Mysuru: If men in rural Karnataka are killing themselves like never before, blame it not only on preying moneylenders and dropping crop prices but also on spiralling dowry demands and marriage expenses. These are making the lives of farmers unbearable particularly in districts like Mandya where, despite intense campaigns, dowry continues to wreck the lives of farmers.
According to statistics available from the Mandya district crime record bureau, the district has seen as many as nine dowry deaths in 2012 and 12 in 2013. In 2014, there were 12 dowry deaths including three in KR Pet, two each in Pandavpura and Maddur, one each in Nagmangala, Srirangpatna, Mandya city and Mandya Rural. In the same year, 154 cases of dowry harassment and 26 cases under the Dowry Prohibition Act were reported in Mandya. This year till June, there have been five dowry deaths including two in Mandya Rural, one each in KR Pet, Pandavpura and Malvalli, 43 cases of dowry harassment and 38 cases under Dowry Prohibition Act in Mandya.
When Deccan Chronicle contacted the families of three deceased farmers randomly, they were hesitant to disclose that they had given dowry but admitted that they had borrowed loans for the weddings of their daughters and sisters.
According to one bereaved family, the deceased had borrowed money to get his two daughters married. When the prices of sugarcane started to slide, he was unable to make a profit from his crop and repay the loans he had taken for his two daughters’ weddings which pushed him to suicide, they said.
Another grief-stricken family said that after their father passed away due to cancer, the responsibility of marrying off his daughters fell on his 35-year-old son who had to borrow loans for the purpose and ultimately killed himself unable to bear the debt burden. Yet another family disclosed that the falling prices of mulberry pushed the farmer to suicide as he had taken a loan for his daughter’s wedding.
As the son of a deceased farmer put it, “Even for a simple marriage in a temple we have to invite 400-700 people and bear the minimum expenses.” Lavish weddings are a matter of prestige in the countryside where families want their daughters married in famous wedding halls!
