Now-a-days bridegrooms are auctioned in the open market. The shameless hands of the bridegroom as well as of his parents are eagerly longing for more and more easy income from the helpless parents of the bride. They commit this crime to satisfy their indomitable avarice. Dowry is worse than bribery. It makes a poor father with one or more daughters helpless man on earth. His misery knows no bounds when one of them does not look nice.
With the passage of time, laws have been enacted and enforced prohibiting the practice of dowry. Yet nothing has been satisfactorily effective. After all, laws can only restrict people's behaviour but cannot influence their intention. Again, there is nothing more pleasurable to a daughter-burdened father than to be able to get his daughter a husband. Thus both parties—the givers and the takers have kept this perilous practice in vogue.
But how did this barbarian demon get introduced into our society? As far as our country is concerned, the root cause dates back to centuries to be found in the Hindu tradition of marriage and inheritance. Traditionally, girls in Hindu families do not deserve to inherit any paternal property. The whole share of a father's wealth goes to his son or sons. Consequently, the daughters are compensated by being granted a huge sum of money and other assets at the time of their marriage. This practice may be known as dowry. The intention behind this system was noble after all. But its consequence has proved to be destructive. Since there was in the beginning, no specification as to how much each daughter should be given. The real beneficiaries of the daughters' wealth, their husbands or would-be husbands had an opportunity to bargain about their wives' shares. This eventually created the present-day connotation, "dowry".
So frankly speaking, this practice has damaged the Hindu society. It has also influenced and envenomed the Muslim society in our country. We have already seen the consequences. At this point, it must be emphasised that demanding dowry on the part of a would-be husband is as abominable as depriving a daughter of her inheritance on the part of a father.
However, dowry system clears the position of women in our country. But the real scenario is changing day by day. Government has taken a lot of effective steps to eradicate this system and build up the position of the women. But this is not enough and sufficient. Proper education and the mental and emotional development on the individual level can ensure a good solution for this crucial social problem. Accordingly, we all should remember that most of us have daughters and sisters in our families.
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