The practice of dowry began as Streedhan (woman’s wealth). Since ancestral wealth in a farming community was largely tied up in land, when a woman married she was given her share of the family wealth as dowry in the form of jewellery, utensils, or cash.
This custom has been perverted into its modern, dangerous form. Despite stringent anti-dowry laws, it still continues in India (and also in Pakistan and Bangladesh), fuelled by liberal economic policies and globalisation. Husbands and their families now demand consumer goods such as televisions, refrigerators, washing machines and even cars – and the higher the…
