Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Kumar Mishra has informed the Parliament that more than 35,000 deaths were reported in the country due to dowry related incidents, with 20 such cases witnessed every day between 2017 and 2021.
In a written reply to a question, the minister informed the Rajya Sabha that 7466 dowry deaths were reported in the year 2017, followed by 7167 in 2018, 7141 in 2019, 6966 in 2020, and 6753 in 2021.
With six deaths per day, Uttar Pradesh has reported the highest number of dowry related deaths in the country. According to Mishra, UP witnessed more than 11,000 deaths from 2017 to 2021, followed by 5354 cases in Bihar, 2856 in Madhya Pradesh, 2386 in West Bengal, and 2244 deaths in Rajasthan.
In India, collecting dowry and harassing a woman for the same are punishable offences under sections 304B and 498A of the Indian Penal Code, along with the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961. In a case related to dowry harassment, there is a provision of imprisonment of at least five years to the culprit. Apart from this, if money given as dowry or gift in any form exceeds the valuation of Rs 15,000, it can be subjected to punishment.
In 2021, India saw a 25 percent rise in cases, compared to 2020. According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, more than 13,000 cases were reported in the last two years, with UP registering the highest number of cases with almost 4,500 deaths.
According to the World Bank’s report, 95 percent of 40,000 marriages in rural India, between the years 1960 and 2008, saw instances of dowry, directly or indirectly. The report says that the practice can be seen across all religious groups in India, although the Christian and Sikh communities rank higher in dowry demands compared to the Hindu and Muslim.
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