband.

Campaigners hailed the court verdict as a blow against "honour killings", which are quite common in parts of northern India.

Correspondents say such killings have often not been reported or widely discussed in the past because families usually accept the verdicts.

BBC News - India caste councils back men over 'honour killings'

 

[SinoIndusFriendship]

^^^^ If this is true, it is shameful behaviour.

 

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Delhi police make arrests after 'honour killing' 15 June 2010

Caste council meeting (file photo) Caste leaders frown upon marriages within the same sub-caste

Police in the Indian capital, Delhi, say a teenage girl and her boyfriend have been murdered in what they suspect is a gruesome case of "honour killing".

Aisha Saini and Yogesh Kumar, both 19, were beaten with metal rods and then electrocuted, police say. The girl's father and uncle have been arrested.

According to police, the girl's family disapproved of the relationship because her boyfriend was from another caste.

Cases of suspected "honour killing" are rare in the Indian capital.

Correspondents say the killings - long a taboo subject in India - are now being reported more often. There have been a number of recent cases in regions near Delhi.

'Bleeding'

The couple's mutilated bodies were recovered early on Monday after neighbours complained of a foul smell emanating from the uncle's house in Swaroop Nagar area in north-west Delhi.

"When we found the bodies - the couple's legs and hands were tied and they were bleeding," Delhi's deputy police commissioner NS Bundela told a news conference.

"The couple had been electrocuted as well, but we will wait for the full post-mortem report."

He said the girl's father and uncle had been arrested "but three suspects still remain at bay".

Police say Ms Saini's family feared she would elope with Yogesh and he was called to her uncle's home on Sunday on the pretext of discussing the relationship.

According to the Hindustan Times, neighbours went to the house on Sunday but were told that a family matter was being discussed.

A police official quoted in the newspaper said the assault went on for hours.

The couple were beaten with "iron rods and other blunt weapons" before being forced to sit on iron trunks to which live wires were attached and they were electrocuted, he said.

"This is a barbaric act of violence and should be condemned. It is my duty to get the perpetrators punished," Delhi's Women and Child Development Minister Kiran Walia said.

So-called "honour killings" are fairly common in parts of northern India, but rarely heard of in the Indian capital.

In April, five men were sentenced to death and one jailed for life over the 2007 murder of a young couple who married against the wishes of village elders in Haryana state, not far from Delhi.

Elders said they had violated local customs by marrying within the same sub-caste.

Social activists say many young men and women die every year in northern states like Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

Some commit suicide, others are killed - often with the approval, tacit or otherwise, of village councils that still wield considerable power.
BBC News - Delhi police make arrests after 'honour killing'

 

[Ghareeb_Da_Baal]

It is just the culture thing. that is all and widespread in our countries.