The dowry system in India refers to the durable goods, cash, and real or movable property that the bride’s family gives to the groom, his parents and his relatives as a condition of the marriage.
Dowry is essentially in the nature of a payment in cash or some kind of gifts given to the groom’s family along with the bride and includes cash, jewellery, electrical appliances, furniture, bedding, crockery, utensils, vehicles and other household items that help the newlyweds set up their home. Dowry is referred to as Dahez in Arabic. In the far eastern parts of India, dowry is called Aaunnpot.
Marriage in India is steeped in traditions and deep-rooted cultural beliefs. Practices are passed down by word of mouth and in some cases, re-interpreted to align with the changing times. There is, however, one custom that stubbornly resists change: the dowry system.
Although seeking a dowry has been outlawed in India since 1961, the ban has been a challenge to enforce. An amendment to the law in 1986 mandated that any death or violence within the first seven years of marriage would be tried as related to dowry. The reality is that most cases of dowry violence go unreported.
The ancient India cannot be accounted for the downfall of status of women in the society and the surge of the dowry system. According to several studies, dowry wasn’t the primary requisite to initiate the selection of the bride. Rather, her personal characteristics, and eticates as a human defined her stance for the perfect partner to the groom.
According to Al-Biruni, dowry system wasn’t practised in ancient India as early as 1035 AD. Marriage was not a liability, rather, it was the event of peace and enjoyment. The male would gift a present to the girl and henceforth held no right to ask for it back again. Rather, the girl held the discretion in the process and could return the gift if she was not ready to marry the entity.
Greed-Expectation: When the marriage ceremony talks are initiated, a major sector of the society holds the thought that it is the event for extortion from the bride’s family. Several reasons are cited including the dowry is being demanded to compensate the costs of the groom’s education and liability. Well, the fact that the girl is also a responsibility for the family, not a liability, is ignored widely.
The primary reason behind such desperate measures can be justified through the greed factor. Owing to expectations of material benefits from the bride’s family, dowry is demanded for, and at times, when the demands are not met, either the marriage is called off, or the bride is exploited leading to domestic violence.
The ancient India was quite liberal in the event of gift exchange during marriage. All of it would rest upon the financial status of the families. However, at present, the dowry amount and in-kind gift exchange has led to depletion in status of women in the society, and led to depiction of social stance through the networth exchanged.
The financial status of the bride’s family is of little or no significance to the groom’s family leading to prospective dowry extortion in a marriage. Yet again, the bride’s family try to pay it out owing to the fact that losing a marriage proposal would deteriorate their status in the society.
With a literacy rate of 74.04% in the country, it is quite valid to consider it the primary cause for different social evils. Being from the segment that is not knowledgeable about the laws and legislation, they face several atrocities owing to dowry exchange practices. They are left with little or no choices and have to meet the demands of the groom’s family, which when not met, leads to exploitation of the women.
After understanding the history behind this and also the framework of it let’s just view at some examples of such cases where a complete devastation of women is observed .
Dowry related matters accounted for the lives of 19 women every day in 2020, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data has revealed. A total of 6,966 cases of dowry deaths, with 7,045 victims, were reported last year, the crime bureau report said.
In all, as 10,366 cases were registered under The Dowry Prohibition Act in 2020 against 13,307 cases in 2019 and 12,826 cases in 2018. The crime rate per one lakh people in 2020 stood at 1.6.The highest number of cases was registered in Uttar Pradesh at 2,274 with 2,302 victims. This was followed by Bihar, where the number of cases reported was 1,046, with 1,047 victims.
A total of 608 cases were registered in Madhya Pradesh, followed by West Bengal (522), Rajasthan (479), Odisha (320), Jharkhand (275), and Haryana (251). In Delhi, 110 cases of dowry deaths were reported in 2020.
A young 27 year old PhD scholar committed suicide because her in-laws were not okay with her continuing studies. A flight attendant Anissa Batra who jumped off her terrace, her parents say, was tortured emotionally for dowry.
On October 2, a man in Pulluvila, Kerala, allegedly attacked his estranged wife, S Jessy, in retaliation for filing for divorce. Ordinarily, this would have been brushed off as a ‘family issue’ — the victim was not killed in the incident and is from a marginalised community, making it a case that police, government and media often ignore.
But on Sunday evening, the sleepy village in the coastal region of Thiruvananthapuram broke out in protest, with thundering slogans reverberating across the state. Scores of women from the fishing community in Pulluvila marched and demanded justice for the woman in the domestic abuse case.
Although the dowry system was made illegal in India in 1961, the custom still prevails in various parts of the country cutting across classes, financial, religious and educational barriers.
However, people of today’s time especially those living in rural areas should be made aware about current situation and also make them understand the reality. Moreover, following step could greatly aid to prevent such evils ,
- Educate your daughters.
- Encourage them to have their own career.
- Teach them to be independent and responsible.
- Treat them (your daughter) equally without any discrimination.
- Do not encourage the practice of giving or taking dowry.
Apart from individuals perspective some of the duties by government that ensures strict prohibition of such evils include:
- Short title, extent and commencement: This Act may be called the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961. It extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir. It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, appoint.
- Penalty for giving or taking dowry: If any person, after the commencement of this Act, gives or takes or abets the giving or taking of dowry, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than five years, and with the fine which shall not be less than fifteen thousand rupees or the amount of the value of such dowry, whichever is more.
