The practice of dowry in India continues to be a controversial fashion hitherto. As per the historical reports, in ancient India custom, dowry was the necessary count which had to be exercised during the time of marriage. It was a practice wherein the part of the parental property belonging to their girl child is given to her in the monetary form at the time of her marriage, establishing some variety of conjugal funds subject to vary widely as per needs.

The need of this practice was that to ensure that , the girl should have enough amount of money for herself and her children during widowhood.

So, basically this practice was contrive by the family of the bride and considered it as a Love Gifts. As the time passes, this needed practice of the then Indian society, was turning into the , FASHION.

A fashion that vouchsafe the financial status of the family, a fashion that has to be presume as a criteria for judging the modernization of the family. This early ‘practice’ & new ‘fashion’ is more associated with the Brahman caste. The time came when this need turned into the demand outright by the family of the bridegroom.

That time it was a monetary form, now it is a demand for adding furniture jewelleries, Car and other household items as per depend upon the swinging mood of the bridegroom’s family exactly in lieu of the ‘MARRIAGE’. This fashion has cultivated the root of Dowry Deaths since 1980’s. The favour by the bride’s family to bridegroom’s family did bolster the roots!. Now, it has become a forthwith concern for the society to get rid of it.

How be it there exist a dowry prohibition act, underneath this fashion is proliferating nonetheless. This continues to be practice in some parts of India like Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana. Suffice to say mainly in the northern states.

Written by: Nikhil Mishra is the 2nd year student of Law College Dehradun, Uttaranchal University
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