The custom of dowry has long been blamed for the murder of wives and female infants in India. In this highly provocative book, Veena Talwar 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 ...
