Honour killing shocks youngsters in the city

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The alleged killing of a teenage couple in the capital has left many educated youngsters and families in shock. Asha Saini, 19, was found allegedly electrocuted to death in her north-west Delhi, along with her alleged 19-year-old boyfriend Yogesh Kumar, whom she wanted to marry despite objections from her family, according to reports. The alleged gruesome act by the girl’s family has cast a question mark on whether education can actually change the way we think.
What’s surprising is that killings for honour, once thought of as a retrograde phenomenon and prevalent only in the remote villages popped its ugly head in the heart of the country.
Delhi-based IT professional Aseem Sah, 23, says, “This is something we thought will never happen in Delhi. Where on one side we are projecting the city as an international destination, it is difficult to imagine how this such a brutal act could be committed.”
“The incident shows how backward our society is despite the hullabaloo about India coming of age or for that matter we becoming a recognised global player and many technological advances. The reality is, the mentality of most of us is still backward and many still take their false pride more seriously than respecting basic human rights,” says Syed Hassan Kazim, a young activist from the city.
Recently, a Delhi-based journalist, Nirupama Pathak was allegedly killed, as she wanted to marry a boy from another caste. This case is still fresh in our mind. It’s shameful that even so called “thinking people” are getting involved in such ghastly acts, feel youngsters in the capital.
“People who carry out these heinous crimes in the name of honour killings to protect their families must be booked for life and given the harshest punishment as a lesson for those who think that they can get away with it easily,” says Niti Prasad, a student. Social scientist Dr Vasantha Patri is surprised at the way people here take the legal system for a ride. She agrees that there are actually two facets to the national capital. “Even though this area is a part of the city, it has got a rural mindset. But what surprises me most is how nobody thought of helping the girl after hearing her screams, or even calling the police? Why are we so insensitive? There is a need for stringent laws to punish the alleged culprits. And why should there be only campaigns for pulse polio, why not social evils like these,” she adds.