An Indian court has sentenced a man to death for setting his wife on fire because of her dark skin, in a ruling that has reignited debate over the country’s long-standing struggles with colourism and gender-based violence.
The verdict, delivered over the weekend, concerns a crime committed eight years ago.
The case involved a young woman, Lakshmi, who was burned alive in June 2017 by her husband, Kishandas, after enduring months of insults and humiliation about her complexion.
According to court documents, Kishandas had repeatedly mocked his wife since their marriage in 2016, often using derogatory names that referenced her dark skin tone.
On the night of the attack, he reportedly brought home a brown liquid, believed to be a skin-lightening agent, and smeared it across her body.
When Lakshmi protested about its pungent, acid-like smell, Kishandas ignited her body with an incense stick. In an act of unimaginable cruelty, prosecutors said, he poured the remaining liquid on her while she burned and then fled the scene.
Her family rushed her to the hospital, but she succumbed to her injuries days later.
Before her death, Lakshmi provided a detailed statement implicating her husband, which became the cornerstone of the prosecution’s case.
Presiding judge Rahul Choudhary described the crime as “a heart-wrenching attack on humanity,” noting that Kishandas had “betrayed his wife’s trust in a manner that shakes the conscience of any civilised society.”
“This is one of the rarest of rare cases,” the judge said in his ruling. “What happened to Lakshmi was not only murder but a barbaric assault on the very idea of humanity.”
The public prosecutor hailed the death sentence as a necessary message to society. “A young woman was tortured and killed simply because of how she looked,” he said.
“This verdict should remind us that there are consequences for such cruelty. If we cannot protect our daughters, sisters, and wives, then what hope do we have for justice?”
The case has triggered fresh outrage in India, where discrimination based on skin colour, often favouring lighter tones, continues to influence marriage choices, advertising, and even employment opportunities.
Human rights activists argue that while legal punishments are important, deeper cultural change is needed.
“This tragedy reflects how dangerous entrenched prejudices can be,” said Meena Rao, a women’s rights advocate.
“Until we dismantle these toxic ideals of beauty, we will keep losing lives to violence and shame rooted in something as meaningless as skin tone.”
Despite years of public campaigns and growing awareness, the preference for fairer skin remains deeply embedded in many parts of Indian society, leaving darker-skinned women particularly vulnerable to emotional abuse, domestic violence, and in extreme cases, like Lakshmi’s, death.
The sentencing, now under public scrutiny, is being viewed both as justice for Lakshmi and as a grim reminder of how far the country must go to challenge its dangerous beauty biases.