Tragedy struck the quiet village of Bidalur in Devanahalli taluk, Bengaluru Rural district, as a 20-year-old ST woman lost her life in a chilling case of honour killing. The victim, Kavana, fell prey to the extreme consequences of her choice to love a man from the SC community, at the hands of her own father.
Kavana falling in love with an SC man infuriated her father, Manjunath. In an attempt to stop the relationship, Manjunath arranged for Kavana’s engagement to another man, Mukund. However, Kavana’s resolute commitment to her love led her to refuse the arranged marriage, according to a police official involved in the investigation.
Desperate to restore the family’s honour, Manjunath took a drastic step. He married off his younger daughter, 19-year-old Keerthana, to Mukund. But this coercive strategy proved to be a breaking point for Keerthana. Unable to tolerate an unwanted marriage, she made her way back to her father’s house on a fateful Wednesday evening. Her ordeal did not remain hidden; Keerthana reached out to a non-governmental organization (NGO), which promptly intervened to rescue her.
This revelation set off a chain of events that culminated in tragedy. Kavana’s refusal to succumb to societal pressures and Keerthana’s escape from an unwanted marriage escalated the conflict. A tense argument erupted between Kavana and her father, with Manjunath unjustly holding his elder daughter responsible for the entire ordeal, the police official explained.
The tension reached its horrifying climax between 3 and 4 a.m. on Thursday when Manjunath resorted to violence. He attacked Kavana with a wooden stick and, in a shocking act of brutality, slit her throat with a knife, ending her life. The grisly crime took place while the village slumbered in darkness.
Following the murder, around 6.30 a.m., Manjunath voluntarily surrendered himself to the Vishwanathapura police. He was promptly taken into custody and charged under Section 302 (punishment for murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
How the above incident was headlined by Deccan Herald
What should have been a straightforward case of a gruesome honour killing was presented with a certain slant that raises questions about media objectivity. Deccan Herald chose to emphasise the caste in its headline, framing the incident as “Bengaluru man kills daughter for being in love with Dalit.” This specific choice of words is not an isolated incident; it reflects a broader pattern in media reporting, especially when it comes to caste issues.
Reporters and copywriters from left-leaning newspapers and publications have been observed repeatedly emphasising the term “Dalit” in their headlines. The underlying motive appears to insinuate that an “upper-caste” individual is responsible for the crime (even when they may not be involved or they are the victim), perpetuating the notions of casteism and that the upper caste supports honour killings. The headlines and reporting perpetuate the idea that a Dalit or a Muslim is the automatic victim, regardless of the specific circumstances of each case. However, it’s worth noting that in certain cases, such as the case reported above, the individuals involved are from the Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities themselves. This selective highlighting of caste identities is a deliberate effort to create a buzz around incidents, potentially serving a specific agenda.
Leftist outlets like NewsLaundry have even dedicated articles to the topic, such as the one titled “When do religious & caste identities matter in a news headline?” because “context matters”.
It is crucial to hold media outlets accountable for their editorial choices and their impact on public perception. While caste-related issues are undoubtedly significant and deserve responsible reporting, sensationalism and the selective emphasis on caste identities can distort the reality of individual cases, leading to unfair generalisations. It is important to call out these so-called “news” outlets who peddle a specific agenda to keep the country in chaos all the time.
