Is it true the dowry system has been outlawed in India?

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CA pp jain

This Section of the Indian Penal Code was inserted by a 1986 amendment. The Dowry deaths law defines a 'dowry death' as the death of a woman caused by any burns or bodily injury or which does not occur under normal circumstances within seven years of her marriage. For a woman's death to be a dowry death, it must also be shown that soon before her death she was subjected to cruelty or harassment by her husband or any relative of her husband for, or in connection with, any demand for dowry. If this is proved, the woman's husband or relative is required to be deemed to have caused her death. Whoever commits dowry death is required to be punished with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than seven years but which may extend to imprisonment for life.Section 498A was inserted into the penal code in 1983 it reads:

Whoever, being the husband or the relative of the husband of a woman, subjects such woman to cruelty shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine.

In practice, cruelty is taken to include the demanding of a dowry. This section is non-bailable, non-compoundable (i.e. it cannot be privately resolved between the parties concerned) and cognizable (i.e. the police can arrest the accused without investigation or warrants) on a report from a woman or close relative. Another examples of a cognizable law in India was the Prevention of Terrorist Activities Act.

Police often file charges against the husband, his parents and other relatives (whoever being named on the complaint by the wife or her close relatives) and put them in jail. There is no penalty (even a fine) for filing a false case. Many individuals have claimed this is being abused by the wife or her close relatives. The fact remains, that society continues to be patriarchal. This law is some respite for those suffering within a patriarchal structure. The proportion of women suffering in this manner is far greater than those who may be registering false cases. Further, in most cases, the woman is forced to file such a case by her family and relatives who may harbour feelings of vengeance, without really looking at what the woman wants.

In urban India, the majority of families have adequate knowledge regarding section 498A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. The Malimath committee in 2003 proposed making amendments to this section although such amendments have been opposed by women's groups and radical feminists.

The Centre for Social Research India has released a research report[3] opposing amendments to section 498A. According to this report, in the studied cases there were no convictions based solely on section 498A. Although the report states that 60.5 percent of the studied cases were falsified. They also state that many people believe the law has been abused by "educated and independent minded women." A police official asserted that in his district one-third of dowry murder cases were found totally false by the police.

However, on December 17, 2003, the then Minister of State for Home Affairs, Mr. I.D Swami said: â€œThere is no information available with the Government to come to the conclusion that many families in India are suffering due to exaggerated allegations of harassment and dowry cases made by women against their husbands and other family members involving them in criminal misappropriation and cruelty.â€

On 20 July 2005, Justices Arijit Pasayat and H.K. Seema of the Indian Supreme Court declared Section 498A to be constitutional."The object is to strike at the root of dowry menace. But by misuse of the provision a new legal terrorism can be unleashed. The provision is intended to be used as a shield and not an assassin's weapon. If [the] cry of "wolf" is made too often as a prank, assistance and protection may not be available when the actual wolf appears," the Bench said.

Several reports of the abuse of Section 498A have involved couples based outside India especially in the US. The United States Department of State has published the following travel warning: A number of U.S. citizen men who have come to India to marry Indian nationals have been arrested and charged with crimes related to dowry extraction. Many of the charges stem from the U.S. citizenâ€™s inability to provide an immigrant visa for his prospective spouse to travel immediately to the United States.

The courts sometimes order the U.S. citizen to pay large sums of money to his spouse in exchange for the dismissal of charges. The courts normally confiscate the Americanâ€™s passport, and he must remain in India until the case has been settled.

In a well publicized case, Dr. Balamurali Ambati, who earned his MD at age 17, and his family were detained in India for over 3 years in a suit related to alleged dowry demands by the family for his brother's wife Archana, which delayed Dr. Ambati's entry to the ophthalmology program for 2 years, leaving him to begin his residency in 199

Vin

Yes, it is not legal anymore. But don't lose hope, if you still want to give away a fortune to someone you will find that it is still practiced discreetly in many communities. ;) Having said that there are many people who say no to giving or taking dowry in any form.

holmes

outlawed , yes

outdated , no .

still in vogue.

vogue means in fashion

however of late whenever complaints are lodged the application of the anti dowry act is quite harsh towards dowry seekers by the govt authorities and punishments meted out by the indian judiciary are strict.

Gavrie

never

ALLURING AKASH

NO.........IT CAN'T BE..........

World Citizen

http://www.econ.ilstu.edu/uauje/PDF's/issue2001/Jaggi.pdf

http://www.geocities.com/indiafas/Hindu/Bride_Burning.htm

A Matter of Extreme Cruelty: Bride Burning and Dowry Deaths in India

by Partha Banerjee
Injustice Studies, Vol. 1, No. 1, November 1997

Abstract

This article discusses the rapid rise of dowry deaths and bride burning as an indication of the growing exertion of patriarchal power and cruelty on women in India. The paper concentrates on the religious, political, and economic structures of the Indian society to explain the age-old tradition of extortion of dowry that has taken a brutal form today. The paper provides a historical context of the problems of dowry and bride burning that originated in the Brahmanical Hindu societies but now persist across almost all class lines. The perpetuation of the dowry tradition is indicative of the power of the gendered and caste-based social and political structures that aim to oppress women and "lower" castes in order for the sustenance of the sociopolitical status quo situating "upper"-level men in positions of power. The paper also presents statistics on bride burning and dowry deaths to conduct a comparative analysis of the brutality documented from the various geographical regions in India. It is hoped that the readership would be interested to act against this exploitation and violence.

I. Prologue

Rani Jethmalani, a noted lawyer at the Indian Supreme Court, in her book Kali's Yug (i.e., the era of Goddess Kali) said about empowering women in India (Jethmalani, 1995):

"It is possible (to empower women) through the revival of an energized feminine principle symbolized by Kali -- the most significant Goddess in the Hindu pantheon. Kali in the non-Sanskritic personification -- ethically dynamic and control-free. Kali -- autonomous and active and not defined by male control as she is depicted in later mythological texts by her "spousification" with her consort Shiva. Kali who challenges the civilized order of Dharma and the status quo."

The above quote is important for our present discussion. The women of India are an epitome of oppression and exploitation in the name of religion practiced by the conservative male chauvinists and social patriarchs -- the rulers of the country. Equal rights for women is primarily electioneering demagoguery. The traditionally ruling Congress party (which produced India's only woman prime minister who ran a dictatorial regime 1 and the rapidly surging Hindu fundamentalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have been naturally apathetic to the plight of the women -- BJPâ€™s deceptive stance has been particularly troublesome 2. The rise of BJP is about to bring back an era of darkness for the traditionally oppressed classes of India -- the "untouchables", religious minorities, women. One could compare powers like BJP and its ally Shiv Sena with other fundamentalist or fascist groups such as the Christian Coalition and Promise Keepers of USA, Neo-Nazis of Germany or England, or the fundamentalist rulers of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iran, and their brainchild Islamic radical groups in Pakistan, Bangladesh. We see different names in different countries, however, they all have comparable racist-separatist socioreligious doctrines and similar oppression. The ignominious 3 Shiv Sena (SS) and its supremo Bal Thackeray have been openly supportive of dowry-based male-domineering marriage. Some leaders of RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the parental organization of BJP) and its religious wing VHP (Vishwa Hindu Parishad) have been supportive of the infamous now outlawed "sati" system. Sati is the "voluntary" immolation of a widow along with her dead husband -- in most cases, she would be coerced to die perhaps under drugs -- again, the custom was long practiced by Hindu male chauvinists upon distortion of the scriptures where the covert purpose was to surreptitiously gobble up the property of the deceased. Just a few years ago, an incident of â€œsatiâ€ in the state of Rajasthan caused huge uproar among the Indian women -- however, a prominent BJP woman leader defended the system.

SS and BJP with their political fronts and allies are now ruling the economically prosperous and politically important Indian states such as Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, respectively. The developed state of Punjab is also in the hands of them and their conservative ally -- the Sikh party Akali Dal. BJP is hopeful of winning the next Indian parliamentary elections. In the most recent elections, BJP became the single largest party and formed a short-lived government.

In the Indian context, Goddess Kali could indeed be the energizer and savior of the oppressed women through social and political empowerment. But first, Kali has to be stripped of her "spousified" status -- a status methodically imposed by the Hindu orthodox and social patriarch synonymously the ruling sociopolitical hierarchy of India. Economic indep

bali

no it cant be....

delhiwalah.com forms, paper work

No
All want more.

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