Status of dowry in India

 Dowry system in India a curse that needs to be addressed

Introduction

Dowry can be defined as any kind of property of valuable security given or agreed to be given directly or indirectly 

• By one party to the other party with whom marriage is contested 

• Can be a transfer by the parents of the either party to the either party in the marriage or to any other person before or any time after the marriage

Origin

The existence of dowry system can be traced back to the medieval  period where in order to maintain the independence of the bride a gift of kind or cash was given to the bride by her family and during the colonial era the practice of dowry was made mandatory for the legal validity of marriage.

In the case of India the term dowry had a totally different meaning it was called  streedhan   meaning wealth of women which can be in form of money gift or property the purpose of streedhan is to safeguard women in Indian context but this custom has been misused and abused a custom which was termed as a safety net for women is now corrupted to become a price tag for the groom 

Dowry a crime in India 

Dowry is considered as the most significant contributor of violence against women in India it’s a social evil which lead to dowry death there are numerous cases of dowry deaths which were identified in the whole decade in all these cases there were reports of torture to women by in laws and husband which resulted in suicide or murder such kind of atrocities caused dowry to be declared as a crime.

Dowry prohibition act 1961 

It’s an indian law enacted on May 1 1961 for the purpose of restricting dowry under the dowry prohibition act dowry includes property goods or money given by either party to the marriage or by either parents or by anyone connected with the marriage the act applies to all religions in India.

Types of dowry crimes in India

Cruelty 

It is a form of harassment or torture  it may include verbal abuse or beating in order to fulfill dowry needs fromtermmen.

Domestic violence 

It includes a chain of threatening and abusive behavior by husband and in laws including physical beating or emotional torture.

Abetment to suicide 

It includes continues torture and  threatening by the husband or other family members which may further drive the women to commit suicide.

Dowry death 

There may be instances where women after suffering torture or threatening committed suicide by taking poison or by hanging herself  in other cases there were also crimes where women was set ablaze by his family members or by his husband. Under section 304b of IPC the offence of dowry was added with an imprisonment up to  7 years which may extend to life imprisonment.. 

Conclusion

Dowry is a threat to our society and in the name of dowry people fulfill their greed and this greed had no limits and due to someone’s greed the woman has to suffer and sometimes results in loss of her life. In spite of living in 21st century still we are not able to abolish such system prevailing in our society.