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Dowry Murder: Reinvestigating A Cultural Whodunnit
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 women's 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.
352 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1902
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173 people want to read
About the author
Veena Talwar Oldenburg
6 books1 followerVeena Talwar Oldenburg is Professor of History at Baruch College and The Graduate Center of the City University of New York. She is best known for her widely reviewed book on Dowry murder.
Oldenburg is a native of Lucknow, India. She has a bachelor's degree from Loreto Convent College and an M.A. from the University of Lucknow. She has a second master's from the University of Bridgeport which she earned shortly after immigrating to the United States in 1970 and a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Oldenburg has previously taught at Sarah Lawrence College and Columbia University. She is a 2016 Fulbright Nehru Senior Scholar.
Oldenburg is a native of Lucknow, India. She has a bachelor's degree from Loreto Convent College and an M.A. from the University of Lucknow. She has a second master's from the University of Bridgeport which she earned shortly after immigrating to the United States in 1970 and a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Oldenburg has previously taught at Sarah Lawrence College and Columbia University. She is a 2016 Fulbright Nehru Senior Scholar.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 23, 2023
Atrocity literature played its part in downgrading women's rights, too. Dowry Murder by Veena Talwar gives details on how the British encouraged the Indians to dish out cases of atrocities that could then be blamed on the native culture. They systematically compiled these anecdotes, mostly unsubstantiated and often exaggerated and one-sided. This became a justification to enact laws that downgraded the rights of common citizens. The book shows how the dowry extortions that have become so common in middle-class India today, were actually started when women's traditional property rights were taken away by the Britishers through convoluted logic. It was Stree Dhan( women's money or property) so that they can empowered or be independent. Then British made the law that only male can have property. Eventually society became more patriachal.
Read this book to understand more.
Read this book to understand more.
April 20, 2011
Spanning from the mid-19th century to the present, this is a mix of rigorous scholarship from the author and personal accounts from women(including an incredible personal tale from the author herself), destabilizing the theory that the custom of dowry in India/parts of Pakistan is directly responsible for the outbreak of murdered wives in the region.
Instead, Oldenburg argues that policies of the British Raj (during British imperial rule of India), which privatized land ownership into exclusively male hands and exerted intense economic pressure upon Indian male farmers/land holders, transformed dowries from safety-net into a catalyst for marital conflict and violence. The historical framework provided in the first five chapters is rich in detail and serves as the foundation for Oldenburg's argument. The last chapter, which consists of women's personal accounts of violence and their efforts to escape it, could almost stand alone and still be worthy of five stars.
Instead, Oldenburg argues that policies of the British Raj (during British imperial rule of India), which privatized land ownership into exclusively male hands and exerted intense economic pressure upon Indian male farmers/land holders, transformed dowries from safety-net into a catalyst for marital conflict and violence. The historical framework provided in the first five chapters is rich in detail and serves as the foundation for Oldenburg's argument. The last chapter, which consists of women's personal accounts of violence and their efforts to escape it, could almost stand alone and still be worthy of five stars.
July 26, 2023
This books is fascinating, if a bit heavy going in the first half.
My understanding of Oldenburg's argument is that murder is less related to dowry, but the cultural and social conditions surrounding the political economy of gender. She argues that dowry was initially a form od agency and insurance for women being married away from their natal home. Changes that occurred under colonialism changed the relationship between people and property but also created economic crises through large financial demands in the form of tax and legal costs. These changes in demand led to changes in the role of women in households, reducing their economic importance and thus changing the way dowry was viewed.
She then goes on to argue, drawing from field research, experience and her own first hand account, that murder in modern India is not necessarily connected to dowry so much as a broader relationship between the patriarchy and women in India. Demonstrating how women's shelters don't just cater to newlyweds, and how when it does dowry is one of many issues that create toxic environments in marriage. With marriage, adultery, misrepresenting the groom and conflicts with family members also being issues that lead to domestic violence and murder.
The primary source research done in the first three chapters is brilliant and she has clearly spent an incredible amount of time in archives, my lack of familiarity with some concepts and events meant I found this tricky at times.
The last chapter where she draws form her experience as a woman in a toxic marriage and volunteering in a woman's shelter is fascinating and elevates the voices of vulnerable people bringing them into the wider debate on the issue of 'Dowry Murder'.
This book is an important one to read for anyone who does not see how colonialism continues to affect India today and should be read by anyone interested in Indian feminism and social history.
My understanding of Oldenburg's argument is that murder is less related to dowry, but the cultural and social conditions surrounding the political economy of gender. She argues that dowry was initially a form od agency and insurance for women being married away from their natal home. Changes that occurred under colonialism changed the relationship between people and property but also created economic crises through large financial demands in the form of tax and legal costs. These changes in demand led to changes in the role of women in households, reducing their economic importance and thus changing the way dowry was viewed.
She then goes on to argue, drawing from field research, experience and her own first hand account, that murder in modern India is not necessarily connected to dowry so much as a broader relationship between the patriarchy and women in India. Demonstrating how women's shelters don't just cater to newlyweds, and how when it does dowry is one of many issues that create toxic environments in marriage. With marriage, adultery, misrepresenting the groom and conflicts with family members also being issues that lead to domestic violence and murder.
The primary source research done in the first three chapters is brilliant and she has clearly spent an incredible amount of time in archives, my lack of familiarity with some concepts and events meant I found this tricky at times.
The last chapter where she draws form her experience as a woman in a toxic marriage and volunteering in a woman's shelter is fascinating and elevates the voices of vulnerable people bringing them into the wider debate on the issue of 'Dowry Murder'.
This book is an important one to read for anyone who does not see how colonialism continues to affect India today and should be read by anyone interested in Indian feminism and social history.
June 9, 2019
Those who want to know the reason of dowry And how it came in to existence should read this book.
February 19, 2019
Dowry Murder is a sociological piece which aims to dig deeper into the phenomenon of dowry in India. It begins with the author s intention behind undertaking this work and moves on to analyse dowry through a social, political and economic lens. The author aims to bust some of the traditional myths around the evolution of dowry from a gift giving system to a key driver of infanticide. She presents an interesting hypothesis around the reason for high female infanticide in 19th and 20th century and substabtiates it with ample historical evidence. Particularly, the details on administration and policies during the reign of hindu kings and early British period ( when it was still East India Company) make a very eye opening read. The discussion slowly progresses towards dowry cases in the 20th century and the author chooses to bring a fresh perspective here as well. Inclusion of the author s own harrowing marriage experience as well as the other case studies helps to justify her reasoning. Viewing the recent dowry cases through a different lens helps to understand the role and standing of women at that time. On the whole , a very illuminating read to help trace the dowry journey.
November 18, 2018
'The imperial origins of a cultural crimes.'
How the dowry extortion were actually started when women's traditional property rights were taken away by British.
Athor follows the paper trail left by British bureaucrats during the British Colonial rule of India. And then there are personal accounts from women in India including author’s own personal account on the system of Dowry. And what gets revealed after all this path breaking research and analysis, gives a huge blow to the very theory of Dowry being directly responsible for the status of women in the Indian society and goes on to prove how a system meant to actually benefit the married woman, a tool of financial independence, got converted during the British Rule into a system which ended up harming the very woman who was supposed to benefit from it.
The move which affected the status of the women in the Indian society was the rule imposed by the British which prohibited the women from owning any property at all! And this was what created the menace of dowry system in India.
#DowryMurder #YTFLibrary #AtrocityLiterature
How the dowry extortion were actually started when women's traditional property rights were taken away by British.
Athor follows the paper trail left by British bureaucrats during the British Colonial rule of India. And then there are personal accounts from women in India including author’s own personal account on the system of Dowry. And what gets revealed after all this path breaking research and analysis, gives a huge blow to the very theory of Dowry being directly responsible for the status of women in the Indian society and goes on to prove how a system meant to actually benefit the married woman, a tool of financial independence, got converted during the British Rule into a system which ended up harming the very woman who was supposed to benefit from it.
The move which affected the status of the women in the Indian society was the rule imposed by the British which prohibited the women from owning any property at all! And this was what created the menace of dowry system in India.
#DowryMurder #YTFLibrary #AtrocityLiterature
February 6, 2019
This book was recommended by Ashish Iyer. I am grateful to him for this. The name dowry always struck an ominous note in my heart. With Indian teleserials and the media hyping it I never was proud of it. The author of this book has conducted extensive and painstaking research to give the truth about this system.
Trust me! It is a must read! We realize that dowry as an asset for a lady! This system was manipulated by the West and potrayed as some dreadful practise. The author shows research to say there is no connection between female foeticide and the test of paying dowry!
Such facts make us question what is out there in the media and text books. We need such books to stand as lighthouses amidst dark potrayals of an ancient culture that has given the world a lot!
Amazing efforts by the author!
Thank you Ashish.
Trust me! It is a must read! We realize that dowry as an asset for a lady! This system was manipulated by the West and potrayed as some dreadful practise. The author shows research to say there is no connection between female foeticide and the test of paying dowry!
Such facts make us question what is out there in the media and text books. We need such books to stand as lighthouses amidst dark potrayals of an ancient culture that has given the world a lot!
Amazing efforts by the author!
Thank you Ashish.
September 10, 2023
Had read some few excerpts about their not being dowry in antiquity in India from arrian or al biruni (mostly quoted with no social context or anything; so always looked like apologia to me) and always thought of when and where was this practice born or frankly put "where did we went wrong"? and co-incidentally then stumbled upon this book here. A very rich and detailed historical analysis of what dowry was and how it took the form it has taken in modern indian society. Must read.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews