“Honour killings are more prevalent across India than reported in the official statistics and mainstream media. Besides getting underreported, these crimes are also often categorized under the existing provisions of the Indian Penal Code under crimes such as murder, injuries, kidnapping, etc. … [T]here has still been a discernible rise in India’s reported cases of honour killings. A long process of advocacy and planning is required to develop a comprehensive law and work towards making it a reality.”
– Crimes in the Name of Honour: A National Shame, 2023
The Chief Justice of India, DY Chandrachud, recently said that hundreds of young people die in the country due to honour killings because they marry outside their caste or against their family’s wishes (Ashok Desai Memorial Lecture on Law and Morality, 2022). He also referred to morality as subjective and fluid, often defined by the dominant factions of society.
In a scenario where one in five cases of honour killings internationally is reported from India (United Nations report), it is imperative to talk about the elephant in the room and do so in a legally informed way.
As you might be aware, towards the end of last year, representatives from over 20 civil society organizations from 10 states of India agreed to jointly initiate a network with the goal of preventing crimes committed in the name of honour. The network works with an anti-caste, anti-patriarchy, feminist and minority protection ethic and aims to bring legal and social protections for persons engaged in inter-caste, inter-faith and queer-trans marriages and associations.
An intrinsic part of the campaign has been to advocate for legislative intervention. To aid the advocacy process, we have prepared a research report, ‘Crimes in the Name of Honour: A National Shame,’ which utilises quantitative and qualitative methods to analyze case studies from seven states of India.
The report dives into the sociological and cultural reasons that provide impunity for honour crimes in India. It also summarises national and international debates and laws that favour a separate legal framework to counter crimes in the name of honour, and how to implement such legislation successfully in our country.
This report has been possible with support from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences and the National Council of Women Leaders. We are indebted to the authors of the report, Dr. Shewli Kumar and Iswarya Subbiah, for their valuable time.
The report is now available for download. We hope you will give it a read and initiate discussions in your circle on crimes in the name of honour, how to curb the crimes, and the role the legislative branch of our democracy can play in holding the perpetrators accountable.
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