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New Indian Express

‘Inter-caste marriages will help wipe out caste system'

I am unable to call the murders done in the name of caste as either 'honour or dishonour killings'. They are brutal pre-meditated murders. Such acts attract Section 101 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS). Murder attracts the punishment of death or imprisonment for life and is also liable to be fined under Section 103 of the BNS. Yet, time and again, we find that stringent law and punishment are not deterrent enough. After every case of murder in the name of caste, like that of Kavin Selvaganesh, there is a hue and cry to enact a special law against 'honour killing'. There is, of course, logic to this call, as such legislation will be seen as the state's response to treat such violence with iron hands. But even a casual perusal of special laws that deal with atrocities committed against Scheduled Castes and Tribes or the prevalence of child marriage despite the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, prove that legislation and stringent punishment cannot eradicate such offences unless there is a change in the minds of the society. For instance, the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act was enacted to give speedy relief to women by disposing of cases within 60 days. Yet it is not uncommon to see cases under this Act pending for more than three years. To ensure that no more youth are abused, pressured, victimised by false cases, assaulted or murdered in the name of caste or honour, social reform is the need of the hour. The Supreme Court in the Lata Singh case in 2006 said, 'The caste system is a curse on the nation and the sooner it is destroyed the better. In fact, it is dividing the nation at a time when we have to be united to face the challenges before the nation unitedly. Hence, inter-caste marriages are, in fact, in the national interest as they will result in destroying the caste system.'