The Case of Dowry in India
The situation of Dowry in India
No sooner did Prof.Nagendra open the door of his room than he slumped on the ground with a shriek of horror with a shriek of horror. Three girls, pretty, nubile and silently smiling were swinging to and fro in the air. They were the dead bodies of his loving daughters who could not bear his mortifications or not being able to marry them for the want of dowry. Never did Dr. Tandon imagine that his daughters would be strangulated to death for not bringing enough dowries before her bridal make-up could faint. Dr. Sahib swooned, seeing the body of his charming daughter lying in cold embrace of death. When pt. Nityanand Shastri learnt that his newly wed daughter is languishing in misery, he immediately rushed with a fresh consignment of dowry but his daughter cried plaintively, “Father, have you also brought the coffin cloth with you?”. Shastriji, known for his stoicism, showed the streaks of emotions for the first time. Tears were rolling down along his cheeks. These gory events have not been taken from some crime stories but are the true tragedies in real life depicting graphically the evils of dowry system on society. It is an ivory that the dowry, which was originally given as gift of love in cash or kind to brides or grooms from the families of each other so that their dear ones could have a pleasant start in their new lives, has now become an anathema on cultures where it is prevalent. Now it stands virtually for the prize of groom in the marriage market. The parents of groom openly specify the amount in cash, jewellery, clothes and other gadgets of luxury which the bride’s family would have to present them. The cost of dowry ranges between Rs.50000 to a few lakhs in a middle class family not to speak of rich one and therefore in many cases such families are economically ruined. No qualms or no clemency is shown to the bride’s parents in accepting rather extorting dowry. Dowry system has made the lives of millions of people full of
No sooner did Prof.Nagendra open the door of his room than he slumped on the ground with a shriek of horror with a shriek of horror. Three girls, pretty, nubile and silently smiling were swinging to and fro in the air. They were the dead bodies of his loving daughters who could not bear his mortifications or not being able to marry them for the want of dowry. Never did Dr. Tandon imagine that his daughters would be strangulated to death for not bringing enough dowries before her bridal make-up could faint. Dr. Sahib swooned, seeing the body of his charming daughter lying in cold embrace of death. When pt. Nityanand Shastri learnt that his newly wed daughter is languishing in misery, he immediately rushed with a fresh consignment of dowry but his daughter cried plaintively, “Father, have you also brought the coffin cloth with you?”. Shastriji, known for his stoicism, showed the streaks of emotions for the first time. Tears were rolling down along his cheeks. These gory events have not been taken from some crime stories but are the true tragedies in real life depicting graphically the evils of dowry system on society. It is an ivory that the dowry, which was originally given as gift of love in cash or kind to brides or grooms from the families of each other so that their dear ones could have a pleasant start in their new lives, has now become an anathema on cultures where it is prevalent. Now it stands virtually for the prize of groom in the marriage market. The parents of groom openly specify the amount in cash, jewellery, clothes and other gadgets of luxury which the bride’s family would have to present them. The cost of dowry ranges between Rs.50000 to a few lakhs in a middle class family not to speak of rich one and therefore in many cases such families are economically ruined. No qualms or no clemency is shown to the bride’s parents in accepting rather extorting dowry. Dowry system has made the lives of millions of people full of