Cultural Compatibility, Generational Support from family, friends and relatives, Sense of belonging.

A dowry is a payment, such as property or money, paid by the bride's family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage. Bride Price is a payment by the groom (or the groom's family) to the bride. Dower is the property settled on the bride herself by the groom at the time of marriage that remains under her ownership and control. There is a history of Bride Price among Nagarathars (but not dower) and the most sustained practice has been dowry.

Ancient India had no practice of dowry. The system came into existence mostly through foreign invasions and occupation. It was initially practiced by the so-called “upper” castes (e.g. brahmins) and was non-existent among the so-called “lower” castes.

In India, dowry has its roots in medieval times when a gift in cash or kind was given to a bride by her family to maintain her independence after marriage. During the colonial period, it became the only legal way to get married, with the British making the practice of dowry mandatory. The trend in present India, with its booming economy, is now encouraging ever-higher bride prices among all socioeconomic strata. But the rising bride price has brought with it an increase in violence against women.

The practice of dowry is a social practice that precludes Nagarathar weddings that are purely based on compatibility and love. While it is somewhat dependent on the economic status it is existent in all economic strata within the society.

Social Status

In India, losing a marriage proposal is detrimental to the status of a bride's family in society. Therefore, regardless of their financial status, they strive to give exceptional gifts as their social status is exposed through these noteworthy offerings.

Greed

The expectation that a dowry will be given at the time of the bride and groom's marriage is to compensate for the groom's education, career, and wealth. The bride's education, career, and wealth are completely disregarded, as she is not given equal societal status to a man. Therefore, the expectations of a dowry can be justified through the influence of greed for material and monetary benefits. Unfortunately, if the demands are not met, either the marriage is called off or the bride experiences dowry-related hardship.

Weak Implementation of Anti-Dowry Laws

Over many decades, the Indian government has drafted several legislatures to control and counteract the dowry system. These include The Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961 and Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act of 2005. However, the implementation of such laws is ineffective due to the mass participation in this social vice. Under the veil of a marriage proposal, Indians pay no heed to the anti-dowry laws and surely exploit the dowry system to gain material and monetary benefits. Consequently, the demands are ignorantly made, and the bride's family suffers at the expense of the masses.

Lack of Education Being from a segment of society, which is not comprised of highly educated individuals, it is valid to consider that the lack of education is a cause of this evil phenomenon. The bride's family, unaware and unknowledgeable of the laws and legislations, face outrageous financial ultimatums, which when not met, lead to the mistreatment of their daughters.

Cash, Real Estate, Jewelry, Stocks/Shares, Any form of material wealth.

Research shows that it's usually the parents and grandparents of the groom who initiate the demands. The groom is rarely involved in the negotiations.

The groom should put his foot down and require that no dowry related transactions take place. This almost always works. The bride should also demand that the groom puts his foot down.

Many have. But more often than not people intentionally ignore the happenings relating to demanded dowry.

FANS believes that the NSNA youth are well positioned to fight against this unfair practice. Every Nagarathar youth in the USA should resolve to proactively ensure that there will not be any demanded material transactions done as part of marriage.

Absolutely YES.

Payment of dowry is now prohibited under the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 in Indian civil law and subsequently by Sections 304B and 498a of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Despite anti-dowry laws in India, it is still a common illegal practice. Other laws attempting to address the problem include the Dowry and Bridal Gifts Restrictions Rules, 1976 and the Dowry Prohibition (Maintenance of Lists of Presents to the Bride and Bridegroom) Rules, 1985, which are intended to document gifts and provide complainants with stronger evidence in case prosecution for crimes against the bride occurs later.

Although Indian laws against dowries have been in effect for decades, they have been largely criticized as being ineffective. The practice of dowry deaths and murders continues to take place unchecked in many parts of India and this has further added to the concerns of enforcement. Dowry-murder persists. It is the killing of a wife for not bringing sufficient dowry to the marriage. It is the culmination of a series of prior domestic abuses by the husband's family. Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code required the bridegroom and his family to be automatically arrested if a wife complains of dowry harassment.

Yes. Laws alone cannot bring change because, in India, most of the dowry-related transactions are done in an “underhanded” fashion to avoid legal issues. Unfortunately, the monetary system

The rich people in the community consider it an issue of pride. They thus do not hesitate to broadcast the terms of the marriage to the rest of the community which adds to the pressure that the not-well-to-do families already have relating to dowry payments. Sometimes the girls, as first-hand witnesses to such pressure, resolve to marry outside the community which is detrimental to the longer-term viability of the community.

YES. Nagarathar families still pass on ancestral property to boys and most parent-owned businesses are passed on to boys. Girl children are given “files” at marriage (in addition to or in-lieu of “dowry”), which are primarily shares in the business(es) that hold dividends and bonuses. Very often, parents with no boy children adopt a boy during their later years just to pass on their wealth and businesses. There is never any history of adopting girls among Nagarathars.

It was in August when the Supreme Court, while clarifying the 2005 Amendment to the Hindu Succession Act of 1956, said that a daughter would have an equal share of the inheritance as a son regardless of when she was born and whether her father was alive when the Act was amended.

The HSA was amended in 2005 and it gave equal rights to the daughter in terms of property. Prior to the Hindu Succession Amendment Act 2005, sons enjoyed rights over the deceased father's property, whereas daughters could do so only till she was unmarried. It was understood that after marriage, a woman attaches herself to the husband's family and therefore, has rights in another Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) altogether. Now, married and unmarried daughters have the same rights on their father's property as their brothers. They are also entitled to equal duties and liabilities as their brothers. In 2005, it was also ruled that a daughter has the same rights, provided that both, father and daughter, were alive on September 9, 2005. In 2018, the SC stated that a daughter can inherit her deceased father's property no matter whether the father was alive on this date or not. Hereon, women were also accepted as coparceners. They can demand a share in the father's property.

In 2022, the Supreme Court ruled that daughters have the right to inherit their parents' self-acquired property and any other property of which they are absolute owners, adding that this rule would apply even in cases where the parents of a daughter died intestate before the codification of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956.
Reference: https://housing.com/news/all-about-property-rights-in-india/

As long as gifts are given not as a condition of marriage and are non-demanded or considered as “murai”, it will not be considered dowry.