Sir,
This has reference to the writeup’Say no to Dowry'(DE, May7, 2019).Dowry is, indeed, a great curse on the modern society.It is strange that even in the midst of so much breakthroughs in science and technology, explosion of knowledge as a result of rise in literacy rate and standard of living, some greedy people are still demanding dowry and girls and women such as Thushara continue to bear physical cruelty and mental trauma at the hands of their ravenous in- laws.There is no doubt that these days many young boys are opting for dowryless marriages and living their life happily.But at the same time, there may be some ‘Shylocks’ who demand dowry at the time of marriage or even after marriage.Not able to meet the dowry demands of their insatiable in-laws, many young brides are forced to take the extreme step of ending their lives or are simply killed by their husbands and their relatives.For these brides, wedlock becomes deadlock.Such greedy people must be awarded exemplary punishment under the law but it should be ensured that Anti Dowry Law is not misused and false complaints of dowry may not be lodged by the wives against their husbands and their relatives.However, if, on investigation it is proved that the husband or his relatives are guilty of harrasing and torturing the bride over Dowry , torturing her and driving her to commit suicide, they should be awarded severe punishment to act as deterrant for others to do this.At the same time, focus must be given on girl education so that girls can know about the laws and lodge complaints when they face harrasment at the hands of their in-laws.Holding of awareness camps to educate the society at large too can help eradicate this evil.Parents should not encourage the practice of giving or taking dowry.They need to grow their daughters to be responsible, independent and bold enough to resist the dowry demands.Youth must come forward and launch a strong Movement not to accept dowry at the time of marriage or afterwards.
Ashok Sharma,
Housing Colony,
Udhampur
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