
People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) Karnataka recently released a position paper titled “In the name of ‘Honour’: Violation of the right to intimate and social associations.” The paper highlights growing intolerance towards youths exercising their right to choose their own partners, outside of society-approved boundaries of caste and religion. It brings to light a few recent cases of “honour killings” and reported violence in the cases of inter-caste/ inter-faith marriages, and advocates for a safe environment for people who choose to build relationships outside of their community.
In the paper, PUCL-K has documented 13 reported cases of “honour killings” in Karnataka from the time period of January 2022 to December 2023, in which 12 people were killed. It further notes that in nine out of 12 people murdered, the perpetrators of the violence were their own family members while the partner’s family was involved in two cases.
The paper mentions the ‘maintenance of caste purity’ as the reason for such gruesome violence. Higher castes often resort to restricting the agency of the women members of their family in order to control their sexual and romantic associations. This helps in maintaining their caste ‘purity’ and to maintain hegemony through endogamous marriages. With this patriarchal mindset, any association outside of caste/community is seen as a threat to their pure lineage.
Further, the paper suggests a few measures to be taken by the Karnataka government and the union government to ensure the safety of people who gather the courage to cross the societal norms and build relationships, romantic or otherwise, outside of their community. It suggests sensitisation of police officials, law enforcement bodies and setting up of a committee of gender experts, law experts, psychiatrists, and government representatives to ‘comprehensively and objectively study this increasing phenomenon of violence against women and girls and put forth holistic recommendations to both prevent and address the violence’. It also urges for setting up of a helpline number that would provide support to interfaith couples who fear violence.
PUCL is a human rights organisation committed towards increasing awareness about human rights and defending civil liberties. It was founded by Jayaprakash Narayan in 1976. The PUCL defends human rights guaranteed by the Indian Constitution by collaborating with diverse activists and campaigners across India.