Dowry is as old as Indian culture. Even in Vedic time the Dowry was prevalent. And it has been in mentioned in Indian Puranas.

dowry is just a small help to the people who took the responsibility to make arrangements of marriage. Earlier mostly bridegroom parents used to take the responsibility so the bride parents used to help them by giving little amount. later with time it became compulsory for bride parents to give dowry and even became in such a way bride groom parents started demanding

Dowry is an initial investment to enable young couple to begin married life. This is like initial capital in a business enterprise.  The system has become very undesirable because of greed. 

sarala wrote:

dowry is just a small help to the people who took the responsibility to make arrangements of marriage. Earlier mostly bridegroom parents used to take the responsibility so the bride parents used to help them by giving little amount. later with time it became compulsory for bride parents to give dowry and even became in such a way bride groom parents started demanding

Now the situation is changing. It is true,groom's parents demand dowry and the Bride's parents have to oblige. But do you know that there are parents who offer dowry, even if the groom's parents do not demand dowry. Such parents think not offering Dowry is below their prestige.

In my case, I neither gave dowry for my two daughters nor accepted dowry for my son. There may be people like me who married their sons and daughters without dowry.

dowry is such a thing that if given by the girl parent voluntarily that it's ok but if taken by the boy parent for their greed then its become a crime. i don't know who started this tradition of dowry but whoever had started this he/she might don't think also that it will become a ruthless greed. 

I guess maybe before child marriage was very frequent so maybe not to put burden on husband family it was help or gift for upbringing of a daughter. But slowly turned into greed. 

rambabu wrote:

sarala wrote:

dowry is just a small help to the people who took the responsibility to make arrangements of marriage. Earlier mostly bridegroom parents used to take the responsibility so the bride parents used to help them by giving little amount. later with time it became compulsory for bride parents to give dowry and even became in such a way bride groom parents started demanding

Now the situation is changing. It is true,groom's parents demand dowry and the Bride's parents have to oblige. But do you know that there are parents who offer dowry, even if the groom's parents do not demand dowry. Such parents think not offering Dowry is below their prestige.

In my case, I neither gave dowry for my two daughters nor accepted dowry for my son. There may be people like me who married their sons and daughters without dowry.

@rambabu There are many such families who fix marriage without dowry and among such weddings many of them are traditional arranged marriages too. I got married without dowry and my brothers too got married without dowry and all these were arranged marriages. We need to change our mentality and dowry system will get abolished.  

 

Gulshan Kumar Ajmani wrote:

Dowry is an initial investment to enable young couple to begin married life. This is like initial capital in a business enterprise.  The system has become very undesirable because of greed. 

Marriage is not a business that there should be some capital investment and that has to be made by the bride's side. A groom must be worthy to maintain his family. Some may not have a huge money to set up a house filled with all the essentials and luxuries but one can start with the most essentials through his own income (nowadays mostly both earn) and with time all other requirements can be arranged. There is an immense satisfaction when a family is set up through one's own income and not through money from wife's family. Gift is altogether a different matter. In marriage gift can be given by either side and if both the families gift a bit sensibly then it helps the newly wed in their expenditure. That's it but dowry is not a gift but a demand which is highly unacceptable.   

While numbers of persons not taking dowry is increasing so is the number of persons taking dowry increasing. It should reduce

vijay wrote:

While numbers of persons not taking dowry is increasing so is the number of persons taking dowry increasing. It should reduce

As the days are changing people thinkings are also changing, I wish and I am very sure that one day dowry will be ended from India