Human rights, honour killings and the Indian law scope for a 'right to have rights'

This article argues that in the absence of normative criteria that can identify a set of universal human rights, the "right to have constitutional rights" can take on the onus of being that universal human right. In the case of honour killings, the right to have and, more importantly, access legitimate fundamental and legal rights is under severe doubt. A universal standard framework - such as a reading of "right to have rights" would have it - justifi es the very purpose of human rights itself. The origin of human rights, thus, shifts from the matter of "being human" to a matter of social, political and legal constructivism.