There is an old saying that in a house with two vessels, they will inevitably collide. However, now, when these two vessels collide, four are destroyed. Innocent children suffer and lose their lives as a result of the breakdown of marital bonds between spouses.
Until now, society has instilled the idea that minor disagreements are acceptable in arguments between a man and a woman, that disputes are temporary, and that relationships involve bitterness. But the situation has gone far beyond this.
On Tuesday morning in Kalburga, Karnataka, a man who was upset with his wife decided to take his own life. The wife lived with three children in her native home after separating from her husband. This man arrived at the house intending to end everything, having attached live gel charges to his belt. Upon entering and barricading himself, he detonated himself. As a result of the explosion, a 15-year-old daughter died, while the wife and son are in critical condition.
How can one ask what the children's fault was in this family dispute? What punishment did they receive?
Just a day earlier, a tragedy occurred in a five-star hotel room in Bangalore. On August 10, 40-year-old S.G. Imran killed both daughters by strangulation. The father, who worked as a manager at a taxi company, attempted to commit suicide by strangling his own neck. According to the police, a note found in the room mentioned his wife's infidelity.
The main question in this story is not what happened between the spouses—that is subject to investigation. The real question is why the punishment for the actions of two adults was assigned to two girls aged five and ten? They were neither wife nor husband; they knew nothing of the alleged affair and made no decisions about it. Nevertheless, the anger of an adult determined the fate of these little girls.
A few days ago, a photograph from Fatehbad, Haryana, turned out to be even more horrifying.
On August 7, in the village of Mehuwala, the bodies of Sudesh, a 31-year-old kindergarten worker, her 10-year-old daughter Jyoti, and her 8-year-old son Vinit were found in the house's water tank. The investigation revealed that Sudesh poisoned the children and then took poison herself. After that, all three went into the water tank. Sudesh recorded the entire event on her phone, showing how she gave the children the poisonous substance.
According to the police investigation, there had been long-standing disputes between the couple. In 2014, they married for love, but Sudesh's brother reported that the husband later began using drugs and subjecting the family to harassment. The husband was also arrested on charges of inciting suicide. Police are currently investigating these allegations. Regardless of the reasons, the outcome for the children was the same—they did not participate in this struggle, but the struggle consumed them.
Now let's turn to Kerala. At the end of June, in the Muvattupuzha river, the body of a woman and her two-year-old son were first found. The next day, the body of her husband was discovered. Then, the body of a seven-year-old older daughter from another family, who was in the second grade, was found in the river. This family was experiencing serious financial difficulties. The police even provided them with some housing and covered some expenses through the local church, but the family lost hope.
In this story, there was no alleged affair or suspicion of infidelity. The cause was lack of money. But among the bodies found in the river were children aged seven and two.
Thus, the reason changed, but the child still died.
In the Chittoor district, Andhra Pradesh, the death of four family members on June 22 raised this issue again. In the village of Bangereddipalli, Damodar, his wife Nirmala, and two children were found dead. The son Dileep was in the eighth grade, and the daughter Shrividya was in the sixth grade. According to the police, Damodar poisoned his wife and children, and then hanged himself. A message found at the scene mentioned the need to use the money kept in the bank for the funeral. The investigation revealed stress related to the wife's illness.
And again the same question: the wife was ill, the husband was depressed, the family was in crisis. But what did the children do? Nothing.
The most frightening similarity of all these incidents is that the crisis arising in the lives of adults becomes the cause of the children's death, or more precisely—the cause of the children's murder.
Simply calling this 'suicide' leaves the story unfinished. Because here the children are not just dying; they are being subjected to a torturous death for a crime they did not commit. They were poisoned, strangled, drowned along with them. Their father killed them, and someone else—their mother. Those who should have given the children life decided their death.
Children cease to be mere family members; they become 'collateral damage' from the breakdown of marriage. This term was used in military affairs. Two sides fight, and people unrelated to the war die.
Spouses argue. The reasons vary: suspicions, domestic violence, lack of money, illness, drugs, or proximity to relationship breakdown. But the direct impact of this conflict falls upon the children.
These families cannot be classified into a single economic, social, ethnic, or religious group. Nor can it be said...
