by B. R. GOWANI
in South Asia
(and many other parts of the world)
marriage is a must
for husband, in-laws, or both
wife is not enough
they also want many amenities and luxuries to accompany the wife
the word for those things is dowry
the husband and in-laws survived, since husband’s birth, without dowry
so why do they need it now?
because they failed in the rat-race to get those things
or have become more greedy in a world full of things but little money
this is intrinsic curse of capitalism
a small segment of population will have everything
whereas most will have nothing or will have very little
people will use any every mean to get the things they desire or want
21-year-old Sonali Budholia got married in 2019
on wedding day, Sonali’s father gave cash Rs 20 lakh as dowry
that is, 2 million rupees or US $28,571 (as per 2019 currency exchange rate)
a few days later, husband and in-laws demanded a car
Sonali’s father was not in a financial position to fulfill the demand
“On the wedding day, I gave them Rs 20 lakh in cash as dowry but days later, Sandeep [the husband] and his family began making new demands. They wanted a car. I told them it is beyond my means to buy them a car. He and his family then started assaulting my daughter. I even approached the police over this once and we had arrived at a compromise.”
the glitter of capitalism has blinded us to reality
not only that,
it has turned us into a stubborn child who wants his/her candy or whatever
then there was the girl factor
there is an Indian saying:
“Bringing up a daughter is like watering a plant in another’s courtyard.”
Sandip and his parents wanted a son who could water their own plant
Sonali gave birth to a daughter named Darshita
Sonali’s father Sanjeev Tripathi:
“Sandeep wanted a boy. After the delivery, he and his family left my daughter alone in the hospital. I had to go to the nursing home to complete the payment. I took her home. Sandeep came a month later to receive Sonali and Darshita.”
of course, for many years, Sonali suffered tortures, beatings, verbal assaults
the husband didn’t get his candy, i.e., car
he didn’t get a son
so he killed his wife in Feb 2025
Sonali’s father:
“This morning, I got a call, saying my daughter’s health has deteriorated. After some time, I received another call, saying she hung herself. As soon as I reached there, I learnt that she was dead.”
four-year-old Darshita drew a picture of what her father did
Darshita told the police:
“Papa assaulted and killed mummy. He then said ‘die if you want to’. He hanged her body and hit her head with a stone. Later, he brought down the body and dumped it inside a sack.”
“I had told him once that if you touch my mother, I will break your hand. He used to beat her, saying she should die and that I should meet the same fate as her.”
Sonali is one more person added to statistics
in this capitalistic world, no one has time for anyone
everyone is rushing to get as many things as they could get
without thinking the harm they are doing in the process
B. R. Gowani can be reached at brgowani@hotmail.com