THE PROBLEM OF DOWRY

        Even after nearly six decades of independence, India is faced with such serious problems as population explosion, poverty, illiteracy, ill-health and unemployment as well as the social evil of dowry. The problem of dowry has assumed menacing proportions in recent times with the result that it claims hundreds of innocent lives each year. It has also given rise to the rampant female feticide and prostitution because the girl child is looked up by parents as a burden and curse from God because most parents cannot afford to give dowry in marriage. They are unable to meet the ever- rising demands of the bridegroom and his parents.

         As a social custom, dowry has existed in India from time immemorial. But in the past it used to be given on voluntary basis as the share of the daughter in ancestral property. But over the years, it has been demanded as a right by the bridegroom and his parents as the price for bringing the bride into their family. The parents of the bride are forced to give into the exorbitant demands of dowry at the time of marriage and thereafter. If their unreasonable demands are not met, the bride is often subjected to harassment and torture. Many young women commit suicide while others return to their parents because of this rampant social evil.

         The government has enacted laws to prevent the demanding and giving of dowry. But such laws are often ignored at the time of solemnizing a marriage because the girl’s parents are anxious to get a bridegroom of their choice and have to pay heavily for it. They have to beg or borrow or even sell off their assets to meet the demands of the bridegroom and his parents. Many social and welfare organizations have also been working for the eradication of this social evil, but with little success. Many educated young men and women have vowed not to accept or give dowry in marriage. But this social evil persists on a large scale among all communities in the country. This has led to the unethical and immoral practice of determining the sex of the unborn child and female feticide in many parts of the country, thus disturbing the male-female ratio which stands at 930 females per1000 males in the country at present. This has also led to prostitution among young women whose poor parents cannot afford to give them dowry in marriage. The problem of dowry has thus led to many other social evils in the country.  

       Such deep-rooted socials evils are not easy to eradicate. Only proper education and awareness among the youth can help us minimize the problem of dowry in the years to come as all the order measures to stamp it out have failed so far.