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A new criminal trend seems to have started in India: betrothed or married woman killing their fiancee or husband. Among the many instances let's take a couple of them which received high media coverage. Last year, Sonam allegedly had her husband Raghuvanshi killed during honeymoon in Megalaya , and now Siya allegedly had her fiancee Ketan killed at a fort in Maharashtra. Both the women's parents have proclaimed that they want their daughter accused of murder hanged if found guilty.
While investigations and judicial trials focus mainly on the victims and the killers, the apparent cause of the murders—fear of the bride to antagonize her parents by refusing to marry the groom selected by them—is quietly pushed under the carpet by the politicians, police, and the media. Aren't they responsible for having brought up a daughter who would rather kill her would-be groom than say no to the marriage and therefore be punishable? Aren't these parents, with psychological and financial arms, quite effective in subjugating their daughter, as terrorists wielding weapons subjugate their captives?
Both the accused women had a boyfriend who was also involved in the murder. Predictable in the Indian context that the daughter's love affair might actually have been the trigger for the parents to force on her a groom of their choice. A thoughtless action driven by the so-called 'family honor,' which has also resulted in innumerable cases of murder of girls by her own family members.
Many surveys have been revealing that an increasing number of Indian women now are not very keen to marry at all, not to speak of marrying a boy arranged by her parents. For the women gaining financial security through careers and business, it may be obvious to them that men benefit more from marriage than women. If they still want to marry for children or attraction for men, they would rather prefer a love marriage or live-in relationship. Arranged marriages and associated evils such as dowry harassment are terrifying for sensible people. It is better for parents at large to stop the alliance searching and give their sons and daughters the freedom to choose their own partners. They are grown-ups, and they need to learn to make decision regarding their life by themselves. Mistake made, if any, help them make the required changes within themselves and progress towards the realisation of their full potentials. Until this is understood and followed by soceity at large, there is going to be a lot more Sonams and Siyas.