dowry system

(Dowry System)
In this chapter we will learn:
Meaning and definitions of dowry system
Dowry murders are a disgusting form of dowry system.
due to dowry system
Defects or side effects of dowry system

Suggestions to end dowry system

Dowry system is considered to be the main problem among the problems related to Hindu
marriage. Nowadays it is becoming quite serious. The scope of selection of life partner
among Hindus has been very limited. Due to this, many times there is difficulty in finding
a groom. Not only this,due to hypergamy there has been a severe shortage of boys
in high families. Due to these, the practice of bride price started which is today known
as dowry.
Today this problem has become so serious that a boy is valued before
marriage on the basis of what he does. Marriage becomes possible only after a deal is finalized
with the girl's family. News of many newly married brides being burnt for not bringing
dowry is published in newspapers every day. For this, she has to listen to many things
(taunts) from her husband, mother-in-law, father-in-law and other people from the groom's side.
Their life becomes hell.
Therefore, today the government or aware citizens are making special efforts to end
the dowry system. But a lot still remains to be done in this direction. Here, along with
explaining the meaning of dowry, various aspects of the problem of this practice have also been
discussed.
Hindi ’ English
dowry system
Meaning and
Definitions of Dowry)
which the bride
Generally, dowry is defined as the amount, goods or property
the groom on the occasion of marriage. Major definitions of dowry
gives to
The following are
Navakh Charles Winick and Max Radin -"Those valuable objects or property which the groom's side
time of marriage are called dowry."
receives from the bride's side at the
" New Encyclopedia Britannica "The property that a
woman brings to her
dowry."
husband at the time of marriage is
property that a woman brings
New Tabster Dictionary -"Dowry is money, goods, or
marriage."
to her husband at the time of
" Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 - "Dowry means any
marriage
property or valuable fund given by (1) one of the parties to the
to the other party or (i) any party to the marriage." is given
or accepted to be given to the parents of the other party or to any
before or after
other person on the occasion of the marriage or
the marriage as a condition of the marriage."
that one
Thus, legally, dowry refers to any property or valuables
marriage,
party is required to give to the other as a condition of the
before, during, or after the marriage. Dowry is also called
bridegroom price. In a way, this is a price decided on the
basis of the groom's nobility, wealth, education, occupation etc.
Gruesome Form of Dowry
System: Dowry Deaths
In India, even after passing many laws to stop the dowry system and giving
women equal social rights as men, atrocities on women are increasing. An extreme manifestation
of these atrocities are dowry deaths. According to 'Crime in India', 2011 data,
a dowry death crime occurs every 62 minutes. Every year 8,618 brides
are murdered in the country in the name of dowry. According to the data,
2,322 women were murdered in Uttar Pradesh alone, which is more than one-third of

the total dowry incidents. In Bihar too, 1,413 daughters-in-law were either burnt
to death or committed suicide due to not getting the dowry they demanded. There
was not a single case of dowry death in the north-eastern states of Manipur, Nagaland and
Mizoram during the last four years.
Among dowry related deaths, 8,172, 8,383, 8,391 and 8,618 dowry deaths occurred every
year during 2008 to 2011 respectively. According to the 'Crime in India, 2011' report
 Hindi English
, dowry system
minutes there is a case of
to this, every 21 minutes there is a case of rape, every 12
According death.
there is a kidnapping and every 62 minutes there is a case of dowry
molestation, every 13 minutes
year
against women were registered during the
Atotal of 2,28,650 cases of crimes India,
Although West Bengal has a share of 7.5% in the total population of
2011. cases were registered
percentage of crimes against women there is 12.7 i.e. 29,133
the
crimes took
Pradesh ranks second in crimes against women where 12.4%
there. Andhra
registered.
place i.e. 28,256 cases were
given below shows the share of crimes committed against
The table
women during the year 2019
Table: Against women during the year 2019
Crime Report Number (in 000's)
125.3
Cruelty by husband and relatives
884
Hamta
72.8
kidnapping
46.0
Protection of Children from Violence Act
blasphemy 32.0

Dowry System Act 13.3

dowry death 7.1
Insult 6.9

Women's hatred of suicide 5

Attempted Rape 3.9

due to dowry system

(Causes of Dowry System)
the history of Hindu society in the
The dowry system has never existed in period, there was
the Vedic texts that in the Vedic
distorted form it is in today. It is known from
adorning
husband's house along with some money, after
a custom of sending the girl to her
similar practice followed
her with jewelery and clothes on the occasion of marriage. A
the year 2019, domestic abuse or cruelty
during the Smriti period also. Looking at the data for
was the most reported crime in
India. Assault is
by husband or other relatives
reported crime. At number
second most reported crime and kidnapping is the third most
the are
Following
five and six are cruelty to children, rape and dowry torture respectively.
four,
the main reasons for the origin of dowry system:
Hindi English
dowry system
(1) Anulom marriage-With the practice of Anulom marriage, the demand for boys from
high families increased. In such a situation, the fathers of boys from high castes started giving away

huge sums of money and thus this tradition emerged.

(2) Endogamy -Due to the rule of endogamy, it was necessary for any girl to marry
a man of her own caste or sub-caste. Due to this the scope of marriage became limited.
The number of eligible grooms within a caste reduced. Due to this, a condition like
'sick as a ponmegranate' occurred. As the number of grooms decreased, their value increased
and thus the dowry system developed.
(3) Exploitation of women in joint families - Till the time immemorial, the condition of
women was extremely pathetic. New brides were harassed in joint families. In such a situation,

parents started giving more and more dowry to the girl so that she could get more
prestige in her husband's family. This was beneficial in the beginning but in the future it
It became an institutional means of acquiring
money. (4) Compulsory marriage: In Hindu religion, every parent wants to marry a girl child.
It has been described as an essential religious act. Due to religious ideas, marriage has
become
a mandatory act due to the attainment of virtue and fear of sin. But
this necessity of marriage became a problem for the fathers of
those girls who
were ugly and handicapped. Aman marries such girls only
when he gets huge financial
benefits from it. To solve the marriage problems of such girls,
started giving large amounts of money. This later took the parents
form of dowry system.
(5) Increase in the importance of money: In the present times,
the importance of money has
increased
due to mnaterialistic ideology. Due to this the
dowry system has become more powerful.
Today money has become the basis of social
prestige. For this reason, even a sacred sacrament like
has started being considered a marriage
means of financial gain.
(6) Expensive education system:
Parents spend a lot of money to provide
higher education to their children, especially
etc. Thousands of rupees have to medical and technical education
be spent in this
boy's parents try to compensate for this by education. Therefore, the
Get it back with interest. marrying him so that the amount spent
(7) Asinful cycle - Dowry has
This is why it is not so easy to become sinful cycle that is automatic.
a
stop this cycle. Most of the
demand maximumn dowry in the
marriage of their sons because they people
to give dowry for the
marriage of their daughters. Thus, in themselves have
difficult to ignore this nrantin the cycle
practice it becomes
continues in perpetuity.
 Hindi ’ English
dowry system
91
Demerits or Evil
Effects of Dowry System
Dowry system is a serious marital problem of the present era. Due to this, one
gets to read news of atrocities on new brides in newspapers every day.
Nowadays,
in some families, education is given to the boy only so that he
can get more dowry in
marriage. Without dowry, a girldoes not even get respect from her in-laws.
Earlier dowry was limited only to the upper castes. If the boy was a doctor,
lawyer, professor or engineer or held a high government position, his parents
demanded more dowry. But today dowry has become prevalent even among
lower castes. Today, the merits of this practice are negligible and everyone is aware of
its demerits. Its main defects or side effects are as followS
(1) Family conflict-Dowry system gives rise to many family conflicts and tensions.
If the dowry is less, the new bride is subjected to various kinds of troubles.
She is always criticized for dowry. This creates a feeling of inferiority among
the newlyweds and their life becomes very painful. Additionally, sometimes there
are fights between father, son and other family members over the amount of dowry.
Let's go.
(2) Indebtedness, suicide and infanticide: It is difficult for middle class families to
collect dowry for the marriage of their daughter. For this they have to take huge
loans and the family becomes indebted. If the loan cannot be settled then many
times a common person commits suicide due to fear of social condemnation. Many girls
also become a cause of concern for the family due to not being able to get married.
They also commit suicide due to being disappointed with life. somewhere before
So as soon as a girl child was born, she was killed.
(3) Mismatched marriage - Parents unable to give much dowry marry
their capable, beautiful and virtuous daughter to a deserving, ugly and
handicapped man. Due to this practice, some people even marry their underage
daughters to old men. Such mismatched marriages are never successful in life.
Such marriages generally make problems like divorce and widow remarriage more
serious.

(4) Low standard of living: Due to dowry the standard of living of many families
becomes low. To provide dowry for their daughters, parents have to deposit
a large portion of their income. Due to this the standard of living of the family automatically

becomes low.
 dowry system
92

(5) Commercialization of marriage-Dowry system has commercialized the

sacred ideals of marriage. Today, the demand for dowry has increased so much that
bargaining for a boy before marriage has started. This is a deep attack on the rituals of
Hindu marriage.
(6) Encouragement to child marriage: Dowry system encourages child
marriage. The reason for this is that more dowry is not demanded in child
marriage. In this way, child marriage of a girl is financially beneficial for the

parents.
(7) Increase in the number of unmarried girls: Due to dowry
system, many girls remain unmarried. Many such educated girls, who are
unable to get married due to weak financial condition of their family, become victims

of mental insanity.
(8) Responsible for many social problems- Dowry system also
gives rise to many social problems (like hindrance in education, mental
imbalance, crime etc.). Due to this practice many marriages break
today. Many parents and daughters lose mental balance. Many people
start taking bribe, steal and adopt many other evils to arrange dowry.
Suggestions to end dowry system
(Suggestions to Eradicate Dowry System)
From the demerits of dowry it becomes clear that dowry is a curse or stigma
in the Indian society. Therefore, it is very important to remove it. The following
suggestions can be useful in ending the dowry system:
(1) Spread of education - To end the dowry system, it is necessary that
education be spread widely. Through education individuals can understand the evils of this
practice. Educated young men and women can make a special contribution in ending
this practice.
(2) Encouragement of inter-caste and love marriages: By encouraging inter-caste marriages,
the area of marriage will expand considerably. With the increase in the number of
grooms, the practice of dowry will also relax. Along with this, love marriages should also be
encouraged because love marriages are based on affection, not money.
(3) Public opinion should be created against the dowry system by creating public
opinion against it. There should be a collective boycott of such families who consider even
a sacred bond like marriage as a deal. This will discourage those who are greedy for dowry.

(4) Freedom to choose spouse: Freedom to choose spouse

can also be important in ending the dowry system. When boys and girls
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