“Maa baap apni khushi say joo dein apni beti ko”

Marriage is a very sweet dream for every girl and she also does dream it in a very special way. But it’s also true that is not always possible that all dreams come true. It’s very sad to say every girl is not so lucky to live a happily married; life for them is completely different from the real life. Barely immediately a month after marriage, a newly married bride is allegedly tortured and then set ablaze by her in-laws for dowry. Soon after the marriage a long list of demands is kept before her and is pressurized by her in-laws to get them fulfilled. When bride’s family fails to meet the demands, the housewife is subjected to severe physical torture, allegedly by her husband and her-in-law...

There are many datas related to the ratio of dowry deaths but then also it is difficult to draw a accurate picture of dowry related deaths, as statistics are varied and contradictory. In 1995, the National Crime Bureau of the Government of India reported about 6,000 dowry deaths every year. A more recent police report stated that dowry deaths had risen by 170 percent in the decade to 1997. All of these official figures are considered to be gross understatements of the real situation. Unofficial estimates cited in a 1999 article by Himendra Thakur “Are our sisters and daughters for sale?” put the number of deaths at 25,000 women a year, with many more left maimed and scarred as a result of attempts on their lives.

The anti-dowry laws in India were enacted in 1961 but both parties to the dowry—the families of the husband and wife—are criminalised. The laws themselves have done nothing to halt dowry transactions and the violence that is often associated with them. Police and the courts are notorious for turning a blind eye to cases of violence against women and dowry associated deaths. It was not until 1983 that domestic violence became punishable by law.

But before all this there a question arises that from where is tradition of was included into the beautiful bonding of two hearts through marriage. Actually dowry is a gift through which a father tries to help a newlywed couple but with time is gift turned as a punishment for a father. And this type of harassment has driven many women’s to despair, anger and even suicide. Many of the victims are burnt to death—they are doused in kerosene and set light to. Dowry and dowry-related violence is not confined to rural areas or to the poor, or even just to adherents of the Hindu religion.

Demands for dowry can go on for years. Religious ceremonies and the birth of children often become the occasions for further requests for money or goods. The inability of the bride’s family to comply with these demands often leads to the daughter-in-law being treated as a pariah and subject to abuse. In the worst cases, wives are simply killed to make way for a new financial transaction—that is, another marriage.

Because of the dowry, there is a equation that daughters are inevitably regarded as an unwelcome burden, compounding the already oppressed position of women in Indian society. There is a high incidence of gender-based abortions—almost two million female babies a year.

Coming to our Assam there has been more than a two-fold increase in rape and dowry cases during last six years. Dowry cases have increased almost three fold from 1307 cases in 2001 to 3063 cases in 2007. This year, already 505 cases have been reported in the first 5 months.