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Textbook explaining the benefits of the dowry system despite a ban in dowry

According to Indian penal code giving or receiving dowry is a punishable offense – with jail time up to two years. However, study material provided by St. Joseph’s College, Bengaluru, to it’s B.A. students had a shocking narrative on the advantages of the Dowry system. A picture of the pages has been shared through Facebook which shows the context ‘advantages of dowry’. It allegedly forms a part of a chapter called Dowry Menace which is followed by the ‘disadvantages’ of the issue. The section is included in sociology book for final year Bachelor degree course of the college.

It lists down seven advantages of dowry. The only caveat is that the arguments are written from the perspective of those who support the dowry system. According to this section, the dowry system helps in attracting grooms for “ugly girls”. It also states that dowry could be an added incentive for unwilling, handsome grooms to commit to marriage. Also referred it as the key element to maintain family’s ‘harmony & unity’.

Instead of condemning the practice, the book very shamelessly mentions, how Dowry is ‘not recommendable’. Many in the networking site argued that the book was merely giving space to the “mentality” of people who promote and propagate the dowry system, which was countered – brutally – by others. This bit was reportedly removed later after outrage on social media.

According to National Crime Records Bureau,  21 lives are lost to dowry every day across India while conviction rate is less than 35 percent of every criminal caught.

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