Dowry : a historical background

A 20  year old suhana‘s dreams of a happy married life were shattered when her in laws started torturing and then set her in flames for Dowry in Indira Nagar , Lucknow . This is not a story of only one women but of many . In 2010 the number of cases registered were 8391 meaning that every 90 min a bride was burned according to the statistics of National Crime Records Bureau .Today  almost in each and every state of our country thousands of cases are reported . According to the Woman and Child Development minister Krishna Tirath , the number of death in dowry cases are follows :

State	2007	2008
U.P.	2,386	2,237
Bihar	918	1,210
Madhya Pradesh	834	805
West Bengal	574	471
Punjab	132	128
Delhi	136	129
Maharashtra	361	390
Rajasthan	230	439
Haryana	302	214

After taking a look on these stastics even King Swanaya , from the heavens must be regretting that why he was the first person to start the dowry system. In Vedas which are considered as one of the ancient Hindu text . Several passage clearly define the existence of the dowry system in Hindu marriages . In Rigveda , Mandal 1 Suktas 125 and 126 describes the dowry paid by the king Swanaya to Kakshivit  on the marriages  of his 11 daughters . He presented him hundred of nishakas of gold , a hundred horses , hundred bulls , one thousand sixty cows and eleven chariot . This system of dowry has continued since vedic times till today . Many other Hindu text contains detailed accounts of dowry . For example – Mahabharta , Adi Parv . Section 197\ slokas 15-18 provide details of the dowry which was given by the King Draupada on the marriage of his daughter . Even the dowry was also presentst by Krishna and Balram on the marriage of their sister Subhadra , which is clearly mentioned in Mahabharta Adi Parv Section 220. Not only in Mahabharta , but it also mentioned in Ramayana also in the marriage of Sita , Raja Janak presented dowry to Shri Ram.

It is a fact that dowry is considered as an ‘integral part ‘ of the Hindu marriage . The question which arises here is that , “was Indian society always oppressive of its women ?” and the answer is “NO” . Dowry was given to women only , so  that they can establish their status and have an additional resourse in emergency . The parents wealth , in the form of valuable gifts was given only to  bride , not to groom on his family members . In other word the dowry wealth was continued to be owned by wife only . Even  after marriage there should be no need  of wife to depend on husband for financial needs . Here one must be seeking for answer that if the dowry system was so progressive , how it suddenly just converted into a blight . From where  and when , it took a wrong turn and started ruining the life of many innocent females.

The format that is followed today has changed during the pre-colonial period , when Britishers prohibited the Property Right for women . This act took away all the rights of women to own a property at all once the Britishers prohibited women having property , all the wealth was owned by her husband . The moment the right of owning shifted to husband . The traditional dowry system converted into a threat .

The greed for money entered in the society . The purity of marriage was overlooked by the gleam of money . This is how marriage became just another business to obtain more and more dowry . However, if we talk about world, there is a very different and intresting aspect to dowry .In Sudan (South Africa) Dinka tribesman celebrate an engagement with a party .During the dowry dance , men try to impress the bride by jumping as high as possible . Families of men competing for the affection of young woman by offering more cattle than others .

If we consider the case of China , then, it is observed that Chinese marriage follow a tradition known as “three letters and sic etiquette”. The engagement becomes official when the groom’s family presented betrothal; also known as “tea gifts to the bride family”. These might have included a fuit basket, dried seafood, tea,  a roast , sucking pig, tobaccoand wine . The Bride ‘s family sent a dowry which includes clothes, jewelry , household decoration , linen or kitchen utensils to the groom’s family, shortly before or at wedding ceremony .

Dowry has never been started to oppress women. Even it was started to give a feeling of protection to women .