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Dowry system in India.

Dowry or 'Dhahej' as we popularly know it is the practice of giving of gold, silver, money
and other necessities of life (sometimes, even luxuries) by the bride's family to the
groom's family.

Over time, the practice of giving dowry at

weddings has become one of the greatest social
evils of Indian Society. Many women have been
harassed, tortured and brutally murdered in the
name of dowry so much so that the Government
has been forced to enforce laws for its
prevention and protection of these helpless
women. Many charitable trusts and NGOs also
have united for this very cause. Despite all the
efforts of the aforementioned, this evil exists until this very day.

The question that now arises is: Was this practice just as ruthless, shallow and void of
moral values at its inception as it is now? Was amassing wealth at the expense of
unsuspecting innocent brides the whole purpose of the dowry system? Fortunately, the
answer is: NO.

To understand the origin of this practice, one must take a deeper look into the Hindu
Society and the inherent Law. In Hindu Society, people lived in joint families. Men
marry and their brides come to live in the houses of their husbands. The family members
practiced the profession of their choice or even carried out businesses together. The
profits of the same were distributed equitably among the members of the family.
However, there was only one problem: When the daughters got married, they went on to
live with their respective husbands, thus making it difficult to divide the property
equitably among its members and also avoid the disintegration of the joint family at the
same time. If the daughter got her rightful share in her family property and also went on
to live with her husband in his house, then she or her husband would be able to control
and even interfere in this family's affairs. One should also note that they would hold
rights in two family properties which could cause many problems due to conflict of
interests and disputes on how the property is handled or dealt which may be compared to
the ones faced by business houses even to this very day. This is one of the reasons why
according to the Hindu Law women did not have a right to the family property until a few
decades ago. However, this does not mean that the daughter did not have any rightful
share. She was given her rightful share in the property at the time of her marriage, which
eventually came to be known as "dowry."

1 The article is the property of Brinda Shreedharan & India-connection.com.

 Culture: www.india-connection.com

Today, as per the Hindu Law women in Hindu Society have the same rights to the family
property as their male counterparts. Nevertheless, the practice of giving Dowry has not
stopped and marriages have culminated into mere business deals and no longer are
sacred. What scares me most is that even though giving and taking dowry is a punishable
offense as per the Law, it still continues even in the most affluent and educated homes!

In my opinion, this is because we Hindus blindly follow many religious and social
practices without weighing out their significance and relevance. We Hindus have
followed these practices for so many thousands of years that over time we have forgotten
why we did so in the very first place. It is pertinent to note that certain practices are
tailor-made to fit certain epochs and hence must be used only in them. In those days
kings ruled over countries, now they don't. New technology, modes of transport,
advanced home appliances, modern medicines, etc has been invented and we use them.
We don't hesitate to use them, do we? Similarly, we must adapt to the ever changing
society and practices and adopt newer ones which suit us better and are definitely tailor-
made to fit our epoch.

By: Brinda Sreedharan

http://loque-pienso.blogspot.com/

The author Brinda is a native Indian living in Bangalore. She also speaks fluent French &
Spanish. She is Currently have a company doing translation as well as furthering her
MBA in Bangalore.

2 The article is the property of Brinda Shreedharan & India-connection.com.