Information about the diary prohibition act in 1961
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THE DOWRY PROHIBITION ACT 1961
(28 OF 1961)
(20th May, 1961)
An Act to prohibit the giving or taking the dowry
BE it enacted by Parliament in the Twelfth Year of the Republic of India as follows:-
INTRODUCTION
The ancient marriage rites in the Vedic period are associated with Kanyadan. It is laid down in
Dharamshastara that the meritorious act of Kanyadan is not complete till the bridegroom was
given a dakshina. So when a bride is given over to the bridegroom, he has to be given something
in cash or kind which constitute varadakshina. Thus Kanyadan became associated with
varadakshina i.e. the cash or gifts in kind by the parents or guardian of the bride to the
bridegroom. The varadakshina was offered out of affection and did not constitute any kind of
compulsion or consideration for the marriage. It was a voluntary practice without any coercive
overtones. In the course of time, the voluntary element in dowry has disappeared and the
coercive element has crept in. it has taken deep roots not only in the marriage ceremony but also
post-marital relationship. What was originally intended to be a taken dakshina for the
bridegroom has now gone out of proportions and has assumed the nomenclature 'dowry'.
The social reformers of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries have striven hard for the
abolition of various social evils including the evil of dowry system. Long before India gained
independence, the then provincial Government of Sind passed an enactment known as "Sind Deti
Leti Act, 1939" with a view to deal effectively with the evils of dowry system but the enactment
had neither any impact nor could create the desired effect. During the last few decades the evils
of dowry system has taken an acute form in almost all parts of the country and in almost all the
sections of society. In a bid to eradicate this evil from the society, the State Governments of
Bihar and Andhra Pradesh enacted "The Bihar Dowry Restraint Act, 1950" and "The Andhra
Pradesh Dowry Prohibition Act, 1958" for the respective States, but both these enactments
failed to achieve the objectives for which they were enacted.