Can you digest it: Love Killed more People than Terror in last 15 Years

April,2,2017:

Love was official reason for 38,585 murders and 79,189 suicides, while on the other hand, Terror killed only 20,000 people.

Terror casualties may make more headlines but in past 15 years alone, love has killed more people than the terror attacks.

Between 2001 and 2015, love was officially recorded reason for the 38,585 murders and the culpable homicide cases. Government records also link it with 79,189 suicides.

Further, 2.6 lakh kidnapping cases were also filed in this period where the marriage was mentioned as motive of 'abducting' the women.

That's an average of the seven murder cases, 14 suicides and the 47 kidnapping cases mostly because somebody eloped and kith and kin are uncomfortable with that idea every day.

Terror, on the other hand, killed 20,000 people, including the civilians and the security forces, in the same period.

The data shows that Andhra Pradesh, followed by UP, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and MP have witnessed highest number of the murder cases where love was stated motive.

Each witnessed over 3,000 such cases in this period. Of course, bigger states with the large populations understandably will have more cases. These cases include both jilted men turning violent, despondent lovers ending their lives as well as the murders committed because of social outrage over the love affairs that unsettle class and the caste hierarchies.

Although numbers are staggering, experts believe there is massive under-reporting in the states like Haryana and parts of western Uttar Pradesh where local police is often either directly involved or turns a blind eye to the honour killings as many of policemen come from the same milieu.