A horrible crime in Gurugram’s upscale Sushant Lok curtailed the life of a promising talent that had the vision of inspiring and empowering others of her ilk. Quite disturbingly, Radhika Yadav’s journey to success was brutally cut short by the very man who raised her. The former state-level tennis player was gunned down in her own kitchen, while cooking, with four bullets allegedly fired by her father. Her only crime was that she dared to live on her own terms in a ruthless patriarchal world! This is not just a story of one man’s rage. It is a window into a society where patriarchy continues to operate in its most violent form — cloaked in honour, pride, and the age-old rot of ‘log kya kahenge.’ Radhika was 25, ambitious, and independent. She played tournaments in Indore and Kuala Lumpur, coached students, featured in a music video, and reportedly nurtured dreams of nurturing the next generation of players. For this, she was resented, partly restricted, and finally, according to police allegations, murdered by her own father.
To be clear, this was not a “moment of madness,” nor merely a “family dispute.” This was a femicide — the killing of a woman for exercising autonomy, and for defying deeply entrenched gender roles. What Deepak Yadav allegedly did was an act of domination — a father who could not tolerate that his daughter had grown into a self-reliant woman beyond his control. Even more nonsensical is the society that enabled this act. The accused reportedly faced ridicule from villagers for “living off his daughter’s earnings.” Radhika’s choices — from coaching tennis to acting in a video — were not offensive; they became unacceptable only because they bruised male ego and patriarchal expectations. It is unfortunately ridiculous that her freedom, confidence, and public presence were seen as provocations, rather than achievements.
This tragedy is not isolated. It is disturbingly familiar in a country where women are too often punished for being independent — sometimes by husbands, brothers, or fathers. Honor killings, restrictions on clothing, careers, friendships — all stem from a system that sees women not as individuals, but as family property, whose conduct reflects on male reputation. There are, and have always been, hard questions around this theme. It is pathetic that India, as a nation, is still debating a woman's right to ambition, dress, friendship, or art in 2025. Radhika’s story is also a searing indictment of the toxic notion of “parental love” that justifies control as care. Her friends speak of years of criticism, of being policed for what she wore, who she spoke to, when she left the house — even while the same parent reportedly chauffeured her to a video shoot. Such contradictions are not uncommon in abusive family dynamics, where apparent support is withdrawn the moment the woman’s choices challenge patriarchal limits. It is telling that even in death, attempts are being made to underplay her autonomy — with relatives now denying she ran an academy, as if her work, her income, her success must be erased to salvage reputations. No amount of remorse, including Deepak’s reported wish for the death penalty, can undo this crime. If he truly loved his daughter, he should have celebrated her dreams, not ended them.
Radhika Yadav deserved applause, but her body went through autopsy. Her journey from a promising athlete to a slain daughter cannot be just another headline lost in the churn of crime news. It must jolt us into reform — of mental health surveillance, and most critically, of how we raise our sons and daughters. Furthermore, it is difficult to imagine the life and choices of women in India who haven’t earned enough name and fame for their stories to be discussed in mainstream media! Needless to say, society will resort to rage and resolve, however inconsequential it may turn out to be, eventually. There is already a rage against the system that let her down. There must be a firm resolve to build a world where no woman is made to die for being free. Radhika did not fail her family. Her family, her society — all of us — failed her. The murderer must be punished timely, and society has still a long way to reflect upon.