Dowry among Indian Muslims

Abstract

The discourse on dowry in India has generally been confined to non-Muslim communities, with little research undertaken on dowry among Muslims. This article, based on secondary source material, surveys the practice of dowry among Indian Muslims as it has existed and continues to exist in different forms and in different regions. ‘Dowry’ is an ambiguous word that does not have a uniform or standard definition, and there are wide-ranging regional variations in people's understanding of it. Technically, it is the property of the bride but, in practice, the husband's parents, brothers and sisters have access to it. Indian Muslims commonly use the Arabic word jahez for dowry and, very often, justify the practice in terms of jahez-e-fatimi. Islamists classify jahez into two categories. The first comprises some essential articles for the outfit of the bride as well as for conjugal life. The other is made up of valuable goods, clothes, an amount of money settled on after bargaining, and lavish food and hospitality for the barat. They say the former is a very old and established practice, while the latter is a recent phenomenon among Indian Muslims and mostly prevalent in south India—in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. However, this article takes a contrary view, saying that the practice of jahez has not been voluntary but coercive among Indian Muslims for a long time. It has its origin in the Muslim social structure and the lifestyles of the nobility in north India.