Muslims, Hindus stand united in Jharkhand’s new anti-dowry movement  

Qasim Miyan’s happiness knew no bounds when the wedding of their daughter Shabnam Perveen was fixed with an educated local youth Saijul Ansari. But the joy gave way for despair when the boy’s family sought dowry.

Miyan, who couldn’t afford their demand, however, object fearing the wedding may be called off. Subsequently, he borrowed from relatives, neighours and withdrew whatever little he had in bank and handed it to the boy’s family to get confirmation for marriage.

On April 28, 2017, when the wedding procession finally reached the bride’s home at Karkat village in Jharkhand’s Maoist-affected Latehar district, Miyan who had exhausted all his money gave a warm welcome to the guests. However, what happened shortly was the biggest surprise ever for Miyan and his family.

The groom’s father Abdul Aziz took out the dowry amount of ₹60,000 and returned it to Miyan saying he had committed a blunder. “Please forgive me for my fault. I too have my daughter and for the very reason, I too am required to pay dowry for her marriage. So, this vicious cycle will go on. Let’s break it right now,” said Aziz as everyone attending the wedding ceremony clapped.

Mustafa Ansari, a resident of Nawagarh village in Latehar, too was pleasantly surprised when his son-in-law Shamim Ansari reached his home and returned the dowry days after the wedding had been solemnised.

Aziz and Shamim are not alone. They are among some 1,000 Muslim families who have returned dowry to the brides’ family impressed by a massive anti-dowry campaign launched by a social activist Haji Mumtaz Ali. The outreach has been so successful that some who have returned their dowries are couples who married over a decade ago.

How did this miracle take place?

The sustained campaign launched by Ali in Palamu, one of the most backward divisions in Jharkhand is changing lives. What Ali began as a silent campaign against dowry three years ago has now turned into a massive “social movement” with villages taking vow not to accept dowry and even returning dowry they had taken in the past. As per an estimate, dowry worth Rs 6 crores has been returned, a development unheard of in the past.

“I saw many Muslim families getting destroyed by the demons of dowry. There were many who sold off their ancestral properties or took loans on high interest to meet dowry demands but the money being gifted as dowry was being wasted on wasteful expenditures, such as making decoration, arranging, DJ, orchestra and various types of dishes. So I decided to launch a campaign against dowry in the society,” said Ali speaking to The Federal on Wednesday.

Ali, who began the campaign in April 2016, held extensive rallies and meetings in every corner of Palamu cold, heat and rain. He worked hard to convince villagers. “They don’t hold any moral right to seek dowry for their son’s wedding when they complain of huge dowry demands for daughter’s marriage,” says Ali. His idea clicked finally when villagers rallied behind him in support.

Soon, groom’s families started returning dowry at meetings saying they want to correct their past mistakes. “The success of our campaign is amazing. Villages after villages are now joining and people are lining up to return dowry expressing regret. I just can’t believe it but it is true,” he added.

One among them is Bali Miyan. “I have no regret to say I committed a mistake by taking dowry but I feel proud to say that I am correcting it now by returning the dowry,” says Bali.
Now, the campaign is not limited to Palamu, but has well beyond its boundary and to make things better, Hindus too have joined the movement in large numbers. “The campaign has impacted everyone and I am very happy to notice this,” says Ali.

Social scientist S Narayan, former professor with Patna’s AN Sinha Institute of Social Studies, says the movement in unparalleled. “The beauty of this campaign is that villagers are tendering public apology and returning dowry years after the wedding. That is wonderful,” says Professor Narayan.