The dowry system in India refers to the durable goods, cash, and real or movable property that the bride's family gives to the groom, his parents, and his relatives as a condition of the marriage. Dowry is called "दहेज" in Hindi and as جہیز in Urdu.
Traditionally, the dowry served as the inheritance for the daughter, as her relationship was seen as severed from her parents at the time of marriage, and is sometimes negotiated as consideration or a "status equalizer" between the marrying families, often as a means of upward mobility. However, the system can put great financial burden on the bride's family. In some cases, requests for a dowry has led to crimes against women, ranging from emotional abuse and injury to death.
Historical context
The history of dowry in South Asia is complex and not entirely clear. While some scholars believe dowry practices existed in ancient times, others disagree. Michael Witzel argues that ancient Indian literature suggests that dowry was not a significant practice during the Vedic period. He also notes that women in ancient India could inherit property, either by being appointed heirs or in cases where they had no brothers.Witzel, Michael. "Little Dowry, No Sati: The Lot of Women in the Vedic Period." Journal of South Asia Women Studies 2, no. 4 (1996). Similarly, MacDonell and Keith support Witzel's view and differ from scholars such as Stanley Tambiah. They reference ancient Indian texts indicating that bridewealth—not dowry—was often paid by the groom, even in brahma and daiva types of marriage. Dowries were more common only in cases where the bride had a physical defect. According to MacDonell and Keith, women's property rights seem to have expanded during the Puranic period. Historian P.V. Kane, on the other hand, states that ancient texts suggest that bridewealth was specifically associated with the asura type of marriage—a form deemed inappropriate and condemned by Manu and other ancient lawgivers. Scholar James G. Lochtefeld adds that Manu's references to a bride's being "richly adorned" for marriage likely referred to ceremonial clothing, jewelry, and gifts that remained the bride's personal property, rather than a dowry demanded by the groom’s side. Lochtefeld also notes that such bridal adornment is not typically regarded as dowry today.James G. Lochtefeld, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: A-M, Rosen Publishing, ; 203 ページ出版
Supporting this interpretation, eyewitness accounts from the time of Alexander the Great's conquest of India around 300 BCE—particularly those by Arrian and Megasthenes—also report an absence of dowry practices. Arrian's first book says,
Arrian's second book similarly notes,
The two sources suggest dowry was absent, or infrequent enough to not be noticed by Arrian.CV Vaidya, Epic India, Or, India as Described in the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, About 1200 years after Arrian's visit, another scholar visited India, Abū Rayḥān al-Bīrūnī, also known as Al-Biruni, or Alberonius in Latin. Al-Biruni was a Muslim Persian scholar who lived in India for 16 years, from 1017 CE. He translated many Indian texts into Arabic, as well as wrote a memoir on Indian culture and life he observed. Al-Biruni claimed,
Al-Biruni further claims that a daughter, in 11th century India, had legal right to inherit from her father, but only a fourth part of that of her brother. The daughter took this inheritance with her when she married, claimed Al-Biruni, and she had no rights to income from her parents after her marriage or to any additional inheritance after her father's death. If her father died before her marriage, her guardian would first pay off her father's debt, then allocate a fourth of the remaining wealth to her upkeep until she was ready to marry, and then give the rest to her to take with her into her married life.
One notable historical incident involving dowry was the transfer of Bombay (now Mumbai) to the British Crown. This event was part of the marriage treaty between Charles II of England and Catherine of Braganza, daughter of King John IV of Portugal. The marriage treaty, signed on June 23, 1661, included the seven islands of Bombay as part of Catherine's dowry to Charles II. The official transfer of Bombay to the British occurred in 1665. The British East India Company took full control in 1668 after leasing it from the Crown for a nominal rent of £10 per year.
Causes of dowry Various reasons have been suggested as causes of dowry practice in India. These include economic factors and social factors.
Ethnologists Risley, Blunt, and Hutton explain dowry as a means upward mobility, or hypergamy. Among upper castes in India, marriages tend to be hypergamous, and thus, they explain dowry payments as a product of hypergamous marriages, in which family prestige is associated with marrying a daughter to someone within the higher social status.
Some suggestions point to economics and weak legal institutions on inheritance that place women at a disadvantage, with inheritances being left only to sons. This leaves women dependent upon their husbands and in-laws, who keep the dowry when she marries. Prior to 1956, including during the British Raj, daughters had no rights of inheritance to their family's wealth. In 1956, India gave equal legal status to daughters and sons among Hindu, Sikh, and Jain families, under the Hindu Succession Act (India grants its Muslim population Sharia-derived personal-status laws). Despite the new inheritance law, dowry has continued as a process whereby parental property is distributed to a daughter at her marriage by a social process, rather than after a parent's death, by a slow court-supervised process under the Hindu Succession Act (1956).Lucy Carroll (1991), Daughter's Right of Inheritance in India: A Perspective on the Problem of Dowry, Modern Asian Studies, Vol. 25, No. 4, pages 791-809
Dowry gave, at least in theory, women economic and financial security in their marriage in the form of movable goods. This helped prevent family wealth break-up and provided security to the bride at the same time. This system can also be used as a premortem inheritance, as once a woman is presented with movable gifts, she may be cut off from the family estate.
The structure and kinship of marriage in parts of India contributes to dowry. In the north, marriage usually follows a patrilocal (lives with husband's family) system, where the bride is a non-related member of the family. This system encourages dowry, perhaps due to the exclusion of the bride's family after marriage as a form of premortem inheritance for the bride. In the south, marriage is more often conducted within the bride's family, for example with close relatives or cross-cousins, and in closer physical distance to her family. In addition, brides may have the ability to inherit land, which makes her more valuable in the marriage, decreasing the chance of dowry over the bride price system.
In addition to marriage, customs that may influence dowry, social customs or rituals, and parents' expectations of dowry are important factors to consider. A 1995 study showed that while attitudes of people are changing about dowry, the custom prevails. In a 1980 study conducted by Rao, 75% of students responded that dowry was not important to marriage, but 40% of their parents likely expected a dowry.
While India has been making progress for women's rights, women continue to be in a subordinate status in their family. Women's education, income, and health are significant factors that play into the dowry system, and for how much control a woman has over her marriage.
Dowry in India is not limited to any specific religion. It is widespread among Indians. For example, Indian Muslims call dowry as jahez which has two categories: The first comprises some essential articles for the outfit of the bride as well as for conjugal life. The other is made up of valuable goods, clothes, jewelry, an amount of money for the groom's family, which is settled on after bargaining. The jahez is separate from cash payment as mahr, or dower, that Sharia religious law requires be gifted to the bride.
Prevalence
Dowry had been a prevalent practice in India's modern era, and in this context it can be in the form of a payment of cash or gifts from the bride's family to the bridegroom's family upon marriage. There are variations on dowry prevalence based on geography and class. In states in the north, all classes are more likely to participate in the dowry system, and dowry is more likely to be in the form of material and movable goods. In the south, the bride price system is more prevalent, and is more often in the form of land, or other inheritance goods. This system is tied to the social structure of marriage, which keeps marriage within family relations.
Dowry also varies by economic strata in India. Upper-class families are more likely to engage in the dowry system than is the lower class. This could be in part due to upper-class women's economic exclusion from the labor market.
When dowry evolved in the Vedic period, it was essentially followed by the upper castes to benefit the bride, who was otherwise unable to inherit property under Hindu law. To counter this, the bride's family provided the groom with a dowry which would be registered in the bride's name. This dowry was seen as stridhan (Sanskrit: woman's property). Also, an important distinction is the fact that while the upper castes practised dowry, the lower castes practised bride-price to compensate her family for the loss of income.
In the modern era, the concept of dowry has evolved, and Indian families no longer practise bride price. This is because, with the passage of time, bride price gradually disappeared and dowry became the prevalent form of transfer. In the modern era, the practice of dowry requires the bride's family to transfer goods to the groom's family in consideration of the marriage.
Since marriages in India are a time for big celebrations, they tend to be very lavish. Accordingly, Indian weddings usually involve considerable expenditure and accompanying wedding presents from relatives of both sides of the family. This is normal expenditure which is done willingly and varies from one family to another, depending on the wealth, status, etc.
Many times, as part of this mutual "give-and-take", an attempt is made by the groom's family to dictate the quantum of each gift along with specific demands for dowry. In such circumstances, there is an element of exerting coercion on the bride's family, and this is what has come to be recognized as the "menace" of dowry. Dowry does not refer to the voluntary presents which are made to the bride and the groom; rather it is what is extracted from the bride or her parents.
Types of dowry crimes A newly married woman can be a target for dowry-related violence because she is tied economically and socially to her new husband. In some cases, dowry is used as a threat in a hostage-type situation, in order to extract more property from the bride's family. This can be seen in new brides, who are most vulnerable. Dowry crimes can occur with the threat or occurrence of violence, so that the bride's family is left with no choice but to give more dowry to protect their daughter. The northern and eastern states of India show higher rates of dowry-related violence.
Dowry is considered a major contributor towards observed violence against women in India. Some of these offences include physical violence, emotional abuse, and even murder of brides and young girls prior to marriage. The predominant types of dowry crimes relate to cruelty (which includes torture and harassment), domestic violence (including physical, emotional, and sexual assault), abetment to suicide, and dowry death (including bride burning and murder).
Fraud