News media across have reported that a wedding in Bareilly (UP) was called off after the bride refused to go ahead with it. The groom and his family allegedly demanded a car and Rs 20 lakh in cash as dowry just before the wedding. There are reports that the groom was already given expensive gifts at an engagement ceremony, months prior.  The demands went on through the run-up to the wedding; these were fulfilled, and this greedy punch came right before the wedding rituals. The groom’s family and the man himself allegedly held the bride’s family to ransom, asking for ‘gifts’ or there would be a walkout. The bride allegedly told the groom and family to go take a walk.

This is the attitude one would like to see not just in women but in their families. The dowry malaise needs to be stamped out with much more aggression. We have the legal framework; we need a change in mindsets to go along with this. Any kind of transformation works only if there is a mindset or attitude change to go along with the laws.