An adult girl Aanchal, marrying her boyfriend Saksham’s corpse in a village in Nanded, Maharashtra has shocked the conscience of all right-thinking people. It has raised concerns about honour killings that are taking place in the name of caste and religion.
In my 9 pm show ‘Aaj Ki Baat’, we showed videos of Aanchal Mamidwar going to the home of her slain lover Saksham Tate, where preparations were going on for his final rites. A sobbing Aanchal put vermillion (sindoor) on her forehead, put turmeric (haldi) on her lover’s body and declared that she would see to it that her father Gajanan Mamidwar and her brother should be hanged for this murder.
Aanchal and Saksham were childhood friends. Aanchal belongs to a Padmashali Hindu family, while Saksham’s Dalit family had converted to Buddhism. The girl’s family disapproved this friendship. Her father and brothers pressured her to call off her relationship, forced her to leave education and stay at home, and then filed a fake complaint under POCSO Act against Saksham, who was sent to jail by police.
When Aanchal attained adulthood, she went to court and withdrew the fake complaint. It was then that her family hatched a plot to kill Saksham.
Her family told her they would accept the marriage, her brother invited Saksham to a tea shop, where he was shot and her brother smashed his lover’s head with rock.
When Aanchal came to know about this perfidious act, she went straight to her lover’s house, where she performed the ‘marriage’ rites before the corpse. She vowed to send her father and brothers to the gallows.
I was shocked when I saw videos of Aanchal sitting near Saksham’s body. It made me think how parents and brothers can go to any extent to smash the dreams of their daughter.
Aanchal was not ready to sacrifice her love out of fear of her family and societal customs. She boldly decided to perform the ‘marriage’ rites with her lover’s corpse. People who watched her doing this, broke into tears.
Both the families knew each other. Aanchal had expected that her father and brothers would agree to the marriage, but her parents put their foot down on grounds of caste. Saksham Tate’s Dalit family had opted to become Buddhist.
The murder of Saksham Tate is a dark stain on our society. The so-called ‘honour killing’ carried out by Aanchal’s brothers is atrocious and shameful.
Had Aanchal not made videos of her applying vermillion before her slain lover’s corpse, the message would not have gone out forcefully. How can a sane society allow such honour killings?
It may be, after some months, police may project Saksham as a criminal, declare Aanchal as mentally unsound and the case may be hushed up. Some people may try to convince Aanchal that now that her boyfriend is no more, she should not lose her father and brothers.
More twists may come in this story, but every sane person must admit that Aanchal has forced society to sit up and think. This honour killing must surely make people learn what is right and what is wrong. If the lesson is not learnt, society may have to pay a big price.
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