Even in her extreme grief, as she was about to deliver her second child just after the “honour” killing of husband Abdul Hakim in Bulandshahr, Mahwish was lucid: “What society orders someone’s death?”
The medieval mindset that led to this horror, that cannot come to terms with love and romance even in this day and age, must make all those who stood by and let it happen hang their heads in shame. Can we really claim to belong to a civilised nation, let alone one with aspirations to superpower status, if a young man is killed on the strength of the diktat of community elders for no crime other than marrying a young woman he fell in love with? An appearance on Aamir Khan’s TV show Satyamev Jayate, which highlighted social issues, appears to have sealed Hakim’s fate. Aamir stated the obvious when he said the law alone is not sufficient to deal with such a horror, which rises from deep-rooted prejudices. The police, too, shares blame for not even trying to provide security despite the imminence of the threat that drove Hakim and his brother to seek protection just an hour before the cold-blooded murder.
Society has to change its mindset. Education alone may not suffice. Raising the collective consciousness on such issues is vital if the Hakims of the world are not to be murdered simply for following their hearts. Brave people like him must not be forced to walk alone in India. His death is the nation’s loss.