Father Deems Killing Daughter ‘Better’ Than Her Relationship with Dalit Man

Why Is Economic Growth Not Translating into a More Progressive Public Mindset?

Newsreel Asia Insight #12
Oct. 13, 2023

A man in Karnataka state took the life of his 20-year-old daughter, citing her relationship with a Dalit man as the reason. The father became enraged after his daughter, a college student, ignored his warnings to end the relationship.

The accused, identified as Manjunath from Bidaluru village near the Bengaluru airport, stabbed his daughter, Kavana, multiple times following a heated argument on the night of Oct. 11, The News Minute reported, adding that Manjunath subsequently turned himself in at a police station.

Manjunath’s younger daughter had also faced her father’s wrath over her own relationship. She had recently sought refuge in a government facility for women, declaring her intention to marry her partner regardless of her father’s objections.

Two other caste-based crimes were reported in Kolar district in September. In response to those incidents, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah acknowledged the deeply entrenched caste system in the state and assured that his government would take legal action to address such crimes.

Honor killings are widespread in several regions of Karnataka, including Mandya, Kolar, Tumakuru, and parts of North Karnataka, noted an op-ed published in The New Indian Express in September.

Since October 2022, the state had seen at least seven alarming cases, the op-ed said.

The practice dates back to the 12th century, when inter-caste relationships were punished by a method known as “Yele Hoote,” which involved tying individuals, usually women, to an elephant’s leg, a senior advocate, K.B.K. Swamy, was quoted as saying. The elephant would then be paraded around the town, resulting in the death of the bound individuals.

Former Director General and Inspector General of Karnataka Police, S.T. Ramesh, was also quoted as saying that many cases go unreported because they often involve family members. Those not directly involved in the crime may try to cover it up, as their mindset aligns with the perpetrator, Ramesh said.

India currently lacks a dedicated law to address honour-based crimes. Such cases are typically investigated under the Indian Penal Code or the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. In 2012, the Law Commission of India recommended enacting a separate law for honour-based crimes, but no Member of Parliament has yet presented this bill, according to The Wire.

In 2018, the Supreme Court of India recognised the severity of honour-based crimes and outlined preventive, remedial and punitive measures, the Wire said, adding, however, that only the state of Rajasthan has taken legislative steps, passing a bill in 2019 that is still awaiting the governor’s approval.

Legal remedies and solutions may initiate change, but they are insufficient to fully tackle the issue of honour killings. This problem reflects not just the mindset of the immediate family willing to kill a close relative, but also the attitudes of the extended family and the broader society.

The concept of caste is so deeply embedded in Indians that it extends even to other religious communities such as Christians, Muslims and Sikhs, and appears to follow them when they migrate to Western countries.

Last April, caste equity activist Thenmozhi Soundararajan in the United States was scheduled to speak at Google about caste discrimination in the U.S., particularly in workplaces. Her talk was canceled after some Indian employees felt “targeted” and complained, NBC News reported at the time.

Soundararajan has gathered data showing that two-thirds of Dalits in the U.S. face workplace discrimination. The situation is complicated by the fact that caste is not a federally protected category in the U.S., unlike religion, the NBC reporter wrote, adding that this leaves Dalits with little institutional support, making it difficult for them to bring complaints about caste discrimination, especially when countered by claims of religious discrimination.

India has progressed economically since liberalising its economy and it has aspirations of becoming a $5 trillion economy by 2026-27, but the mindset of perhaps a majority of its population remains stagnant. Perhaps this is why there are many “Manjunaths” and their tacit and silent supporters in India despite its affirmative action and laws to protect the Dalit community for decades.