Dowry Murder : The Imperial Origins of a Cultural Crime

The Hindu custom of dowry has long been blamed for the murder of wives and female infants in India. In this highly provocative book, Veena Oldenburg argues that these killings are neither about dowry nor reflective of an Indian culture or caste system that encourages violence against women. Rather, such killings can be traced directly to the influences of the British colonial era. In the precolonial period, dowry was an institution managed by women, for women, to enable them to establish their status and have recourse in an emergency. As a consequence of the massive economic and societal upheaval brought on by British rule, women's entitlements to the precious resources obtained from land were erased and their control of the system diminished, ultimately resulting in a devaluing of their very lives. Taking us on a journey into the colonial Punjab, Veena Oldenburg skillfully follows the paper trail left by British bureaucrats to indict them for interpreting these crimes against women as the inherent defects of Hindu caste culture. The British, Oldenburg claims, publicized their "civilizing mission" and blamed the caste system in order to cover up the devastation their own agrarian policies had wrought on the Indian countryside. A forceful demystification of contemporary bride burning concludes this remarkably original book. Deploying her own experiences and memories and her research at a women's shelter with "dowry cases" for almost a year in the mid-eighties, the author looks at the contemporary violence against wives and daughters-in-law in modern India. Oldenburg seamlessly weaves the contemporary with the historical, the personal with the political, and strips the layers of exoticism off an ancient practice to show how an invaluable safety net was twisted into a deadly noose. She brings us startlingly close to the worsening treatment of modern Indian women as she challenges us to rethink basic assumptions about womens human and economic rights. Combining rigorous research with impassioned analysis and a nuanced treatment of a complex, deeply controversial subject, this book critiques colonialism while holding a mirror to gender discrimination in modern India. The Hindu custom of dowry has long been blamed for the murder of wives and female infants in India. In this highly provocative book, Veena Oldenburg argues that these killings are neither about dowry nor an Indian culture or caste system that encourages violence against women. Rather, such killings can be traced directly to the influences of the British colonial era and the resulting legislation. In the precolonial period, dowry, an institution managed by women to enable them to establish their independence, was a safety net. As a consequence of the massive economic and societal upheaval brought on by British rule, however, women's control of the system diminished and the net was twisted into a deadly noose. A forceful look at the worsening treatment of women in modern India concludes this remarkably original book. Deploying her personal experiences, the author shows how even as the law has prohibited dowry, it has deepened the misunderstanding of the motives for the deaths and silenced the women involved. Combining rigorous research with impassioned analysis and a nuanced treatment of a complex, deeply controversial subject, this book critiques colonial policy while holding a mirror to gender discrimination in modern India. Oldenburg argues that dowry murder is not about dowry per se nor is it rooted in an Indian culture or caste system that encourages violence against women. Rather, dowry murder can be traced directly to the influences of the British colonial era What [was given] before the [nuptial] fire, what [was given] on the bridal procession, what was given in token of love, and what was received from her brother, mother or father, that is called the six-fold property of a woman.