Definition:
Dowry is the money, valuables, goods, estate or property which the bride party gives to the groom’s party in exchange of marriage.
Explanation:
Dowry system in India has its own background. Initially, dowry was an institute in which gifts and presents were given to the girl at the time of her marriage by her parents , The element of compulsion on the part of bride’ s parents was absent in it. But over the past two centuries, it has undergone changes in its meaning and has an element of compulsion. Today, dowry means the property demanded by the boy ‘ s people according to what they dowry means the property demanded by the boy ‘ s people according to what they think as the ‘Value” of the boy, from the bride’ s people. Accordingly, the bride’ s people as per the oral agreement, pays dowry either before marriage or at the time of marriage or after marriage is performed Dowry thus, has become the right (haq) of a groom and his parents.
Dowry varieties:
Dowry variations correspond to social-cultural variations in terms of caste, class, family, religion, region, ethnicity and values, among the lower casts where bride-price system is prevalent or where patriarchal system of family is weak, dowry has not become a social problem, On the contrary, the practice of dowry has become a status symbol especially for the upper castes, agricultural castes and the dominant castes. There are dowry packages among the upper, agricultural and dominant sections of Indian society.
The rapid social changes in terms of industrialization, urbanization, new avenues of education, new employment opportunities, higher standard of living sanskritisation and so on have increased the incidence and the dimension and magnitude of dowry, Dowry amounts vary from thousands to crores of rupees. The items to be given and the entire arrangements to be made at the time of marriage are to be carried on in accordance with the wishes of bride-takers, the groom and his parents. Especially, the couple in urban areas demands only those items of dowry which are needed for their newly established household. Thus the dowry variations occur in relation to social structure, social change and changing cultural values.
Causes:
The factors and forces responsible for the practice of dowry in India are: early marriages for girls, limited field of marriage, hyper gamy patriarchy, importance of education a false sense of prestige, materialistic attitude and economic prosperity
Consequences:
The consequences or demerits of dowry system include: female infanticide, late marriages for some girls, unsuitable matches for girls, lowering of women’s status , breakdown of marriage , unhappy married life , tension between two families , increase in immorality, increase in mental diseases , suicide and impoverishment of middle class families by paying heavy dowries and a large number of dowry deaths.
Dowry deaths:
The importance of dowry in India continues despite its having been out lawed in 1961 by the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 which was amended as the Dowry Prohibition (Amendment) Act 1986, and also despite considerable protest from women’s groups in India. In1986. Three Indian girls in England reportedly killed themselves because of fear that mother would be unable to provide them dowries. Of particular concern is the practice of parents demanding increased dowries of their daughter-in-law’s family after marriage. Such demands are sometimes accompanied with threats to kill the bride or they may lead her to commit suicide.
Every year dowry deaths are increasing, in 1990 there were 4,148 cases of burnt or suicide themselves by their in-laws because their families failed to supply the level of dowry promised at the time of marriage or subsequently demanded. In this context, the highest occurred in Uttar Pradesh(1,516), followed by Maharashtra(858), West Bengal (420)and Madhya Pradesh (397) These four states together account for 76.9% of the total cases in India ,
Delhi police recorded 421 cases of bride-burning in 1980, 568 in1981, 619 in 1952, 423 in 1987 and 441 in 1991. In 1986, there were reports of 30 brides being killed shortly after marriage and another 182 beaten Tortured or starved. in Andhra Pradesh , against 14 cases registered in1983 , there were 17 cases in 1984 , 160 cases in 1985 , and 171 cases in 1991. in Maharashtra , the number of dowry cases increased from 173 in 1985 to 368in 1987 and 862 in 1991. in Bihar 311 dowry deaths occurred in 1991 as against 229 in 1987 and 113 in 1986.
Researchers of M.N.Srinivas (1989) Indira Raja Raman (1983), Ram Ahuja (1989) and several others on dowry murders reveal that:
- A vast majority of the victims are from middle-class;
- almost all the victims belonged to the age groups of 20-26 years;
- most of the victims are form the households where the mothers-inlaw are dominant and husbands uncompromising;
- almost all victims suffered different forms of harassment and humiliations before losing their life in their in-laws families and
- The offenders in all cases are brutal or authoritarian expressing their maladjustment and abnormality.
In one case in 1987 in Uttar Pradesh, a woman’s mother-in-law or brother-in-law were sentenced to hang for burning her to death because her family had failed to provide a radio and bicycle promised as dowry. The husband of the victim was jailed for life. Such events sparked a demonstration of over 3,000 women in New Delhi in mid-1987 and led an Indian Women’ s Organization to launch protests in the courts. Dowry has thus become a significant political issue that tied up with changing role and status of women in India.
M.N.Srinivas (1989) while reporting the confessions of the victims commented that the victims even at the time of their death still value “the ideal of treating the husband as a living god” and they do not reveal the husband’s name to the police thereby hiding the facts of the crime and tying the hands of the law-protectors and judiciary.