That girl..

Do you remember her? That little girl in the bus, who smiled at every single passenger? That rowdy teenager who rode her scooty as if it were a plane? She earned nasty looks from the aged ones but slight shakes of heads from the ones who'd lived the same thrills years ago..
The nerd with specs larger than her face, is a hardcore romantic since her preteens. If only someone saw her for what she is.

The old lady who shouts at everybody, who screams at little kids when they break her window? She was abandoned by her only son. If only someone shared her grief and saw her compassion..

EVERY. SINGLE. LADY.

The girl who can't cross the road on her own. The poor woman who begs at the busiest signal of the city and trades blessings for a rupee or two. The queen bee of the high school empire. The socially awkward yet talented painter at the back of the class. The chilled out tomboy who has read the entire twilight series and fangirls over Robert Pattinson but still pretends it sucks.
Know now, that they are all fighters. All of them. Remember, you do not know her story. 

Do not judge her. 
Weak are those who don't see her strength. Caged are the minds of those who can't let her fly.
She can and she will.
She is a devi.

There's no honour in killing.

Wikipedia describes honour killing as the homicide of a member of a family by other members, due to the perpetrators' belief that the victim has brought shame or dishonour upon the family, or has violated the principles of a community or a religion, usually for reasons such as refusing to enter an arranged marriage, being in a relationship that is disapproved by their family, having sex outside marriage, becoming the victim of rape, dressing in ways which are deemed inappropriate, or engaging in non-heterosexual relations.

In India, we commonly call it, 'setting an example'. Or 'teaching them a lesson'. A Muslim girl doesn't want to wear hijab? Kill her. A Hindu wants to eat beef? How dare he! Intercaste marriage? Kill them so that others don't dare. Dare!? He/She is a human being before being your daughter, your son, a Hindu or the son of the head of khap panchayat. 

Our country is one of the greatest on this planet, agreed. But there are some things we can't stand. We can't stand people having an opinion that does not match with ours. We can't stand the sight of two people loving each other and not caring about gender, caste or religious beliefs. And this is why there have been endless debates on every news channel of the country about how INTOLERANT we are.

According to a report by the United nations, out of the 3500 cases of honour killing that occurred in 2012, 2845 were from south and south-east Asia. This makes up for about 80% of the total and if this doesn't alarm you, I don't know what will. 2845. This is not just a statistical number that you come across everyday. This is the no. Of lives that were ruined just because they thought they had the rights to do what they want. They thought they lived in a free country, like you and me. Ridiculous, isn't it? 

Just like with terrorism, there can't be two opinions about honour killing. There are very few things in this world that are either an absolute right or an absolute wrong. Honour killing, is one of them. In conclusion, I would like to mention, that India, as a nation, is full of good things and bad ones, just like any other country. 

But in order to move ahead, progress and achieve all those dreams our ancestors dreamed of, we need to break free of all these social stigmas that keep pulling us back like chains and shackles. Until and unless every single person in this country feels free to practice what he/she believes in, the dreams shall remain an illusion.