To eradicate dowry, why changes have to be social and generational, not just legal 

Dowry as voluntary gifts

Scholarly works have illustrated how dowry was customarily a voluntary gift given at the time of marriage to the bride by her family. It was mostly confined to the upper castes of northern India. Dowry was often seen as a part of streedhan (pre-mortem inheritance) tied to the practice of kanyadaan (the ritual ‘gift of the daughter’). In Hindu families, a daughter had no share in her parental family’s property. 

Pauline Kolinda’s study, “Woman as Tribute, Woman as Flower: Images of “Woman” in Weddings in North and South India” (1984), shows how, after marriage, natal ties with the daughter are severed by her family. In this context, dowry was given as the daughter’s pre-mortem or anticipated inheritance at the time of her marriage. Traditionally, dowry consisted of clothing, jewellery, and household items like kitchen appliances, furniture, etc. 

Over time, the practice spread across India. In 1974, the Committee on the Status of Women in India (CSWI) and the Parliamentary Joint Select Committee found that dowry had spread to all castes, communities, religions, and regions. Alongside its expansion, luxurious items and cash increasingly became part of the dowry. In many communities, it also became linked to the perceived ‘market value’ of the groom, determined by his occupation and social status. 

How it became a coercive demand 

The social acceptability of dowry across communities was further highlighted in a 2003 report by the All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA). The report situated Indian weddings as lavish affairs, with cash and gifts being an integral part of the changing consumerist nature of marriage ceremonies. Thus, dowry has become a coercive demand, rather than a voluntary gift.

This coercive demand often puts a financial burden on the bride’s family. Notably, this pressure is at times produced by community norms and competitive social comparison (what other families in the community have given to their sons-in-law). 

Moreover, the practice of giving gifts doesn’t end with the wedding itself. It continues through rituals, like pregnancy, childbirth, festivals, ostensibly as a way of maintaining social relations between the two families. But in practice, it is largely skewed against the women’s natal family.

This persistent financial strain is also linked to other social evils, like foeticide and infanticide, and the perception of daughters as social and economic liabilities. As a result, the practice of dowry has come to be seen as a matter of urgent legal and social concern.

Legal and social interventions

There have been several legal interventions to address the practice of dowry. For instance, the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, criminalises demanding, taking and giving dowry across India (Sections 3 and 4). Section 2 of the Act defines dowry as “any property or valuable security given or agreed to be given either directly or indirectly – a) by one party to a marriage to the other party to the marriage; b) or by the parents of either party to a marriage or by any other person, to either party to the marriage or to any other person.”

Even when dowry is conceptualised as a form of inheritance, it barely remains under women’s control and instead becomes a property of men’s families. Therefore, advocacy against dowry has been a crucial part of the Indian feminist movement. The Shahada Movement of 1972 and protests by the Progressive Organisation of Women in Hyderabad in 1975 played an important role in raising awareness against dowry. 

During the 1970s, there was active mobilisation against dowry in Delhi, Punjab, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Bengal. This was linked to a disturbing increase in cases of newly married women dying from burns, but with many of them seen as accidents caused by gas leaks, kerosene fire, or suicide. 

‘Women are not for burning’

The death of one Hardeep Kaur, a 21-year-old bride who was burnt alive, turned Delhi into a centre for anti-dowry mobilisation in the late 1970s, and was crucial in shifting the understanding of dowry from a personal, family matter to a public and political issue.

The anti-dowry protests were part of the second wave of feminism, which centred around the slogan “the personal is political”’. Notably, “women are not for burning” became a rallying cry of these protests (See “Women Are Not For Burning: The Anti-Dowry Movement in Delhi”, 2010 by Rajni Palriwala). 

In response, the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, was amended in 1984 and 1986. The punishment for giving and taking dowry was increased (imprisonment of a minimum of six months, extendable up to five years). The Dowry Prohibition (Maintenance of List of Presents to the Bride and Bridegroom) Rules,1985 mandated maintaining a written list of gifts exchanged at the time of marriage.

Burden of proof shifts to the accused

There are other legal provisions too. A law under Section 498A was introduced into the IPC in 1983, applicable in cases where the complainant is married and is subjected to cruelty by her husband or a relative of her husband. It enabled action against the accused, including arrest and prosecution.

In 1986, Section 304B of the IPC introduced the concept of dowry death. Under this provision, If the death of “a woman is caused by any burns or bodily injury or occurs otherwise than under normal circumstances within seven years of her marriage and it is shown that soon before her death she was subjected to cruelty or harassment by her husband or any relative of her husband for, or in connection with, any demand for dowry, such death shall be called ‘dowry death’ and such husband or relative shall be deemed to have caused her death.” 

The Indian Evidence Act, 1872, was also amended with the insertion of Section 113B in 1986. This shifts the burden of proof to the accused in cases of dowry deaths, who must prove their innocence. The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (PWDVA), 2005, provides further protection to women from domestic abuse. These legal interventions shift the focus from symbolic recognition to criminal and civil accountability in dowry cases. 

Why the practice persists

But despite such stringent regulations, dowry continues to persist. According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), India recorded over 34,000 dowry deaths between 2018–2022, apart from thousands of harassment cases each year. 

Dowry negotiations happen within social networks built on trust and subtle hints. As such, not every demand is documented in written form. Therefore, there is a lack of evidence that can be produced in a court, and most cases are dismissed by the police. Families also hesitate to report dowry cases. Most are not even aware of their legal rights. 

The cultural normalisation of gifts also helps in facilitating dowry. Some brides’ families see dowry as a means of displaying their wealth and social status, while demands from grooms’ sides are often based on their occupation and social status. 

Normative belief of men being superior to women is often seen as contributing to the practice. This is particularly true when the women lack financial independence. Such patriarchal values are part of the Indian kinship system as illustrated by scholars like Leela Dube (See Women and Kinship: Comparative Perspectives on Gender in South and South-East Asia, 1997). 

The social legitimacy of dowry is rooted in the undervaluation of women in the modern marriage market. Gaurav Chiplunkar and Jeffrey Weaver’s 2023 study “Marriage Markets and the Rise of Dowry in India” shows how modernisation has helped in the perpetuation of dowry.

In cases where the men have high-status jobs, the women’s families are forced to pay dowry to match the ‘modern’ and ‘well-qualified’ men. The marriage market sees men and women as unequal. Therefore, dowry continues to persist despite legal interventions because of a cultural lag that exists between the law and the social values. 

Need for concentrated efforts

To sum up, it appears that the focus of the anti-dowry awareness needs to be shifted towards men, particularly young men. They need to be sensitised that dowry is a crime with more public discourse around it. Public recognition and celebration of dowry-free marriages can be a step in the right direction. 

Integration of successful anti-dowry campaigns in syllabi as well as by local bodies can be used to raise awareness against dowry. For instance, Breakthrough’s Bell Bajao campaign built an advocacy kit consisting of reading material against domestic violence, which also included dowry-related harassment. If such content is translated into vernacular languages by local bodies and groups, it can lead to higher circulation. 

The apex court, while emphasising the urgent need to eradicate this evil practice, also highlighted the need for “concentrated efforts on the part of all parties involved”, such as the legislature, law enforcement, judiciary, civil society organisations, etc., as this is not a “matter of swift change.

Women need to be made aware of their legal rights. Legislation can be a tool, but changes have to be social and generational. 

Post read questions

Trace the transformation of dowry in India from a form of strīdhan to a coercive social institution. What factors contributed to this change?

Discuss how dowry reflects the intersection of patriarchy, caste, class, and consumerism in Indian society.

Examine the role of the women’s movement in the 1970s and 1980s in bringing dowry from the private sphere into the domain of public policy.

Why was the concept of ‘dowry death’ introduced in Indian criminal law? Has it achieved its objectives? Examine the limitations of a purely legal approach in dealing with deeply embedded social practices like dowry.

How do social norms and community pressure perpetuate unethical practices despite legal prohibition? Discuss with reference to dowry.

(Rituparna Patgiri is an Assistant Professor at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Guwahati.)

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