'''Izzat''' ([[Hindi-Urdu]]: इज़्ज़त or عزت) refers to the concept of [[honor]] prevalent in the culture of [[North India]] and [[Pakistan]].<ref name="ref14fohaz">{{Citation | title=Landlord power and rural indebtedness in colonial Sind, 1865-1901 | author=David Cheesman | publisher=Routledge, 1997 | isbn=9780700704705 | url=http://books.google.com/books?id=rtBi1MgVD0AC | quote=''... Izzat remains to this day a critical part of life throughout Pakistan and northern India. Maintaining izzat is a driving motivation for vast numbers of people, from all communities and classes and in every walk of life ...''}}</ref> It applies universally across religions ([[Hindu]], [[Muslim]] and [[Sikh]]), communities and genders.<ref name="ref68humef">{{Citation | title=Visions of reality: religion and ethnicity in social work | author=Naina Patel, Don Naik, Beth Humphries | publisher=Central Council for Education and Training in Social Work (Great Britain), 1998 | isbn=9781857191813 | url=http://books.google.com/books?id=6O1GAAAAMAAJ | quote=''... The concept of Izzat, shared equally by Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs ...''}}</ref><ref name="ref63bejaq">{{Citation | title=Blackwood's magazine, Volume 211 | author= | publisher=W. Blackwood, 1922 | isbn= | url=http://books.google.com/books?id=ZuYCAAAAMAAJ | quote=''... In India the word izzat, honour or prestige, is commonly used by all classes of people ...''}}</ref><ref name="ref02muvag">{{Citation | title=Punjab, the land of beauty, love, and mysticism | author=Syed Abdul Quddus | publisher=Royal Book Co., 1992 | isbn= | url=http://books.google.com/books?id=wg8cAAAAIAAJ | quote=''... For Punjabi men and women alike, izzat means high status, prestige, honour, and power ...''}}</ref> Maintaining the reputation of oneself and one's family (especially women) is part of the concept of ''izzat'', as is the obligatory taking of revenge when one's izzat has been violated.<ref name="ref73lexef">{{Citation | title=Divine passions: the social construction of emotion in India | author=Owen M. Lynch | publisher=University of California Press, 1990 | isbn=9780520066472 | url=http://books.google.com/books?id=y3HEvGsKflwC | quote=''... Izzat enjoined aid to those who had helped one. It also enjoined that revenge be exacted for personal insults and damage to person or property. If a man was threatened he must at least threaten back, for not to do so would be weakness ... Izzat was in fact the principle of reciprocity of gifts, plus the rule of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Giving was an attempt to bring a man of another family into one's debt, and acceptance of the gift involved the ...''}}</ref>

Although the concept of ''izzat'' has been viewed as curtailing the freedom of women, it is also a strongly egalitarian concept that cuts across social hierarchy and enforces "''equality in giving, but also equality in vengeance''."<ref name="ref73lexef"/><ref name="ref31ciciv">{{Citation | title=Women, victims of social evils | author= | publisher=Pakistan Institute of Security Management, 2002 | isbn= | url=http://books.google.com/books?id=MHHaAAAAMAAJ | quote=''... and justified in the name of "so-called honour", though the reprisals to achieve revenge usually ... If Izzat is violated then it is justified to kill and die for it". As such Izzat is a male value derived and viewed ...''}}</ref> The idea of [[Norm of reciprocity|reciprocity]], in both friendship and enmity, is deeply embedded in ''izzat''. It is required that a person come to the assistance of those who have helped that person earlier.<ref name="ref73lexef"/> To not do so is to dishonor one's debt and lose ''izzat''.<ref name="ref73lexef"/>

==Dushmani and Badla==

Violations or perceived violations of ''izzat'' are key to the development of both personal and family enmities (''dushmani'', दुश्मनी or دشمنی) as the wronged party seeks revenge (''badla'', बदला or بدلا), which could result in cycles of counter-revenge, sometimes spanning generations.<ref name="ref05zemeb">{{Citation | title=Ritual and religion among Muslims in India | author=Imtiaz Ahmad | publisher=Manohar, 1981 | isbn= | url=http://books.google.com/books?id=tyMPAQAAIAAJ | quote=''... One pirzada who had tried to stop the fighting, and others who were not involved, talked of a long-term izzat-ki-dushmani (enmity of honour) ...''}}</ref><ref name="ref51qulap">{{Citation | title=Sociology of natural resources: in Pakistan and adjoining countries | author= | publisher=Vanguard, 1992 | isbn=9789694020549 | url=http://books.google.com/books?id=jt_sAAAAMAAJ | quote=''... all of his close kinsmen will unite in opposition to the "enemy" (dushman) ...''}}</ref><ref name="ref69feluh">{{Citation | title=Tournaments of power: honor and revenge in the contemporary world | author=Tor Aase | publisher=Ashgate, 2002 | isbn=9780754631811 | url=http://books.google.com/books?id=4hPXAAAAMAAJ | quote=''... Thus, a dushmani evolved between families A and B. One night some unidentified persons killed A3 and A6 on the road to their home. Neighbors had observed B4 on the road some time before the killings took place, which led the A family to ...''}}</ref><ref name="ref75xufod">{{Citation | title=Robber noblemen: a study of the political system of the Sikh Jats | author=Joyce Pettigrew | publisher=Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1975 | isbn=9780710079992 | url=http://books.google.com/books?id=YzEMAAAAIAAJ | quote=''... The set of values which the ideology of izzat sanctioned perpetuated murders and counter-murders; and the relationships of power at ... sole owners of that aspect of the philosophy of izzat enjoining murder in revenge for murder ...''}}</ref> The concept of reciprocity applies to ''badla'' as well. The nature and intensity of the revenge, "''and what is taken - life, resources, or position - is governed by izzat (honour), which is the principle of reciprocity or equivalence in all things.''"<ref name="ref55zulop">{{Citation | title=The Journal of Commonwealth & comparative politics, Volume 29 | author=Taylor & Francis | publisher=Frank Cass, 1991 | isbn= | url=http://books.google.com/books?id=ZiZnAAAAMAAJ | quote=''... The manner of their opposition and what is taken - life, resources, or position - is governed by izzat (honour), which is the principle of reciprocity or equivalence in all things. In terms of his enemies, a man frequently found his friends. Enmities could rarely remain localised because of the heterogeneous friendship ties ...''}}</ref> Because social relations in the region emphasize social debts and "''unrestricted reciprocity''" among kin, enmity can spread to individuals who were not involved in the original infractions of ''izzat'' and "''rarely remains localized.''"<ref name="ref55zulop"/><ref name="ref47puzez">{{Citation | title=Television, ethnicity, and cultural change | author=Marie Gillespie | publisher=Routledge, 1995 | isbn=9780415096751 | url=http://books.google.com/books?id=OzsOAAAAQAAJ | quote=''... binding obligations of unrestricted reciprocity which apply to 'true kin' ...''}}</ref>

==See also==

*[[Honor killing#South Asia|Honor killing]]

==References==

{{reflist|2}}

[[Category:Indian culture]]

[[Category:Pakistani culture]]

{{India-culture-stub}}