I was reading the newspaper the other day (Yes!! I've decided to become worldly wise!!) and I came across an article which shocked me to my very core.
It was about this young couple (a Dalit boy and a Muslim girl) in Meerut, India who was murdered because they married outside their communities!! These killings are apparently termed 'honor killings', are pretty common in this part of the country. What is wrong with these people?? Marrying outside their respective castes maybe wrong, but surely, the crime isn't big enough to deserve death. Why? Why do people kill? Apparently, the locals were heard justifying their actions on television and none of the them showed even the slightest sign of remorse!!
The news article went on to say that though a few people were arrested in this regard, no legal action would be taken against them. The more shocking part is that the Panchayat in these parts do not have much control in the happenings of the village. Instead the village elders control most of what happens around and they in turn chose to ignore it or worse yet, be a part of it. Aren't we still in the 21st century or did I miss something? The article says that this is the aftereffect of decentralization, but can we really place our blame on it? Decentralization was, in the first place, provided as a means for the empowerment of these rural areas and as an answer to local problems.
Isn't it just the sheer illiteracy of people that prompts them to do such monstrosities and believe in mindless superstitions? Or do these people function on some other level which forces them to be indifferent to the basic human values? Well.. I guess we might never know!!
No comments:
Post a Comment