An Analysis On Honour Killing In Tamil Nadu

P Charu Shangari, BA LLB, School of Law, Christ University

ABSTRACT

India is a multicultural country with many traditions and customs being followed, and India has been identified for its joint family system with lots of love going inside its traditions. India is also the same country that has witnessed much Honour killing cases, and this paper mainly deals with the Honour killing cases in Tamil Nadu. The Honour killing cases in Tamil Nadu are usually against the inter-caste marriages in the state, and due to this, the couples who were killed brutally by their own families are community members in the name of Honour and prestige. Honour killings have been witnessed for a lot more than we remember, and the cases in Tamil Nadu receive justice only in very few cases, but most of the cases are either not reported or closed as suicides. The reported cases of Honour killings show the patriarchal ideologies deep-rooted among the people's minds and traditions, resulting in barbaric actions. Legally analyzing the laws on Honour killing shows that there are no codified laws mainly dealing with Honour killing crimes or crimes based on Honour, and the cases on Honour killings are treated as culpable Homicide or murders under the Indian penal code. There are a lot of guidelines and conventions passed by various international forums and countries to reduce Honour killings. To successfully reduce Honour killing cases ought to curb the crimes made in the name of Honour; the country must provide a separate codified act to be passed Against Honour killing.

Keywords: Honour, Patriarchy, International Laws , Homicide, Traditions