Woman beheaded with sword for going to work, hurting 'Rajput pride' in Rajasthan: Regressive practices, atrocities on women in India

In a shocking incident, a man beheaded his daughter-in-law for defying 'Rajput traditions'.

The woman--Uma Rajput, was hacked to death by her father-in-law, as she 'dared to go out for work'.

In a patriarchal society, this had brought 'dishonour to his family', felt the accused. He publicly killed his daughter-in-law, by attacking her with a sword.

The incident took place in Alwar in Rajasthan. India Today reports, "The woman was on her way to work at a factory in Shahjahanpur village in Alwar district when her father-in-law brandished a sword and allegedly chopped her head off."

"As the woman was attacked, none of the passersby came forward to help her. She died on the spot. Subsequently, police took her body to the mortuary of the local hospital. The victim, identified as Uma, is survived by her husband Mukesh Rajput and two children", India Today further reports.

"Both Uma and Mukesh worked to run the family and provide for the education of their two children. When questioned, family members and neighbours of the woman said that her father-in-law Maamraj was upset with her for working in a factory", the report adds.

In fact, such incidents are so common that they don't make it to the state capitals, let alone getting discussed in news rooms. Also, they don't affect TV anchors who feel that TRP comes only if there is a issue that pits majority against minority, not inward looking or talking about reforms.

Woman beheaded with sword for going to work, hurting 'Rajput pride' in Rajasthan: Regressive practices in India

In a shocking incident, a man beheaded his daughter-in-law for defying 'Rajput traditions'.

The woman--Uma Rajput, was hacked to death by her father-in-law, as she 'dared to go out for work'.

In a patriarchal society, this had brought 'dishonour to his family', felt the accused. He publicly killed his daughter-in-law, by attacking her with a sword.

The incident took place in Alwar in Rajasthan. India Today reports, "The woman was on her way to work at a factory in Shahjahanpur village in Alwar district when her father-in-law brandished a sword and allegedly chopped her head off."

"As the woman was attacked, none of the passersby came forward to help her. She died on the spot. Subsequently, police took her body to the mortuary of the local hospital. The victim, identified as Uma, is survived by her husband Mukesh Rajput and two children", India Today further reports.

"Both Uma and Mukesh worked to run the family and provide for the education of their two children. When questioned, family members and neighbours of the woman said that her father-in-law Maamraj was upset with her for working in a factory", the report adds.

Child marriages in India: 27% girls are married before they turn 18

Child marriages are widely prevalent in India.

One of the biggest social evils, the practice of child marriage is yet to be checked in the country.

Millions of minors tie the knot every year because of social acceptance in several regions.

The latest figures suggest that 27 percent of girls, or nearly 1.5 million girls, get married before they turn 18 in India.

Though there has been a decline in number of child marriages in India, compared to last decade, the figure is still mind-boggling. In rural parts of the India, child marriages are more common.

In Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and other North Indian states, tens of thousands of children are made to tie the nuptial knot on the day of 'Akshay Tritiya'.

UNICEF claims that the steps to check child marriages have brought the numbers down, yet, the practice is so widespread that it is difficult to stop it.

India leads the world in child marriages. It recorded six times more child marriages that Bangladesh. It is far ahead of Nigeria, Brazil and Ethiopia that are other countries on the list.

While India is on the top, the other countries in the list include Bangladesh, Nigeria, Brazil, Ethiopia
Pakistan, Indonesia, Mexico, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania. Clearly, in seventy years, India hasn't done enough to eradicate social evils. 

Social evils in India: Caste discrimination form of apartheid, rampant in Indian society

Caste is the fundamental identity in India, at times, even stronger than religion.

Every day, there are incidents of casteist violence and oppression all over the country.

Many people who pretend to be modern and flaunt their liberal credentials deny that caste exist and vehemently say that they don't believe in caste.

But when it comes to marriage, they always go for a match from their own caste. It's a harsh reality. Caste groups hold events regularly, organise their conventions in cities and towns, inculcate sense of pride among their members.

They also hold introductory meets for youths so that the youngsters marry within the caste. The so-called 'honour killings' are just an example of this deep-rooted caste phenomenon in Indian society.

Casteism is a mental ailment. People afflicted it with are conditioned from childhood. It's like apartheid, even worse. Here, the race is same, religion is same and even skin colour is same. But hate overcomes everything.

A girl is writhing in pain on the floor after she was made to drink poison by her own family. Sushma was given this punishment as she loved a man outside the community and wanted to marry him.

This incident occurred near Mysuru in Karnataka. Sushma wanted to marry a Dalit youth. Hence, the family decided to kill her. Her father forced poison down her throat. See report

And that's so common that it doesn't prick the conscience of people or shock the nation, anymore.

It is no aberration but a regularity. It happens in rural parts, it happens even in town and big cities of the country.

Just see the matrimonial advertisements and you find how caste functions. Everyone wants to marry within caste.

And those who are exceptions--say 'Caste no bar', yet don't want to marry Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe  (ST) or Other Backward Caste (OBC).