User:Maheshkumaryadav/Pink sandbox

In India Dowry known as Dahej^[1] is the payment in cash or of some kind given to bridegroom's family along with the bride. In Hindu marital rites it is called Kanyadaan,^[2] where 'Kanya' means the daughter and 'daan' means gift. In India the dowry system have been putting great financial burden^[3] on the daughters family. It has been one of the reasons for families and women in India resorting to sex selection ^[4] favoring to have a baby boy. This has distorted the sex ratio of the country and have given rise to female foeticide.^[5]

Dowry originated in the the upper caste families as an insurance to the bride to take care of her and her children. The rich and rajas (kings) used to gift land as dowry. Mumbai was presented as part of the dowry when Princess Catherine de Braganza of Portugal was married to King Charles II in 1661. ^[6] The dowry has been considered as 'Stridhan' where 'stri' means women and 'dhan' means 'wealth'.

Nearly 7,000 dowry deaths are registered annually in India, apart from other mental trauma cases. ^[7] Bride burning, inducing suicides, physical and mental torture by their husband or in-laws is sometimes found to be done if the bride fails to bring sufficient dowry . There are laws like Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005 that help to reduce domestic violence and to protect women's rights.

Dowry became prohibited by law in 1961. IPC Section 406, IPC Section 304B and IPC Section 498A are sections in Indian law which relate to dowry. Despite the anti-dowry law in India, it is still widely and illegally practiced across the country.^[8]

Many of the times misuse of article 498a have been alleged, with women trying to extort money and harass their husband's entire extended family. As per the data only 2% of the cases registered for dowry demand have been able to convict the groom or grooms family. This had raised questions about the alleged misuse of the dowry laws in India.