Bride burning and dowry deaths in India (an original article)

Table I.

Geographical distribution of DOWRY DEATHS in India2 (a partial list)

 

______________________________________________________________________________

State or Area   1987    1990    1992    1994    1-10 Rank# by

 

                                                concentration of Hindu

                                                population

 

______________________________________________________________________________

 

I.  The Hindu-Hindi Heartland

Delhi           79      200     121     132     1

Uttar Pradesh   553     1398    1783    1977    4

Madhya Pradesh  220     556     350     354     6

Rajasthan       113     286     250     298     7

Haryana         133     336     209     191     3

Punjabs         70      177     101     117     2

 

II.  The Affluent West

Maharashtra*    250     632     727     519     5

Gujarat*        23      58      123     105

Goac            0       0       0       0

Daman & Diuc    0       0       0       0

 

III.  The Financially-strangled East:

 

West Bengal     97      245     179     349     10

Bihar           120     303     170     296

Sikkimb         0       0       0       0

 

IV.  The Non-Hindi South:

 

Andhra Pradesh  98      248     424     396     9

Karnataka       83      210     209     170     10

Tamil Nadu      49      124     75      83

Keralac         2       5       18      9

 

V.  The Far-East (politically and economically alienated):

 

Assam           3       8       1       13

Tripura         3       8       3       6

Nagalandc       0       0       0       0

Mizoramc        0       0       0       0

 

VI.  The "Battlefield":

 

 

Most places are predominantly Hindu except for Christian (c), Muslim (m),

or Buddhist (b) areas. Punjab has a large Sikh (s) population as well as

urban Hindu pockets that have major problems.  The state of Jammu and

Kashmir has a Hindu majority in Jammu and a Muslim majority in Kashmir.  A

large section of Kashmir has been taken by Pakistan through wars in the

sixties.  Both India and Pakistan claim ownership of the state.

 

# Rank on the basis of a six-year average.

 

>From the above table, we observe the following:

 

(i).  The incidence of dowry deaths has surged since 1987 (reason could

also be more press coverage and uncovering of facts by feminist

organizations and lawyers).

 

(ii).  The numbers are the highest in the "Hindu-Hindi Heartland" and

"Affluent West" areas that are traditional strongholds of BJP and

Congress.

 

(iii).  The traditionally incidence-free non-Hindi-speaking south Indian

and eastern states (such as West Bengal) have seen rapid rise of dowry

deaths since 1987.

 

At the same time, surprisingly, some places are almost incidence-free.

This could be attributed to the following reasons:

 

        (a) Preponderance of non-Hindu religions that forbid dowry- and

caste-based marriages;

 

        (b) Preponderance of an ancient (pre-Brahminization) Hindu social

system of dowry-free marriage (visible in Assam and Tripura);

 

        (c) Preponderance of tribal societies that have dowry- and

caste-free social system (e.g., the far-eastern areas).

 

The numbers in Table I are conservative estimates as many deaths are never

reported.  According to Rani Jethmalani, 15000 dowry deaths are occurring

every year in India. In another estimation3, 25000 women will have been

killed during the next two years.

 

In most cases, mainly because of inaction of the police, first information

reports (FIR) are often not entered.  Parents of the killed bride are not

properly heard by the administration or justice system.  This is more so

when the criminal or his family has connections with ruling political

parties.  The legal system in India is a degenerate relic of the colonial

British system and is pathetically slow.  Any case in the lower courts

(where these trials, if any pursued, are held) would take at least five to

ten years to complete.  By that time, if the litigating parents can keep

their money and optimism flowing to sustain the proceedings, chances are

that the FIR, post-mortem and other reports will have been tampered,

witnesses will have been bribed or threatened, judges will leave on

vacation or retirement, and the criminal on bail will be unavailable. And,

finally, he will either go free upon benefit of the doubt or get a light

sentence upon lack of enough evidence (usually seven years in jail -- he

will actually serve two to three years).  Then he will come out, and

remarry with another batch of dowry.  It may be pointed out here that it

is CHEAPER for an Indian man to kill his spouse and obtain a new one with

another dowry than to divorce his wife and pay her maintenance7.

Capitalist economics works at its best in India.

 

Incredible as it may sound, in some cases, the convicted husband will be

requested by the parents of his previous bride to marry her sister.  The

latter is an example of the severity of the problem.  The sister and her

parents have no place else to go but the abuser/killer man.  The death of

the woman has left a permanent mark of misfortune on her family resulting

outcasting/abhorrence by other prospective bridegrooms.  The surviving

sister can't remain unmarried: the patriarch society and the upper caste

rulers would not permit that.  But the incidence of the "untimely death"

of her older sister prevents her parents to find a "clean" groom for her.

Now, here comes the widower willing to remarry with an batch of dowry

probably a little less than the first time.  And, he will now probably be

more "forgiving" to the bride's family he already so much knows.  So, who

should the family turn to but the "closely related"?

 

 

IV.  Some Known Cases 1,4,5

 

Sudha Goel1:  Sudha was burned to death when she was eight months

pregnant. Her neighbors rushed in upon hearing her screams and found her

aflame. Sudha, like many other dying women, refuse to incriminate her

husband. However, it was one of the very few cases where the husband and

monther in-law were found guilty of killing her and were sentenced to

imprisonment for life.  This was possible because of active support from

feminist organizations and lawyers.

 

Meena Kumari1: Meena was burned to death by her sister in-law in collusion

with Meena's mother in-law and husband.  This happened when Meena's

parents refused to meet the constant dowry demands.  In her dying

declaration, Meena indicated how she was mentally and physically tortured

by her new family.  She was also insinuated of s*xual relations with other

men. Meena's "new family" has been acquitted for lack of sufficient

evidence.

 

Arveen Kaur1:  Arveen Kaur was found dead in her room a few years after

her marriage.  Before her death, she wrote letters to her father

describing the pain, torture, and humiliation she endured as a result of

increasing dowry demands.  She was deprived of food, clothing, and money.

After many years, the court has recently framed charges against Arveen's

husband and in-laws.

 

Surupa Guha4:  Surupa was poisoned to death by her husband, in-laws, and

their family servant.  The husband and father in-law were well-to-do

individuals who ran one of the best schools of Calcutta.  The story of her

death featured the big newspapers for years as a hot item.  Unfortunately,

neither the newspapers nor the progressive intelligentsia of Calcutta

could prevent the court acquittal of the husband and father in-law.  The

servant served a prison sentence.

 

Vimala Devi5:  Twenty two year old Vimala was burned to death after seven

years of her marriage (she was married at the age of fifteen which is a

punishable act under the Child Marriage Restraint Act -- the husband is to

be imprisoned in these cases; however, in most Indian families, birth

certificates are not registered).  She sought help two times at the Shakti

Shalini shelter for battered women to cope with abusive and persistent

demands for dowry.  After counseling and reconciliation with her husband,

she was sent back to her marital home.  Vimala's death after seven years

of marriage demonstrated the calculation and premeditation behind the

murder. (The husband Babulal was knowledgeable about the Dowry Prohibition

Act of 1961 (amended in 1984 and 1986) that stipulates "where the death of

a woman is caused by any burns or bodily injury or occurs otherwise than

under normal circumstances WITHIN SEVEN YEARS OF HER MARRIAGE and it is

shown that soon before her death she was subjected to cruelty or

harassment by her husband or any relative of her husband...such death

shall be called dowry death, and such husband or relative shall be deemed

to have caused the death").

 

Vimala's tragedy epitomizes the enormity of the problem.  The hospital

where she was taken was incompetent in properly registering Vimala as a

burn victim, the police mishandled the case by not conducting a post

mortem, they were reluctant to pursue an investigation against Babulal and

his family. Babulal or his family was not found guilty.

 

Bibliography

 

1Rani Jethmalani, ed.  1995.  Kali's Yug: Empowerment, Law and Dowry

Deaths.  Har-Anand Publications, New Delhi, India.

 

2National Crimes Bureau, Home Ministry, Govt. of India.  From: Souvenir of

the First International Conference on Dowry and Bride-Burning in India,

Harvard Law School, September 30, October 1 & 2, 1995.

 

3Souvenir of the First International Conference on Dowry and Bride-Burning

in India, Harvard Law School, September 30, October 1 & 2, 1995.

 

4The author's personal knowledge and experience.

 

5Ritu Banerjee.  Bride burning and the law: Vimala Devi's tragedy.

Souvenir of the First International Conference on Dowry and Bride-Burning

in India, Harvard Law School, September 30, October 1 & 2, 1995.

 

6WARLAW: Women's Action Research and Legal Action for Women.  Express

Building, 9-10 Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi 110002, India.

 

7Manushi, a journal dedicated for the cause of Indian women.  Manushi

Trust, C/202 Lajpat Nagar - I, New Delhi 110024, India.

 

Source/Link: www.hindunet.org/srh_home/1996_2/msg00193.html

India reported 32,481 murders, 19,348 rapes, 7,618 dowry deaths and 36,617 molestation cases in 2006

January 1, 2008 by Cyber Gandhi

Delhi tops crime charts for fifth year in a row

NEW DELHI: Delhi continues to be the undisputed ‘crime capital’ of the country. It is not only No 1 among 35 big cities with the largest number of crime cases but also has the dubious distinction of having topped the list for five years in a row.

The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), in its latest annual report—Crime in India: 2006—also points out that Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore together accounted for more than one-third of all crimes reported in Indian cities having a population of over a million people, for the second year in a row.

The national capital occupies the top slot for almost all violent crimes, including murder, rape, dowry death, molestation, kidnapping and abduction.

The report also notes the disturbing trend of young people taking to crime in a big way. It shows that 44.6% of the total arrested criminals during 2006 belonged to the 18-30 year age-group. In 2005, the figure was 44% and the trend was uniformly high across the 35 big cities under survey.

Besides the top three cities, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chennai, Jaipur, Indore and Pune are the other mega cities which figure prominently in NCRB’s list for reporting relatively higher number of cases.

The 35 mega cities collectively reported a total of 3,26,363 cognizable crimes in 2006, an increase of 3.7% over 2005.

According to NCRB, the country reported a total of 51,02,460 cognizable crimes, of which 18,78,293 related to murder, rape, attempt to murder, kidnapping, abduction, dowry death, dacoity, molestation and other violent offences. The remaining 32,24,167 incidents were cases registered under the Arms Act, Gambling Act, Prohibition Act, Forest Act, Railways Act and other special and local laws.

Although the overall crime in the country recorded an increase of 1.5% in 2006 as compared to 2005, the ‘crime rate’ (number of crimes per one lakh population) declined by 0.02%. Predictably, Delhi bucked this trend as well and the crime rate here grew to 357.2, more than double the national average of 167.7.

The crime rate is universally accepted as a more realistic indicator of crime. These figures reveal the dismal state of women in the capital. Dowry death (120), rape (533) and molestation (629) rates in Delhi were much higher as compared with other mega cities. Delhi, in fact, accounted for 31.2% of the total rape cases reported in big cities.

 

Source:

India reported 32481 murders, 19348 rapes, 7618 dowry deaths and ...

1 Jan 2008 ... Among violent crimes, India reported 32481 murders, 19348 rapes, 7618 dowry deaths and 36617 molestation cases in 2006. ...
escapefromindia.wordpress.com/.../india-reported-32481-murders-19348-rapes-7618-dowry-deaths-and-36617-molestation-cases-in-2..

80% of Delhi women fear for their safety

 

Two out of three women in Delhi have suffered s*xual harassment at least two to five times in the last year. Female respondents to a survey expressed a dismal lack of confidence in the police to curb harassment, with only 0.8% reporting such incidents to the authorities Nearly 80% of women in Delhi fear for their safety in the city, says a new survey conducted by the Delhi government’s Women and Child Development Department, NGO Jagori, and the international organisation Unifem.  The survey ‘Safe Cities Baseline Survey-Delhi 2010’ gathered and analysed information about the nature and forms of gender-based violence and harassment faced by women, the role of governing agencies and the police in safeguarding women’s rights, and societal perceptions and attitudes towards s*xual harassment.   The survey is based on interviews of 5,010 people, including 3,816 women and 944 men. The rest are common witnesses like bus conductors, shopkeepers and auto drivers who have possibly witnessed acts of s*xual harassment against women.  “Nearly three out of every five women reported facing s*xual harassment not only after dark but also through the day. But it is a good sign that 68% of the women deal with harassment in some way, like confronting the perpetrator or seeking help from family and friends,” said Delhi Health Minister Kiran Walia, who also looks after the Women and Child Development Department.  The main reasons for s*xual harassment identified in the survey include lack of gender-friendly and functional infrastructure such as adequate lighting, sidewalks and safe public toilets; open consumption of alcohol and drugs by men; and lack of an effective and visible police presence.  Female respondents expressed a dismal lack of confidence in the police to curb harassment, with only 0.8% reporting such incidents to the authorities. The vast majority responded to harassment by confronting the perpetrator themselves or seeking help from family and friends. The lack of faith in the police extended across all occupational groups.  Walia said public transport, buses and roads with faulty streetlights are spaces where women and girls face high levels of s*xual harassment. “There was a necessity to understand the problem. Now we have realised the problem we will be able to find a solution. For instance, we will write for CCTVs to be installed in buses and also make sure that s*xual harassment becomes a non-bailable offence through changes in the CrPC,” she added.  The report on the findings of the survey included a number of recommendations like improving public infrastructure such as streetlights, sidewalks and privacy of public women’s toilets, publicising the use of helplines, deploying more policemen, and sensitising the public.  Source: The Indian Express, July 9, 2010              IANS, July 9, 2010

IN FACT 100% OF GUYS FEAR GIRLS IN DELHI.

PSEUDO -FEMINISTS MAKING A LIVING OUT OF MISERIES OF WOMEN ARE AUTHORS OF ABOVE FALSE ARTICLE. I FULLY AGREE THAT DOWRY PROBLEM STILL EXISTS TO SOME EXTENT IN RURAL AND RARELY URBAN INDIA TOO. I HAVE MYSELF SEEN SUCH CASES IN MY VICINITY, BUT THE POINT PSEUDO-FEMINISTISTS FAIL TO SEE HERE IS MISUSE OF THSE LAWS IN 95% OF CASES.COME TO COURT AND SEE URSELF MALE VICTIMISATION BY URBAN WOMEN.

India ranks a poor 114th in gender equality

 

The country ranks in the bottom half, among 134 countries, in terms of gender equality in the latest ranking that assesses the distribution of resources and opportunities among males and females around the world Slipping one place from last year, India has cornered the 114th position in the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) ‘The Global Gender Gap Index 2009’ ranking. India ranked 114th in 2007 too; it cornered 98th place in 2006.  The WEF’s annual ranking, released on October 28, 2009, attempts to assess “how well countries are dividing their resources and opportunities among their male and female populations, regardless of the overall levels of these resources and opportunities”.  Along with India, other Asian countries like Korea (115), Iran (128) and Pakistan (132) continue to hold some of the lowest positions in the rankings that are led by Iceland and three more Nordic nations -- Finland (2), Norway (3) and Sweden (4) -- at the top, and New Zealand in fifth spot. Other countries in the top ten include South Africa (6), Denmark (7), Ireland (8), the Philippines (9), and Lesotho (10).  The United Kingdom ranks 15th while the United States is in 31st spot -- three spots lower than it was last year. Though placed way ahead of India, neighbouring China has dropped to 60th position from 57 last year. Among other BRIC nations, Russia ranks 51st while Brazil is in 82nd spot.  “While India, Iran and Pakistan perform very poorly on the economic, education and health sub-indexes, their overall scores are partially bolstered by relatively good performances on political empowerment,” the WEF said. Stressing that certain religions and cultural norms around the world prevent women from attaining equal status in society, a top UN official cited India as an example saying that the government was making tremendous efforts to uplift the better half of its population.  “You find countries like India where there are traditional practices and yet the state in its approach towards women has always held equality as a basis,” Asma Jahangir, UN special rapporteur on religious freedom, said.  The WEF says the index scores are meant to indicate the percentage of gender gap that has been closed. Women entering senior official, managerial and legislator roles, gains for women in parliament, and women ministers in the new government helped close the gender gap in the country. That means a higher score on the index represents a more gender-equal society, at least according to this methodology.  “Girls and women make up one half of the world’s population, and without their engagement, empowerment and contribution we cannot hope to achieve a rapid economic recovery nor effectively tackle global challenges such as climate change, food security and conflict,” Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman, WEF, said. “The Forum works year-round with leaders on ways to close gender gaps through its Women Leaders and Gender Parity Programme, and this report underpins their work.”  The Global Gender Parity Group, a community of highly influential leaders from business, politics, academia, media and civil society -- 50% women and 50% men -- seeks to share best practices and identify strategies to optimise the use of talent.  “Out of the 115 countries covered in the report since 2006, more than two-thirds have posted gains in overall index scores, indicating that the world in general has made progress towards equality between men and women, although there are countries that continue to lose ground. We have included a section on the dynamics of the gender gap and found that progress is achieved when countries find ways to make marriage and motherhood compatible with the economic participation of women,” said co-author Ricardo Hausmann, director of the Centre for International Development at Harvard University, USA.  The Forum continues to expand geographic coverage in the report. Featuring a total of 134 countries, this year’s report provides insights into the gaps between women and men in over 93% of the world’s population. Thirteen out of the 14 variables used to create the index are from publicly available hard data indicators from international organisations such as the International Labour Organisation, the United Nations Development Programme and the World Health Organisation.  Some notable facts:  Among the 134 countries covered in this report, Ireland has the lowest maternal mortality rate (1 death among 100,000 live births) while Chad has the highest maternal mortality rate (1,500 deaths among 100,000 live births). Twenty-four countries have a maternal mortality rate of greater than 500 deaths per 100,000 live births. Annually, more than half-a-million women and girls die during pregnancy and childbirth; 3.7 million newborns die within their first 28 days. 99% of maternal deaths occur in developing countries. Half of these occur in sub-Saharan Africa and another third in South Asia. A woman in a least developed country is 300 times more likely to die from causes related to pregnancy and childbirth than a woman in an industrialised country, in her lifetime. Maternal and newborn health are intimately linked. Children who have lost their mothers are four times more likely to die prematurely than those who have not. It is estimated that for every woman who dies, another 20 suffer from illness or disability as a result of pregnancy or childbirth -- around 10 million women a year. Many of these women not only face discomfort and emotional distress but are shunned by their families. Every year, about 1 million children are left motherless and vulnerable. They are less likely to attend school, which, in turn, means that they risk a life living in poverty as adults. Approximately 80% of maternal deaths could be averted if women had access to essential maternity and basic healthcare services. The five major direct causes of maternal death in developing countries are severe bleeding, infection, hypertension, complications from unsafe abortions, and prolonged/obstructed labour. About 20% of maternal deaths have indirect causes that complicate pregnancy or childbirth, such as malaria, anaemia, hepatitis and HIV/AIDS. Another serious factor is insufficient access for women and girls to nutritious food. Weak healthcare systems often do not prioritise women’s health. Lack of skilled health workers to support a woman through pregnancy, childbirth and post-natal care. There is evidence that worker numbers and quality are positively associated with maternal survival. Source: The New York Times, October 29, 2009              Press Trust of India, October 28, 2009,             https://www.rediff.com/, October 2009

India’s ‘missing women’ highest in Asia-Pacific: UNDP report

 

Discrimination against women that threatens their very existence is rife in the Asia-Pacific region, and India is at the top of the list says a recent UNDP report on gender equality India has the highest number of women dying because of discriminatory treatment in access to healthcare and nutrition, s*x-selective abortions and infanticide, in the Asia-Pacific region.   In 2007, the latest year for which figures are available, 42.7 million Indian females died for these reasons, says the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)-sponsored 2010 Asia-Pacific Human Development Report launched on March 8, 2010. Titled ‘Voice and Rights: A Turning Point for Gender Equality in Asia and the Pacific’, the report focuses on gender equality.  The UNDP terms these “missing women” and India and China account for more than 80 million such women. This seriously skews the s*x ratio. A March 4, 2010 article in The Economist said that in China and northern India more than 120 boys are being born for every 100 girls, and this goes up to 130 boys in some provinces in China.     “It is no exaggeration to call this ‘gendercide’. Women are missing in their millions --aborted, killed, neglected to death. In 1990, Indian economist Amartya Sen put the number at 100 million; the toll is higher now,” The Economist says.  Women comprise 51% of the population in most regions worldwide, yet they account for only 49% of the total population in Asia-Pacific, the UNDP report adds. In India, women account for 48.2 % of the population, the worst figure in the South Asia region, with Pakistan marginally better off at 48.5%, Bangladesh at 48.8% and Nepal and Sri Lanka at 50.4% and 50.5% respectively.  The report says there is a wide disparity between male and female child mortality rates in India: 72 per 1,000 male children under the age of 5, compared to 81 per 1,000 female children.  Lack of women’s participation in the workforce costs the region billions of dollars every year. In countries such as India, Indonesia and Malaysia, conservative estimates show that GDP would increase by up to 2-4% annually if women’s employment rates were raised to 70%, closer to the rate of many developed countries.  Fewer women than men are in paid work in every country in the region, with striking contrasts between South Asia and East Asia. Nearly 70% of East Asian women are in paid work, well above the global average of 53%, in countries such as Cambodia, China, and Vietnam, for example. In South Asian countries like India and Pakistan, fewer than 35% of women do paid work.   Despite laws guaranteeing equal pay for equal work, women in this region still earn considerably less than men, with the pay gap ranging from 54% to 90%. Women “consistently end up with some of the worst, most poorly-paid jobs -- often the ones that men don’t want to do, or that are assumed to be “naturally” suited to women,” the report found.     The Asia-Pacific region includes China, Mongolia, Vietnam, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Afghanistan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Timor Leste, Bhutan, Kiribati, Maldives, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Vanuatu, and Myanmar.  Source: UNDP report ‘Voices and Rights’, March 2010               The Indian Express, March 9, 2010               The Economist, March 4, 2010

Dowry gazette - August 16, 2009

August 16, 2009 posted by indiatime | 14 Comments

New Delhi (August 5, 2009)
A court in New Delhi ruled that the action of kicking a daughter-in-law and threatening her with divorce, cannot be termed cruel under India’s dowry law.

New Delhi (July 27, 2009)
Sangeeta (27), was found dead under the staircase of her in-laws’ home, and all members of the husband’s family are absconding. Her bruised body was discovered by her parents who had gone to her in-laws’ house to discuss dowry demands.

New Delhi (July 28, 2009)
Preeti Kaur (23) hanged herself to death, to escape dowry demands from her husband and his family. Preeti’s mother told the police that she did not take her daughter’s complaints seriously and kept telling her daughter to adjust to her husband’s family.

New Delhi (August 10, 2009)
A court chided the father of a dowry victim for recording his police statement 4-days after his daughter’s death by poisoning, and acquitted the husband of the murder charges. Sushila, the man’s daughter had died of eating poison-laced pakodas back in late 2003. Sushila’s father, the court alleged, did not accuse the husband for 4 days after her death and went to the district magistrate on the fifth day.

New Delhi (August 10, 2009)
The sessions court decided to prosecute the father of the bride for accepting the other party’s dowry demands, and giving a dowry. The father got in trouble when his daughter complained against her in-laws’ for their dowry demands.

And now, away from the capital:

Ahmedabad, Gujarat (August 4, 2009)
A court in Ahmedabad sentenced a husband and his parents for 14 years and 10 years life sentences, for setting fire to and killing Dipa Shukla, in 2007.

Bhuvaneshwar, Orissa (August 7. 2009)
The local superintendent of police has been charged with cruelty and abuse for torturing his wife and making dowry demands. His wife has alleged that her parents had given him Rs 40 lakhs in dowry, but he has been asking for more money from her parents.

Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh (August 3, 2009)
A medical doctor is under arrest for harassing his wife for dowry. His wife has alleged that he asked for Rs 5 lakhs and a land lot gift from her parents. The husband’s family has alleged that the relationship turned sour because the doctor found his wife speaking to strangers.

Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh (Aug 14, 2009)
G Vijaya Lakshmi (28), a software engineer, committed suicide by hanging herself on the terrace of her parent’s apartment. She was distraught over the dowry negotiations and demands from Chakradhar, her groom from Korea, whose family had been demanding additional cash before marriage.

Gurdaspur, Punjab (August 1, 2009)
Jaswant Kaur (now 32), has complained that Karamjit Singh, her NRI husband of 11 years, who took more than Rs 7 lakhs in dowry 11 years ago, hasn’t returned to take her to Britain where he resides. Her family has recently found out that the Karamjit’s UK address did not exist, and that he was already married and had 2 kids.

The dowry gazette - September 5, 2007

September 5, 2007 posted by indiatime | Leave a Comment

Yesterday, 30-year old Sarita from Muzaffarnagar was burnt to death by her husband and in-laws when she could not bring the one-lakh Rupee dowry that her husband’s family deamnded of her.

On August 26th, protesters belonging to several NGOs rallied in New Delhi, to focus on what they called the ‘discriminatory domestic violence’ laws in the Indian Penal Code. They contended, that in many cases, the wives falsely implicate husbands to extort money from them.

3 weeks ago, Prakash Rout of Orissa was killed by his own family when he opposed their dowry demands from his wife Pravasini.

Also 3 weeks ago, 22-year old Fatima from Mysore was forced by her husband to drink acid mixed with alcohol. Her face is now 90% burnt and she is fighting for her life in a Mysore hospital.

In Krishnanagar, West Bengal, this week, a 5-months pregnant woman has alleged that her software engineer husband of her one-week old marriage has left her for another woman since the other woman’s family offered him a hefty dowry.

September 23, 2007 posted by indiatime | Leave a Comment

On September 19th, in Hoshiarpur, Punjab, a bride and her family chased a groom away from the marriage ceremony and beat him up when the increasing dowry demands from the groom and his family finally ended to their patience.

On September 14th, Rekha Lodh (28) of Lucknow, was burnt to death by her husband Chhatrapal and his brother. Rekha was being harassed by her husband and his family for last 5 years. Initially the murder was made to loook like an accidental fire, but subsequent investigation revealed the murder plot.

On September 8, Dinanath, a central police force jawan from Kolkata was arrested for strangling his wife Jayashri (28) to death and later dumping her body on the street. Dinanath had a history of torturing his wife for dowry and had tried to murder her before as well.

Data on crime against women

 - official punishment for s*x selection (i.e. abortion if child is female): 3 years jail +   50,000 Rupees fine (equiv to 960 Euro)
 - loss of female births within past 2 decades caused by abortion and s*x selection:
   estimate of more than 10 million [BBC, Jan 2006]
 - annual 'girl deficit' due to prenatal s*x selection and selective abortion: 500,000
   according to researchers for the Lancet Journal [BBC, Jan 2006]
 - rape cases pending in courts across the country: 56,000 [Oct 2003]
- * registered cases of rape in Delhi 2004: 550 [BBC, Aug 2005]
 - rape cases in Delhi 2002: convicted: 98 -- acquitted: 344
 - age of rape victims in Delhi: 75% are minors, and of those 25 % are below 12 years
 - registered cases of eve-teasing for Mar - Aug 2003 in Indian metropoles: Delhi: 744
   -- Mumbai:27 -- Kolkata:30 -- Chennai:143
 - cases of rape for Mar - Aug 2003 in Indian metropolis: Delhi: 262 -- Mumbai: 40
   -- Kolkata: 18 -- Chennai: 21
 - officially recorded dowry deaths in major cities combined (Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta,
   Chennai): 2002: 181 -- 2001: 121
 - cases of crimes against women registered with the police in Himachal Pradesh
   2002: 920 (including 137 for rape, 138 for kidnap, 6 for dowry)
 - Haryana cost of buffalo: 18,000 - 24,000 Rs (approx 345 - 460 Euro)
 - Haryana cost of girl (human trafficking): 4000 Rs (approx 77 Euro)

Source: https://www.neoncarrot.co.uk/h_aboutindia/india_crime_stats.html

Are our sisters and daughters for sale?
When will the horrors of dowry and bride-burning end?, asks Himendra Thakur

June 1999: Doesn't the love of one's country include love for one's countrymen? Or is it merely a fashionable thing, patriotism merely to find pride in something but not to actually strive towards a better nation? A country is her people. Years ago, Rabindranath Tagore summed it up as: Desh mrinmoy noi, desh chinmoy The country is not a chunk of earth: it is a saga of consciousness. Without the conscience of our people, this consciousness will fade. We must rouse ourselves to the daily indignities that surround us.

There are a thousand places and ways we can begin loving the people of our nation, and I offer but one here. It is a journey that each of us can begin quite easily, because the victims of this malaise - dowry - are within reach, they are our mothers, sisters, friends, neighbors. People who we normally think of as "one of our own", who we ought to protect with our lives if necessary, and yet the normal course of things has fallen so low that indignities heaped on our women do little more than make us look away.

Geographical distribution of dowry deaths, 1994 Source: National Crimes Bureau, Home Ministry Andhra Pradesh - 396 Arunachal Pradesh - 0 Assam - 13 Bihar - 296 Goa - 0 Gujarat - 105 Haryana - 191 Himachal Pradesh - 4 Jammu & Kashmir - 1 Karnataka - 170 Kerala - 9 Madhya Pradesh - 354 Maharashtra - 519 Manipur - 0 Meghalaya - 0 Mizoram - 0 Nagaland - 2 Orissa - 169 Punjab - 117 Rajasthan - 298 Sikkim - 0 Tamilnadu - 83 Tripura - 6 Uttar Pradesh - 1977 West Bengal - 349 Andaman & Nicobar - 1 Chandigarh - 3 Dadra & Nagar Haveli - 0 Daman & Diu - 0 Delhi - 132 Lakshadweep - 0 Pondicherry - 4 Total - 5199

Let us begin, then, with the people whose suffering we have even ceased to notice, let alone empathize with. Let us begin with the women around us, those whose marriage through dowry we regard as normal when in fact it is apalling. Countless brides in India are constantly under harassment in their matrimonial homes because their fathers have fallen behind in the payment of endless dowry installments, or the dowry she did bring to her husband is regarded as too meagre.

Imagine the plight of a young woman, newly wed into an unfamiliar situation, and surrounded by those she has only just met, who regard her as a means to an end, little more than a device by which to enrich themselves. She knows only too well that a bride may be killed for lack of dowry ... she too must have heard the same stories we've all heard ... but she does not know what to do. She may have overheard her in-laws, even her own husband, talk casually about harassing her, and sometimes contemplate even killing her! the kind of fear that instills in a person is beyond our ability to comprehend. It isn't even fear, it is terror.

The cruelest aspect of this menace is the role that brides' parents play in perpetuating it. My inquiry at the Dowry Cell of New Delhi Police Department revealed that most of the parents of the bride do not want to take their daughters back. There is considerable social stigma in India against those parents who shelter a married daughter back in their family. In most of the cases, parents persuade the daughter to go back to her husband's home, that is considered to be the highest form of behavior one can learn from the old scripttures.

The alternative for the scared bride is to go to one of those government shelters. However, these shelters are controlled by unscrupulous bureaucrats and their politician bosses who are accused of taking full advantage of the helpless condition of the victims who come to the shelters. The reputation and working condition of most of the shelters are so horrible that a bride will prefer to die at the hands of her in-laws than to move one of those "shelters".

So, she stays in the house of her in-laws, resigned to her fate. Then, one evening, when she is working in the kitchen, someone throws a pail of kerosene on her, and someone else throws a burning match, and she turns into a ball of flames. Can she save herself by taking off her clothes ? There is no time. Petroleum products like kerosene or gasoline work very fast, aided by her own body heat. Once that splinter is thrown, there is no more chance of life.

Perhaps this sort of recital is gruesome, and we look away. We imagine that it cannot happen to anyone we know, that our education and money has raised us above these village truths. But that isn't so - we merely glamorize the slavery we perpetuate, and pretend to endow our daughters and sisters with "gifts". These aren't dowries, we tell ourselves, this is just to help her get a good start. Conveniently, we overlook the fact that there's more than one person getting married, we don't ask often enough why this good start mustn't come from both sides.

With these pretexts, we dismiss these as unimportant issues. And as we look away, an estimated 25,000 brides are killed or maimed every year in India over dowry disputes. Intellectuals pull out their calculator and say it is less than 0.003% of India's population. They slide into research mode and throw a vast array of statistics about atrocities on women in USA, UK, Pakistan, and many other countries of the world. Foundation owners refuse to help because there are so many other problems in India like street beggars, lepers, street children, bonded laborers, etc.