A long, four-page list of items in the house from basic handkerchiefs to entire furniture sets—recently became viral on social media. Users at first glance assumed it was a moving checklist for a person to a new house. It had it all from utensils and apparel to bedding and beyond. But as the Reddit post gained popularity, the reality about the list left users stunned.
A Delhi woman went to Reddit to share images of the list, revealing that it was not a moving checklist, but a dowry demand list from her aunt’s 1993 wedding. The fact outraged many, and people renewed arguments about the continuation of dowry-related practices, despite dowry having been officially abolished in India in 1961 by the Dowry Prohibition Act.
After the post was posted by user ‘silently_reading2’, it spread like wildfire, garnering upvotes and fierce reactions from netizens. Netizens called out the groom’s family, labeling the list as entitlement or worse.
Here’s the full list:
Dowry List
Dowry List
“Folks forget how bad the dowry issue was (and still is). To the extent that brides were burnt alive in the 80s and 90s if the groom’s conditions weren’t fulfilled,” one Redditor said.
“Doordarshan even had an advertisement for what to do if a woman is being burnt, it was that bad,” another user added.
Another person said bluntly, “In fact, this is nothing but begging. The man’s family was begging on behalf of marriage.”
Remembering how risky the times were for women, another person commented, “The 80s, and 90s were the worst time for being an Indian woman. Bollywood was Making Films about Raping, Sexual assault, Eye Teasing and Stalking (Mostly DCompany Funded). And in North India Gang Rapes were becoming routine. And last but not the scene Dowry Related Deaths and Murders. Burning of Women in by their Husband, Sister in Law and Mother in Law by Kerosene.”
Though Times Now was unable to confirm in isolation the validity of the list, the emotional and indignant reactions online highlighted the social wounds still remaining in the wake of dowry systems.
