AN EVALUATION OF HONOUR KILLING IN INDIA

Abstract

It is a cultural tradition or a cultural crime in non-Caucasian societies that consider women as carriers of family honour. Indian cultures run deep. Every year in India, ‘Honour Killings' kill several young people. Because so-called honour killings are predicated on the assumption that women are things and commodities, not human beings with dignity and rights. Most honour killings occur in nations like India where women are viewed as a symbol of family honour. This paper attempts to address a very crucial subject of a cultural crime that grows like an untamed beast. It's hard to imagine that in the 21st century, even in the world's largest democracy, families murder their own for the sake of honour. But, is there any honour in killing? To do what one wants as long as one does not infringe on the rights of others has been essential to legal thought. The rules of ethics and law fluctuate as much as existential conditions do. In any community, social morality and legality are intertwined. Law and morality cannot and never have been completely separated. The legal order reflects historical and ideological orders. Unlike the traditional more or less custom-bound society, where the flow was largely in one direction, from social behaviour to legal custom and from custom to legislative prescription, today's highly articulated and organised society sees the law play an increasing role in social morality creation. However, the rule of law has been overridden by society at times to preserve morality or clan honour.