Dowry System – Long Way to Go

6 A.M in the morning, during the summer season in the year 1993, a boy came running and told Kunti that Nijala (her elder daughter) was found dead. She rushed to the spot with the villagers only to meet the blood laden corpse of her dear daughter and that too close to a machine at her daughter’s in laws house. Her head was banged by a huge wheel that was connected with a belt. This might be an accident but it is certainly not, what the villagers believe. She was brutally murdered by her in laws for the dowry.

Same sorrowful morning visited Kunti once again in 2004 summers when Kunti’s youngest daughter, Pinky, who was just 14 years old, was brutally rapped by Nijala’s brother in law. Kunti was not ready to keep mum this time. She wanted justice by punishing the criminal. She lodged a complaint against him. For this courage she paid a price and on 23rd July 2005, she was viciously flailed by the criminal and some local bullies. She was bashed up thrice by them.

The legal trial started in the early month of the year 2006 and after 24 dates court called victim to testify, this shows laid-back attitude of the Judiciary.

Like Kunti many other women faced domestic violence after their marriage. An Advocate of High Court Shruti said that according to the survey of Government of India the percentage of domestic violence is 62.4% but she believes the actual percentage is around 80%.

On the occasion of Rakhshabandhan, Mahila Jagriti Kendra (MJK) organised a program in which every individual tied rakhi to everyone just to show that every individual of the society or every soul of the nature needs security. On the particular day many victims of dowry system participated.

Unfortunately Kunti is not alone in the crowd. Rubi Devi’s in laws demanded for a bike just before the last rites of the marriage that was not fulfilled at the same time. Her in laws demanded for one and a half lakh rupees and asked Rubi to ask their parents to replace a gold chain of 10 grams from 30 grams. On one occasion she was asked to cook food and her in laws leaked the gas cylinder before hand. The smell of methane saved her when she refused to cook food. She was brutally thrashed up by her mother in law and sister in law.

According to Pramila Kumari, who is Helpline project manager in Patna, they receive 40 to 50 calls per day related to domestic violence, rape, sexual harassment, and dowry. She further said that they receive an average of 28 registered cases out of which 20 cases are related to dowry.
Pramila with some social activists is working against domestic violence also councils the in laws of the victim. If they find no way out to compromise they legally try to separate the bride and the groom.

Rita Kumari, after three years of her marriage, divorced her husband on 24th April, 2007. Her parents paid 75000 rupees in the name of tilak and gifted complete furniture and jewelleries of gold. Still her in laws demanded for more one lakh rupees that was not possible to fulfil by the grooms father. She was bashed up by her brother in laws and mother in laws.

It is seen that in the Hindi speaking states particularly Bihar and UP Dowry system is practised in a larger scale. The amount of money varies from few thousands to some millions. It varies on the basis of Caste and designation or profession of the groom. Upper caste demands for higher dowry than the lower caste.

While interviewing the victims, Advocate Shruti mentioned about Protection of Women From Domestic Violence Act 2005 under which women is given certain rights like right to residence, right to accommodation and maintenance, right to the services and assistance of the Protection Officer and Service Providers. She also has the right to simultaneously file her own complaint under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code. If a husband violates any of the above rights of the aggrieved woman, it will be deemed a punishable offence. Charges under Section 498A can be framed by the magistrate, in addition to the charges under this Act. Further the offences are cognisable and non-bailable. Punishment for violation of the rights mentioned above could extend to one year's imprisonment and/or a maximum fine of Rs 20,000.

Shobha Prasad was a wife of a lecturer in a renowned college of Patna, whose monthly income is 30,000 rupees. He got married to his student and had already got one daughter who is pursuing MSc in Science College. She is fighting for her rights that come under Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005.

Shruti further said that very few of the police department knows about this Act and sometimes harass the victim by asking odd questions.

According to many social activists and intellectuals dowry system can be scaled down by educating the fairer sex. However, this opinion do not fits with the situation. Rubi is tortured mostly by her youngest sister in law who is pursuing MSc at B.N.College in Patna.

According to Neelu, a social activist, education can lower down the rate of dowry system but very negligible. She further said Dowry System cannot be eliminated at once and therefore it is important to change the mindset of the people. It can be stopped if groom refuses to take dowry or bride refuses to marry if her in laws demands for dowry.

The amount also varies with the education an IITian or IAS officer gets 30 lacks rupees, MBBS gets 15 lack rupees, Defence/Army/Navy gets around 5 lack rupees.

According to an article published on 11 December 2005 in Times of India (Hyderabad), rate of dowry goes to Rs 3 crore for a Software professional whose annual salary is $100,000 and settled in USA. It further states “As expected, it's the propertied classes — Kammas, Reddys, Kapus — that are blazing the dowry trail. A Kamma 'boy', well-settled in the US, is available for not a lakh less than Rs 50 lakh, with some of them going for up to Rs 20 crore.”

The above article clearly shows that groom and bride are highly educated still they take or give dowry. However, rich people don’t face much problem in paying the amount to the groom’s family. Only lower middle class and lower class finds it difficult to manage a big amount to marry their daughters. And these people are 70% of the population of India.

In few decades it can be seen that bride’s parent have to give dowry inorder to maintain their dignity in the society. Society measures the quality of the Son in law’s family by the amount of dowry paid by the bride’s father.

With time it is seen Dowry System is modernised. The structure and nature of Dowry has established a strong spider web from which it will take long time for the society to come out. Dowry is one of the modes for the groom to become rich in very short span of time.