Anuvrat Movements Theory and Practical

Author(s): Shivani Bothra
Publisher: USA Florida International University

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society, which would indicate that the younger generation is rejecting cultural traditions
and adopting more modern views of marriage as an institution. In total, 25 out of 174
responded, “yes” to having accepted or offered a dowry. An interesting finding is that
24% of those who reported "yes" were Anuvratis and 10% were non-Anuvratis. Such a
finding is significant if only to observe that some of the Anuvratis, those who had taken a
vow not to participate in dowry, still said they had participated. The data also may
represent some ambiguity in terms of the definition of dowry in Indian society. Some
Anuvratis explained to me in interviews that for their sons' marriages, they followed the
vows and did not take any dowry from the bride's family, but for their daughters'
marriages, they did give "gifts,” but not as a dowry. Thereupon, such attitudes
demonstrate just how strong the cultural pressures are to participate in dowry.
Table 3. “Have You Ever Accepted or Offered Dowry?"
Yes
No
Yes Before Becoming Anuvrati
Not Relevant to
my Situation
Missing
Total
Anuvrati
12
19 17.2%
11
172%
652%
6,3%
100%
de
110 100%
65.4%
6.3%
10.0%
0.9%
NonAnuvrati
9.3%
45 70.3%
1.5%
12 18.7%
0.0%
64 100%
Total
Total
25 14.3%
256
6 772%
117 67.2%
48%
23 13.2
4.6%
174 100%
13:2
0.5%
The next variable I examined was household income. As presented in Table 4
below, I observed that the majority of the participants in dowry exchange were from
either the lowest or highest income groups. The participants from the middle-income
groups had almost no participation in dowry. From my experience I have found that those
in the middle-income group tend to be comparatively well educated and experience less
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