IT is quite absurd to kill a close relative for committing a socially unacceptable act, and then call it an honour killing; it should be reworded as `dishonour killing`. In all such killings, a man and a woman are involved for committing, usually, the offence of marrying without the permission of family elders.
It is the responsibility of the state to actively pursue all such cases until the perpetratorsgetcaught and punished.
And, mind you, the perpetrators include those among the local elders who endorse and allow such crimes.
There is a need to familiarise the general public with the religious injunction that makes it mandatory to seek the willingness ofboth the boy and the girlbefore marriage. To force someone to marry without consent is against the spirit of the religion.
The family elders who refuse to seek the willingness of either the prospective bride or bridegroom should actually be charged under the relevant law as they violate the relevant religious injunctions.
