Dowry Murder: The Imperial Origins of a Cultural Crime

The Hindu custom of dowry has long been blamed for the murder of wives and female infants in India. In this highly provocative book, Veena Oldenburg argues that these killings are neither about dowry nor an Indian culture or caste system that encourages violence against women. Rather, such killings can be traced directly to the influences of the British colonial era and the resulting legislation. In the precolonial period, dowry, an institution managed by women to enable them to establish their …