DOWRY

The cancer of society

Submitted to:
Submitted by:
Prof. Vandana
Goyal

Priyanka
MBA 2nd

Sem
1274567

1 | Page

CONTENTS
S. No.

TOPIC

1.

Acknowledgement

2.

Objective of the study

3.

Research Methodology

4.

Introduction

5.

Causes

6.

Facts of Dowry

7.

Ill effects of Dowry

8.

Steps taken by Government

9.

Case Study

10.

Limitations

11.

Suggestions and recommendations

12.

Bibliography

2 | Page

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I express my deepest sense of gratitude to my guide my philosopher

lecturer

Prof.

Vandana

for

an

immeasurable

contribution

and

encouragement, which inspires me to prepare this report. The concept of

Project Report on Dowry The Cancer of the Society is more
relevant now than it ever has been.

Moreover I am very much thankful to my friends and library book for

further improvement of the report. Finally I acknowledge my deepest
appreciation to the ALMIGHTY.

(Priyanka Goyal)

3 | Page

INTRODUCTION
Dowry or Dahej is the payment in cashor/and
kind by the bride's family to the bridegrooms
family along with the givingaway of the bride.
Dowry originated in upper caste families
asthe

wedding

family.The

gift

dowry

to

was

the
later

bride
given

from

her

to

help

withmarriage expenses and became a form

ofinsuar-ance in the case that her in-lawsmistreated
her.Although the dowry was legally prohibited in
1961, it continues to be highly institutionalized.
The groom often demands a dowry consisting of
a large sum of money, farm animals, furniture,
and electronics.
The practice of dowry abuse is rising in India.
The most severe in bride burning, the burning
of women whose dowries were not considered
sufficient by their husband or in-laws. Most of
these incidents are reported as accidental burns
4 | Page

in the kitchen or are disguised as suicide. It is

evident that there exist deep rooted prejudices
against women in India. Cultural practices such
as the payment of dowry tend to subordinate
women in Indian society.

Though prohibited by law in 1961, the extraction

of DOWRY from the bride's family prior to
marriage still occurs. When the dowry amount is
not considered sufficient or is not forthcoming,
the bride is often harassed, abused and made
5 | Page

miserable. This abuse can escalate to the point

where the husband or his family burn the bride,
often by pouring kerosene on her and lighting it,
usually killing her. The official records of these
incidents are low because they are often reported
as accidents or suicides by the family. In Delhi, a
woman is burned to death almost every twelve
hours

The

number

of

dowry

murders

is

increasing. In 1988, 2,209 women were killed in

dowry related incidents and in 1990, 4,835 were
killed . It is important to reiterate that these are
official records, which are immensely under
reported. The lack of official registration of this
crime is apparent in Delhi, where ninety percent
of cases of women burnt were recorded as
accidents, five percent as suicide and only the
remaining five percent were shown as murder.
According to Government figures there were
a total of 5,377 dowry deaths in 1993, an
increase

of

12%

from

1992.

Despite

the

existence of rigorous laws to prevent dowrydeaths under a 1986 amendment to the Indian
6 | Page

Penal Code (IPC), convictions are rare, and judges

(usually

men)

are

often

uninterested

and

susceptible to bribery. Recent newspaper reports

have focused on the alarming rate of deaths of
married women in Hamirpur, Mandi and Bilaspur
districts in the state of Himachal Pradesh.

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The objectives of the study are the following:1.The main objective of this project is to
probe the causes of dowry and to find the
solutions for the evil of dowry.
2.To study the thinking of males for dowry.
3.To identify the issues related to dowry.
4.To study the laws and punishment for
dowry.
5.To study the role of Govt.
towards dowry victims.

7 | Page

and society

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
MEANING OF RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research Methodology, it is a
way

to

systematically

solve

the

research

Problem. It may be understood as a science of

studying how research is done scientifically. In it
we study the various steps that are generally
adopted

by

the

researcher

in

studying

his

research problem along with the logic behind

them. It is necessary for the researcher to know
not only the research.
Data Collection
The objectives of the project are
8 | Page

such that both primary and secondary data is

required to achieve them. So both primary and
secondary data was used for the project. The
mode of collecting primary data is questionnaire
mode and sources of secondary data are various
magazines, books, newspapers, & websites etc.

Primary data
The primary data are those data which are
collected afresh and for the first time, and thus
happen to be original in character.
Secondary data
The secondary data on the other
hand,

are

those

which

have

already

been

collected by someone else and which have

already been passing through the statistical
process.

9 | Page

CAUSES
Dowry has been approved as integral component
of marriage as an institution.However its modes
of expressions vary from people to people,
depending

their

educational,occupational,

cultural,regional and ethnicbackgrounds.Dowry in

cash and gold (ornaments) occupyeither first or
second priority for all sections of society, vehicles
as a third priority while the parents would go for
landed

property

instead.Higher

or

education

aresidential
and

house

occupation

of

higher positions in society have not been able to

bringchange in the attitude towards dowry.
10 | P a g e

1)

Dowry being the traditional, done thing,

an accepted norm existing for generations to

renegade is difficult. This is why dowry
continues.
2)

Dowry system continues out of necessity.

Examples: A family accepts dowry for boy in

the family (even though wanting to stop the
traditional practice) out of compulsion that
arises because the girl in the same family
when wedded has to give dowry. The family
justifies saying we take dowry for the boy
because we have to give dowry for the girl.
Another reason is when the boy's father has
borrowed huge sums of money for the boy's
education.

The

loan

and

its

interest

is

mounting. It becomes imperative for this

family to take dowry so that the money
borrowed can be returned. Often while taking
loan the money that will come into the family
from dowry is figured in. So also, most
parents keep saving for dowry from the time
11 | P a g e

of birth of the female child because of the

inevitable certainly of having to pay dowry at
the

time

of

girl's

wedding.

These

two

examples show pragmatic causes of dowry

system prevailing through ages till now.
ORIGINAL CAUSE FOR THE ANCIENT DOWRY
SYSTEM.
3)

Originaly dowry acted as offering of

insurance policy for those who got married.

Dowry

was

safeguard

for

the

girl

in

eventuality of being deserted by husband or

becoming widow.

Other Reasons:
1. The poverty in India.
2. The low status of woman in past.
3. The orthodox mentality of the people in past.
4. Provides an occasionfor people to boosttheir
self esteem
12 | P a g e

through feasts anddisplays of materialobjects.

5. Makes alliances withthe families of
similarstatus.

FACTS OF DOWRY
Dowry versus bride price
"Dowry" refers to money, goods or property that a
woman brings into the marriage - it is paid by the
13 | P a g e

woman's family to the man's family. Dowry is practiced

mainly in South Asian countries, such as India.
"Bride price" refers to money, goods or property paid by
the groom or his family to the parents of the bride. It is
paid by the groom's family to the bride's family.

Current dowry practices

Today, dowry is a common practice in some parts of the
world, especially in South Asia, in countries such
as India, Bangladesh,Pakistan, Sri

Lanka and Nepal.

Dowry is most common in patrilineal societies, which

expect women to live with or near their husbands family.
An unusual exception to the dowry custom in South Asia
is found in Bhutan. The dowry system does not exist in
Bhutan; inheritance ismatrilineal, and daughters do not
take their father's name at birth, nor their husband's
name upon marriage. Rural land may be registered in a
woman's

name.

Women

own

businesses,

and

both polyandry and polygyny are socially accepted, with

polygyny

14 | P a g e

being

more

prevalent.

Sometimes

prospective groom will work in the bride's family's

household to earn the right to marry her.

Dowry killings
The expected value of the dowry has risen in some
cultures in recent decades. This phenomenon has led to
a sharp increase in "dowry deaths" since the 1980s. A
"dowry killing" occurs when a new wife is murdered by
her husband or in-laws if they are unhappy with her,
rather than sending her back to her parents, which
would force the in-laws to return the dowry to the bride's
parents. Statistics in India show that 90% of such
murdered brides were educated, 30% were graduates,
and 20% were women who worked outside the home
and contributed to the family financially.[6] Dowry killings
have been described by women's rights groups as a
problem that is typically among the "emergent urban
middle class", who aspire to greater material prosperity,
and the dowry that comes with a wife is viewed as a
means of obtaining money and consumer goods.
Murders are typically carried out by burning the bride to
death, a practice influenced by the older custom of sati,
15 | P a g e

where a mourning widow would die by throwing herself

onto the burning funeral pyre of her late husband.
Although sati has been banned since 1829, it is a
custom that has been admired in the past by many
Indians as a sign of great fidelity.[8] In some instances
today, the bride is driven to commit suicide by selfimmolation following abuse by her husband and in-laws.
These deaths are also considered "dowry deaths" by
many women's rights groups.
The practise of the dowry has been pinpointed as the
cause of these killings. However, the roots of the
problem, and possible solutions, are more complex.
Feminists in South Asia, such as India's Madhu Kishwar
editor of the Delhi-based feminist magazine Manushi
point out that inheritance laws in India discriminate
against women, with inheritances being left only to sons.
This leaves women dependent upon their husbands and
in-laws, who keep the dowry when she marries.[7] It has
also been pointed out that a modern complication is the
fact that young educated, middle class Indian women
experience some independence when they work outside
the home, and this may lead towards conflict with new
16 | P a g e

in-laws who expect them to be completely obedient and

subservient.
Census

Though prohibited by law in 1961, the

extraction of DOWRY from the bride's family prior
to marriage still occurs. When the dowry amount
is not considered sufficient or is not forthcoming,
the bride is often harassed, abused and made
miserable. This abuse can escalate to the point
where the husband or his family burn the bride,
often by pouring kerosene on her and lighting it,
usually killing her. The official records of these
17 | P a g e

incidents are low because they are often reported

as accidents or suicides by the family. In Delhi, a
woman is burned to death almost every twelve
hours

The

number

of

dowry

murders

is

increasing. In 1988, 2,209 women were killed in

dowry related incidents and in 1990, 4,835 were
killed . It is important to reiterate that these are
official records, which are immensely under
reported. The lack of official registration of this
crime is apparent in Delhi, where ninety percent
of cases of women burnt were recorded as
accidents, five percent as suicide and only the
remaining five percent were shown as murder.
According to Government figures there were a
total of 5,377 dowry deaths in 1993, an increase
of 12% from 1992. Despite the existence of
rigorous laws to prevent dowry-deaths under a
1986 amendment to the Indian Penal Code (IPC),
convictions are rare, and judges (usually men)
are often uninterested and susceptible to bribery.
Recent newspaper reports have focused on the
alarming rate of deaths of married women in
18 | P a g e

Hamirpur, Mandi and Bilaspur districts in the

state of Himachal Pradesh.

Incidence of Dowry deaths in India, state, year

wise
Some more facts

Dowry system in India is as old as History. Only the kind of things

given has changed.

Dowry can be explained as things given in cash or kind to the

bride at the time of wedding by her parents.

In very old days, only oats, maize, utensils were given.

With the passage of time, things changed. Standard of given

things changed.

Kings or wealthy people started giving gold ornaments, horses or

land.

Poor class people had been always much affected lot.

19 | P a g e

In modern society, though the standard of giving dowry has gone a

drastic change.

I think people have become more greedy now than before.

More and more innocent girls are becoming target of evil custom of
dowry.

Heinous crimes of bride burning by their spouses and in-laws are

increasing.

Youth should come forward to stop this evil things.

20 | P a g e

ILL-EFFECTS OF DOWRY
It should be very clear that this system is
prevailing not due to the unemployment or
illiteracy of the society. This is flourishing very
well in almost every part of the society. They may
be Engineers, Doctors, Lawyers, IAS, Managers or
any respectable profession we can think of. There
are strict laws against the dowry but like
corruption this has also become an integral part
of Indian society. Everyone knows and everyone
discusses openly. On mutual agreement the law
against the dowry is violated by everyone and
everywhere.
The big and perplex question is can our Indian
society ever be free from this evil. Could this ever
go into one of the dark and grave histories of
India like Child Marriage or Sati Pratha. If yes,
then who can and from where it can start. It is
said that education is the solution of almost all
the ills of the society. But in this case education is
of not that much use because more education
21 | P a g e

and good job means eligibility for more and more

dowry.

Before going further lets see how this system

impacts the individuals life and retards the
growth of women in India.
The existence of dowry system creates a sense of
economic fear among the parents of girl child. If
it is the story of middle class then they prefer to
have

only

basic

higher

education

for

their

daughter and save the money so that with the

saved money they can get excellent earning and
qualified partner for their daughters marriage.
Some sensitive parents listen to their daughters
wish and let her go for higher education but now
parents always remain in anxiety to get the
money arranged for the marriage. Most of the
22 | P a g e

time due to lack of money for dowry, it ends up in

having unsuitable partner for the daughter and
this brings sense of guilt to parents.
In some cases daughters love make father go to
any extent to arrange money for the dowry so
that his daughter can have good qualified life
partner for the rest of her life. They may sell their
lands and can keep their home on mortgage and
this makes their rest of life economically liable to
someone.
In economically poor family, the terror of dowry
leads to sex identification of foetus and then to
abortion.

The

sex

identification

through

ultrasound is illegal in our country but in small

cities and towns, the identification of sex in
pregnancy is not a hard job. If you want to know
from the main doctor, you have to pay more
otherwise just keep some money in the hands of
doctors assistant, who takes care of ultrasound
during the pregnancy check, and they will tell
verbally. From the context of Indian society there
23 | P a g e

are

many

reasons

for

abortion

and

dislike

towards the girl child but there is no doubt that

existing dowry system is a predominant one.
In most of the poor and middle class families,
only the boys are given preference to get the
education from a good school and college and
not the girls. If you go and ask the reason they
will say if girl is educated then they cannot get
an educated partner for her marriage as they are
poor. The daughter listens and bears for being a
girl. She cant fly and cant dream like her
brother. She only restricts herself in cooking,
painting, and tailoring or any other household
decoration things so that at least her parents can
boast of these things and can get some what
good life partner for her.
The existence of dowry makes people corrupt.
Most of the time the cash paid as a dowry is
generally through corrupt route and the money

24 | P a g e

disappears without having any legal documents

or without the knowledge of income tax office.
In the schooldays everyone would have written
notes on the topic of Dowry. At that time
everyone keeps the feeling of hatred against the
dowry. But once grown up and time for action
comes then forget what they have written. Even
the parents do not give any lecture to their kids
on

dowry

because

they

cannot

present

themselves as role model to their kids in the fight

against the dowry. Even mothers demand dowry
for their son. She forgets how her father has
struggled to arrange the money to get her
married through dowry. It seems no one is
sensitive towards others. Everyone thinks about
themselves and for that instant only. Everyone
one says that when the actual time comes, one
must be practical instead of becoming emotional
and sensitive towards others.

25 | P a g e

STEPS TAKEN BY GOVERNMENT

The Dowry Prohibition (DP) Act(1961)
Introduced and taken up by then Indian law
minister Ashoke Kumar Sen, this Act prohibits the
request, payment or acceptance of a dowry, "as
consideration for the marriage", where "dowry" is
defined as a gift demanded or given as a
precondition for a marriage. Gifts given without a
precondition are not considered dowry, and are
26 | P a g e

legal. Asking or giving of dowry can be punished

by an imprisonment of up to six months, or a fine
of up to Rs. 15000 or the amount of dowry
whichever is higher and imprisonment up to 5
years. It replaced several pieces of anti-dowry
legislation that had been enacted by various
Indian states.
Section 4 of the said Act states:
Penalty for demanding dowry.- If any person
demands, directly or indirectly, from the parents
or other relatives or guardian of a bride or
bridegroom, as the case may be, any dowry, he
shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term
which shall not be less than six months, but
which may extend to two years and with fine
which may extend to ten thousand rupees.
Provided that the Court may, for an adequate and
special reasons to be mentioned in the judgment,
impose a sentence of imprisonment for a term of
less than six months.
However, as per section 3 of the Act, both the
giver and the receiver are sought to be punished.
27 | P a g e

Penalty for giving or taking dowry.- [(Note:

Section 3 re-numbered as sub-section (1) thereof
by Act No.63 of 1984, sec.3) (1)] 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 [(Note: Subs. by Act
43 of 1986, Sec.3) five years, and with fine which
shall not be less than fifteen thousand rupees or
the

amount

of

the

value

of

such

dowry,

whichever is more:]
Provided that the Court may, for a adequate and
special reasons to be recorded in the judgment,
impose a sentence of imprisonment of a term of
less than [(Note: Subs. by Act 43 of 1986, Sec.3)
five years.]
(2) [(Note: Ins. by Act 63 of 1984, sec.3) Nothing
is sub section (1) shall apply to, or in relation to, (a) Presents which are given at the time of a
marriage to the bride (without any demand
having been made in that behalf).
28 | P a g e

(b) Presents which are given at the time of a

marriage to the bridegroom (without any demand
having been made in that behalf).
Provided that such presents are entered in a list
maintained in accordance with the rules made
under this Act.
Provided further that where such presents are
made by or on behalf of the bride or any person
related to the bride, such presents are of a
customary nature and the value thereof is not
excessive having regard to the financial status of
the person by whom, or on whose behalf, such
presents are given.
IPC Section 406
This section, for offences related to Criminal
Breach of Trust, is usually applied in investigation
of stridhan recovery from the husband and his
family.
Offences

under

are bailable and cognizable.

Section 406.
29 | P a g e

this

section

Punishment for criminal breach of trust

Whoever commits criminal breach of trust shall
be

punished

with

imprisonment

of

either

description for a term which may extend to three

years, or with fine, or with both.
IPC Section 304B
This Section of the Indian Penal Code was
inserted by a 1986 amendment. The wording of
the law states:
Section 304B. Dowry death
(1) Where the death of a woman is caused by any
burns or bodily injury or occurs otherwise than
under normal circumstances within seven years
of her marriage and it is shown that soon before
her death she was subjected to cruelty or
harassment by her husband or any relative of her
husband for, or in connection with, any demand
for dowry, such death shall be called "dowry
death" and such husband or relative shall be
deemed to have caused her death.

30 | P a g e

Explanation:-For

the

purpose

of

this

sub-

section, "dowry" shall have the same meaning as

in section 2 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961
( 28 of 1961).
(2) Whoever commits dowry death shall be
punished with imprisonment for a term which
shall not be less than seven years but which may
extend to imprisonment for life.
IPC Section 498A
Section 498A was inserted into the Indian Penal
Code in 1983 via an amendment.
It reads:
498A. Husband or relative of husband of a
woman subjecting her to cruelty.
Whoever, being the husband or the relative of
the husband of a woman, subjects such woman
to cruelty shall be punished with imprisonment
for a term which may extend to three years and
shall also be liable to fine.
Explanation-For the purpose of this section,
"cruelty" means31 | P a g e

(a) Any willful conduct which is of such a nature

as is likely to drive the woman to commit suicide
or to cause grave injury or danger to life, limb or
health

whether

mental

or

physical)

of

the

woman; or
(b) Harassment of the woman where such
harassment is with a view to coercing her or any
person related to her to meet any unlawful
demand for any property or valuable security or
is on account of failure by her or any person
related to her meet such demand.
This section is non-bailable,non-compoundable
(i.e. it cannot be privately resolved between the
parties concerned) and cognizable.
Prosecution for a non-compoundable offense can
only be quashed by a High Court of India under
its

powers

under

section

482

of

Criminal

Procedure Code of India. Usually, cases under

498A are quashed by mutual agreement when
the husband and wife reconcile with each other,
or agree to divorce by mutual consent.
32 | P a g e

After registration of an FIR for a cognizable, nonbailable offense, the police in India can arrest any
and all of the accused named in the complaint.
Status of Second wife under Anti-Dowry
Law- I [2008] DMC 279- Bombay High CourtJustice

C.L.

RanjanaGopalraoThorat
MaharashatraSection

Hindu

Pangarkar
Vs.

State

Marriage

17BigamySecond

of

Act,1955

wife

cannot

assume a character as wife--- It is no marriage in

eyes of law[Pg.280 {Para6}]-- Indian Penal
CodeSection 498Acrueltyword relative
meaning of- Person who is related to husband
either by blood or marriageThus she does not
fall within scope of Section 498A-- Indian Penal
Code Pg.280 {Para6}]
"Every Suicide After Marriage cannot be
presumed to be Suicide due to Dowry
Demand"- 2011[1] JCC Page No.668- In The High
Court of Delhi- HonbleMr. Justice Shiv Narayan
Dhingra- Dated: - 2 December 2010- Rani Vs.
State of NCT of Delhi- Criminal Appeal No. 93 of
33 | P a g e

2004- Indian Penal Code, 1860- Section 304B/

498A

Read

With

Section

34-

Conviction-

allegation of demanding of Rs.50,000/- and

scooter were vague in nature- Whether it was
done by husband, mother-in-law or father-in-lawAnswers to all these questions are absent
Ingredients of Section 304B IPC were totally
absent- Unnatural Death can be called a dowry
death only if after making a demand made by
accused is not fulfilled by perpetuation of cruelty
upon the victim- The list of dowry show that both
parties belonged to poor strata of society- No
evidence, whatsoever was collected by police
about the real facts- Every suicide after marriage
cannot be presumed to be a suicide due to dowry
demand- The tendency of the court should not be
that since a young bride has died after marriage,
now somebody must be held culprit and the
noose must be made to fit some neck.
Domestic Violence Act (2005/2006)
The above being criminal remedies, a civil
remedy was brought into the picture in 2005
34 | P a g e

(amended

in

2006).

This

was

called

the

"Protection of Women from Domestic Violence

Act".
For the purpose of this act, Domestic Violence
includes the demand for dowry:
For the purposes of this Act, any act, omission or
commission or conduct of the respondent shall
constitute domestic violence in case it (a) harms or injures or endangers the health,
safety, life, limb or well-being, whether mental or
physical, of the aggrieved person or tends to do
so and includes causing physical abuse, sexual
abuse, verbal and emotional abuse and economic
abuse; or
(b) harasses, harms, injures or endangers the
aggrieved person with a view to coerce her or
any other person related to her to meet any
unlawful demand

for

any

dowry or

other

property or valuable security; or

(c) has the effect of threatening the aggrieved
person or any person related to her by any
35 | P a g e

conduct mentioned in clause (a) or clause (b);

or(d) otherwise injures or causes harm, whether
physical or mental, to the aggrieved person.
This Act empowered the lower courts to issue
"protection orders" on the complaint of a woman
against her male relatives. The protection orders
could include restraining orders on the husband
and

others,

monetary

compensation,

and

residence orders.
Though it is a Civil remedy, violation of protection
orders result in Criminal penalties (including
imprisonment).

CASE STUDY
May 27: Young housewife burnt alive for
dowry

36 | P a g e

LUCKNOW: For nineteen-year-old Rinki dreams

of a happily married life was never to be. Barely a
month after her marriage, she was allegedly
tortured

and

then set ablaze

by her in-laws for
dowry

in

Indiranagar

in

the small hours

of

Saturday.

Daughter of late
Gyan

Chand,

fish

contractor

who

expired

a
a

year ago, Rinki was married to Anil on April 19...

However, soon after the marriage, Balakram
[Anils father] demanded a colour television
instead

of

black

and

white

one

and

motorcycle as well. When Rinkis mother failed to

meet their demands, the teenage housewife was
subjected to severe physical torture, allegedly by
her husband and mother-in-law... On Saturday
37 | P a g e

morning she [her mother] was informed that

Rinki was charred to death when a kerosene lamp
accidentally fell on her and her clothes caught
fire.
However, at first sight it appeared that the victim
was first attacked as her teeth were found
broken.

38 | P a g e

LIMITATIONS
Many problems arise from this fuzzy definition of
crime combined with draconian provisions for
punishment:

who decides what is a 'voluntary gift' and

what is given under pressure of a demand?
The very same family that often declares, at
the time of marriage, that they only gave
'voluntary gifts' to the groom's family, does
not hesitate to attribute all their 'gift-giving'
to extortionist demands, once the marriage
turns sour and is headed for a breakdown.
Thus, even when marital troubles may not be
connected to tussles over dowry, and the
marital strain is due to mutual incompatibility
rather than the husband's violence or abuse,
many women's families tend to seek an
advantage in registering cases using the
draconian provisions of the anti-dowry law

39 | P a g e

when

the

marriage

heads

towards

breakdown.

How do you decide what is 'excessive' in

relation to income by way of gifts when in
India no more than 2-3 percent people
declare their incomes and those too are
grossly under reported? How do you judge
the paying status of a family if most of their
wealth is in 'black' money and property
holdings held in bogus names to escape
taxes?

Burden of proof on the accused : What

makes this law especially draconian is that
the burden of proof has been shifted onto
the accused. The bride's parents rarely want
to declare the true value of gifts given
because the big dowry givers also put
together their daughter's dowry from black
money and, therefore, don't want it listed.

40 | P a g e

When dowry giving is a crime, why would a

groom or bride's family put their signature on
the list of gifts being given?

Since a good part of modern dowries consist

of expensive jewelry, household goods and
high priced clothes, how do you prove
whether or not these things were transferred
to the bride's name within three months of
marriage? For example, if a family has spent
Rs.3-4 lakh on providing new furniture for
their daughter's home, does it mean that all
that furniture must be kept in rooms meant
for the exclusive use of the daughter?

As per the law, even dowry giving is an

offence, but there is hardly ever an instance
of the bride's family being prosecuted for
giving dowry. The assumption is that only
'takers' are guilty while 'givers' are hapless
creatures yielding to the greed and callous
demands of the groom's family.

41 | P a g e

The campaigners against dowry make it

appear as if escalating dowries are solely due
to the greed of the groom's family. However,
as I have argued in several articles, the
theory that growing greed is the cause of
dowry increase would make sense only if our
country had two distinct sets of families those who only produced sons and those who
produced only daughters. The 'son-blessed'
families would thus be permanent gainers as
dowry

receivers

while

'daughter-cursed'

families would be permanent victims of greed

and be always at the mercy of extortionist
demands.
because

This
a

is

clearly

family,

not

which

the

gives

on

case
its

daughter's wedding, becomes a recipient

when its sons get married.

This law does not take into account the

rapidly

changing

forms

of

marriage

transactions and mixes up the tradition

of stridhan with
transactions.
42 | P a g e

modern
Even

day
the

marriage
anti-dowry

campaigners attribute the problems of the

modern day dowry system to the tradition
of stridhan, both of which are projected as a
hangover of 'traditional' patriarchal norms.
The present day custom of dowry giving may
retain some ingredients of the tradition of
giving stridhan (a woman's own inalienable
property) to daughters but the difference
between modern day dowry and stridhan is
as profound as that between a horse carriage
and a motorized truck. Though both move on
wheels the power that propels the two kinds
of wheels is altogether different.

SUGGESTIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
The

present

day

dowry

system

in

India

symbolizes the disinheritance of women and the

43 | P a g e

desperation of parents to push their daughters

out of their homes after marrying them off, no
matter how this affects their well-being. Failure to
do so is considered a severe stigma on the
family's izzat (reputation). Since the woman is
being sent as a disinherited dependent, the
receiving family has to be compensated.
Once women become equal inheritors, parents
will not have to depend only on sons and
daughters-in-law for old age security because
daughters too will be empowered to take care of
their parents. This will make families less malecentric and therefore, less prone to violent
tussles. We need to combat the culture of
disinheritance if we wish to effectively combat
the growing hold of dowry culture. For this the
following steps are likely to work better than antidowry laws:

Encourage parents through widespread, high

profile campaigns, to gift mainly incomegenerating

44 | P a g e

forms

of

property

to

their

daughters (land, house or business shares)

depending on the economic status of the
family.

Encourage those parents who can afford it to

ensure that their daughter has a house, room
or even a jhuggi in her own name so that she
is never rendered homeless, can never be
'thrown out of the house'.

Amend the Hindu Succession Act to give

coparcenary rights to daughters at par with
sons

as

the

states

of

Andhra

Pradesh,

Karnataka and Tamilnadu have already done.

Amend the Hindu Succession Act to make it

illegal

to

routinely

disinherit

daughters

through their wills unless they can provide

strong extenuating circumstances for doing
so.

45 | P a g e

BIBLIOGRAPHY

WEBSITES
www.google.com
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/dowrinindia.com
MAGAZINES & BOOKS
India Today
Dowry and the Indian Society : Raghu/
Chawla,

Navin

1852309121 12/96

46 | P a g e

ELMBElement

ISBN: