Before the independence of India, there was a system of Kanyasulkam throughout the country, whereby the bridegroom had to pay a certain sum of money to the father of the bride in getting marriage. This was quite similar to the dower of Muslim community. Due to this system Hindu youths suffered lots of difficulties in getting marriage. Further, this system led to the practice of child marriage or marriage between old man and young girls because the greediness and selfishness of the bride’s parents.
After the independence of the country the trend had reversed and instead of giving Kanyasulkam, bridegrooms started demanding money, properties etc from bride’s parents in marriage, this was known as Stridhanam. This system seemed good in the beginning but later on it become a social adverse which today we know as dowry.
Before 1955 daughters were not entitled to the properties, so the properties given by the father and brother of the bride were kept separate for the benefit of the bride. This system was more or less equivalent to the dower. Later due to the demand of high amounts of money and properties at the time of marriage and after the marriage, the system changed into the worse and become a social evil.
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Bridegroom demanded huge money, properties from the bride’s parents under the name of certain rites. The demand differs according to the status of the bridegroom’s property, caste, job, education and characters. This system thus became life and death problem to the parents of daughters whose marriage is to be performed.
The system of dowry has become a pernicious custom to the Hindu community. Surprisingly this evil system has also crept in Muslims and other communities as well. Due to this evil and worse system the bridegrooms and their parents become more and more greedy, and it has become their aim to grab the maximum amounts from the bride’s parents in marriage.
The main difference between Dower and Dowry are as follows –
- Dower is existed in the Muslim community since the Pre-Islamic period, it is an old custom and is given as an honour to wife. While Dowry is an evil practice and a new practice crept in India, especially in Hindu community.
- Dower is paid by the husband to wife in a marriage. It is the consideration of marriage. While Dowry is demanded from the side of bridegroom and his parents.
- Dower is for the welfare of the Muslim wife. However, Dowry is grabbed from bride’s parents by the husband and his parents/relatives.
- Dower prevents the Muslim husbands to give diivorce to his wife because after giving divorce the husband need to pay the entire dower as per the agreement. On the other hand dowry creates more greediness to the mind of the bridegroom and his parents, thus they killed the wife to get another marriage.
- Dower is only seen in the Muslim community but the evil practice of dowry has crept into almost all communities.
- Dower has been praised by various social reformers. While the practice of dowry is criticized by almost all social reformers.
- Dower is a mark of respect for the wife but dower is the burdensome on the parent of the bride.
- Dower is not punishable but giving or taking dowry is punishable under Section 3 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961
- Dower is an unsecured debt, on the other hand dowry is not any debt it is an evil habit and evil practice.
- The wife or her legal heir can recover the debt from the husband through civil procedure treating it as a debt.
