Dowry in India
" START MARRYING A WOMAN FOR LOVE AND STOP DIVORCING A WOMAN FOR MONEY" What is dowry ? A dowry is a payment, such as property or money, paid by the bride's family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price and dower. While bride price or bride service is a payment by the groom, or his family, to the bride, or her family, dowry is the wealth transferred from the bride, or her family, to the groom, or his family. WHAT IS THE SOCIAL ROLE OF DOWRY? The institution of dowry is not of recent origin. It may be traced to the ancient practice of marriage by purchase or purchase of wife,[3] which appears to have transformed later into the practice of purchasing husbands. [4] The ‘duty’ of giving dowry later became the “essential negotiation” of marriage transaction in India. What a man receives or doesn’t receive really don’t make or break his or his family’s financial status. The richer m...