Bride Burning in India Essay - 1238 Words

Bride burning in the Hindu religion is a hideous custom enforced by the Brahmin priests to eradicate non-Brahmin women, in order to destroy the non-Brahmin races. Other methods used are wife-burning, sati or widow-burning, jauhar, and witch burning. Most of these murders are passed off or regarded as kitchen fires and are never brought to justice. This is a result of the low status of women in India who are viewed more as personnel property that can be disposed of at anytime. About eighty percent of India is Hindus. Bride-burning is a result of the Vedic decrees enforcing of dowry, which is the extortion of large quantities of wealth by the grooms family from the brides family. The Veda is a collection of the oldest of Hindu†¦show more content†¦For example a Hindu husband can accuse his wife of infidelity at any time. If this happens the wife can protest her innocence to the council of village elders who then order a test by fire. The accused wife would then be require d to pass through a open flame. Not only death but any signs of burns would signify that she is guilty and would then have to face the penalty for infidelity. Which is she must be devoured publicly by dogs. This custom comes from the Ramayana when Sita, Ramas wife, was required by Rama the ideal husband of the Hindus to pass through the fire test, after she returned from Sri Lanka just because her husband suspected her of infidelity. The Ramayana claims Sita wasnt burned alive but was swallowed up by the earth. Jauhar is the practice of mass burning of all the wives and daughters in an entire town or district to prevent them from being taken by their enemies. Most women were forced by their husbands to do this, but sometimes women practice this themselves encouraged by the elders. The belief of Vedism and Vaishnavism turns its followers into hardened sadists. The unforgiving discrimination of women by Brahmins is more apparent in the rites before Jauhar. The Brahmins cut off the genitals of women and chop their ears and noses off following the command of Hindu philosophers Kautilya and Manuite. During Jauhar, women are boiled alive, some sawed into two, and others eaten by dogs. All this is done for the purposeShow MoreRelatedBride Burning, Murders and Dowry Pressure in India2240 Words   |  9 PagesJordan Lamb October 13, 2010 Research Paper Outline Bride Burning, Murders and Dowry Pressure in India I. Women in India are exposed to heinous acts of abuse. A. Women in India have become victims of human rights abuse. B. Different components of Bride-Burning II. Extent of the Problem A. Statistical Analysis of the number of Dowry Related deaths B. Under Reporting of Cases C. Inconsistencies between police reports and Victim Accounts D. 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