Heer, Ranjha And A Mom's Hitmen

- G.P. Singh

SHE was on an autorickshaw, in for her maternal uncle’s home in Kaunke village in Punjab’s Jagraon. He was on foot, returning home from a kabaddi match. She was 24. He was a year older. And it was love at first sight when their paths crossed on that chilly evening in December 1994. Jaswinder Kaur ‘Jassi’ was the daughter of a multi-millionaire from British Columbia in Canada. Sukhwinder Singh Mithu was from a lower-middle-class Jat Singh family of Kaunke. By India’s strict social divisions, they were not even destined to meet. But they were married by May 1999, albeit secretly. It set in motion a chain of events that ended with the murder of Jassi in 2000 by contract killers allegedly hired her own family. It also marked the beginning of Mithu’s 19-year-long quest for justice.

Mithu believes his quest could be nearing end after Jassi’s mother Malkiat Kaur Sidhu and uncle Surjit Singh Badesha were recently extradited from Canada to face trial in the murder case, which underlines Punjab’s obsession with “family honour” that has resulted in deaths of many young men and women over the years for marrying against family wishes. In most cases, family members are allegedly involved in what have come to be known as “honour killings”. Police cases are rarely filed and conviction rates are also low, say activists who have been battling the social evil in Punjab and Haryana.