On Rakshabandhan, when the whole nation was celebrating the joy of togetherness and promises, an incident of Barbary broke out in the heart of India – Indore, Madhya Pradesh, where a brother, a father and entire family turned out to be a devil towards an innocent couple. Many call it a case of honor killing, though senior Police officials deny so.
The entire sequence of the events of the sordid act goes like this –
The incident is about a couple – Archana and Hemendra Dongre. They had married against the consent of their family were living together since almost a year with no contacts with Archana’s family. One day suddenly the girl’s father called her and asked her to join them for Rakhi celebrations. In the ecstasy of her father’s invitation she overlooked any portentous threat that was to engulf the couple and began insisting her husband to take her to her maternal home.
Assessing the situation, though Hemendra denied, but still she pressed upon him and somehow persuaded him to give in. Till then everything went perfect. However, the tragedy began from the moment they arrived at her father’s home. Archana’s father- Parasram Aroliya who is Indore Municipal Corporation Zonal officer rebuked them at the very entrance. The couple was not called to join the celebration, but was called with the wicked intention of taking revenge for marrying against the consent of the family. Before they could realize it, they were trapped.
Accompanied by Archana’s Uncle, brother and other family members, her father pushed them hard inside. Hemendra was strangulated to death using Archana’s stole (dupatta). When she tried to save him and use her phone, she was brutally beaten by the people of her own blood. The incident does not end here; what numbs one’s conscience is the fact that those maniacs massacred Archana and Hemendra by pelting heavy cement blocks and tiles on them as narrated by the on viewers which included 2 nieces of Hemendra who had accompanied them to Archana’s home. They assaulted her by stabbing her on the stomach to kill the foetus in her womb. When neighbors tried to intervene and Parasram felt that the couple died, all the accused members fled the scene.
The couple was immediately rushed to the hospital where Hemendra was declared dead but Archana somehow survived in a critical condition fighting a battle for life.
The whole incident was witnessed by 2 little nieces of Hemendra.
It is indeed a fiery and animalistic act devoid of humanity which numbs our conscience.
The irony is that it is not a case of Khaps in some backward village of Haryana, but a very shocking incident of Indore, a fully developed city, the commercial and educational hub of MP. The accused are also educated people.
We live the dreams of Developed and Digital India and still the educated citizens of our very nation harbor such dreary inhumane minds.
How can parents, especially a mother, an apostle of love and sacrifice turn into a maniac – bloodthirsty of her own blood, her child?
Is loving someone and giving a name to the relation by marrying him such a big crime?
Now, with increasing modernization the elders of the society need to change their mindsets. Everyone should be given a chance to choose his/her partner. People need to understand that marrying one’s love does not bring disgrace to the family, what brings disgrace is – ‘Honor killing’.
The very root cause which sparks such perilous thoughts in the mind is – Castism. The root of casteism in India has now grown so deep that the more we uproot it, it sets our life on havoc.
Probably Digital India and Smart cities are not the critical need of the hour, but the need is to inculcate compassion, strong moral ethics, and tolerance in the hearts of Indians and on top of everything- Equality of all religions. The word- ‘Caste’ should simply be banned.
Political puppets preaching equality should stop dividing the nation in the fire of Casteism, just to augment their vote banks. They themselves should adopt broad spectrum of thinking and tolerance.
200 people protested for Archana and Hemendra, the victims of Honor killing. 5 days have passed, the accused are still absconding, and police is allegedly working under pressure as the scoundrel has strong political contacts. Needless to say, the very plight and weakness of our punishment against crime encourage people to commit crimes freely without any fear.
The couple was yet another Manoj Babli and if in the growing race for development, the ethical standard continues to degrade, the time is not far when the nation may become developed, but the citizens will remain orthodox and India will be full of discord, Barbary, crimes and bloodshed.
Note: Image used in this post is only for representational purpose.
