Meeting Decries Bride Burning

By the end of this decade, about 25,000 young brides in India will be burned to death by their in-laws over dowry disputes, according to government statistics.

This fact was the starting point for the First International Conference on Dowry and Bride Burning in India, which began Saturday at the Law School.

About 75 people, including international scholars and legal experts interested in the social problem of bride burning in India, are attending the conference, which ends today.

According to India's Home Ministry, in 1994 there were 5,817 "dowry deaths" in India, and the unofficial estimates place the numbers much higher.

"It is a very peculiar type of violence," said H. B. Thakur, who organized the conference and is chair of the International Society Against Dowry and Bride-Burning in India, based in Salem, Mass. "We are appealing to the whole world to stop this and other kinds of violence."

The conference was designed to analyze the problem and present a forum for discussion, Thakur said.

Among the speakers were professors and professionals from London University, U.K.; Durban University, South Africa; Monash University, Australia; Copenhagen, Denmark; and the Supreme Court of India.

"We have established contacts between activists, lawyers, sociologists and all kinds of other academics with the hope that there will be an exchange of ideas so that our ideas here can be of help to those actually on the ground in India," said I. Julia Leslie, a professor at the London University School of Oriental and African Studies and a speaker at the conference.

Exposing an international audience to a Indian social problem may help to solve problems which India has not been able to tackle, said Thakur.

"This is the first time we are openly discussing this subject," Thakur said.

Thakur said he was inspired to start this conference after he first presented this issue at the World Sanskrit Conference held in Melbourne, Australia in Jan. 1994.

"It has opened up a big dialogue and minds are being opened," Thakur said. "But this is a continuous process."

Michael E.J. Witzel, Wales Professor of Sanskrit in the Committee of South Asian Studies at the College, helped organize the conference this weekend.

Future Plans

Thakur said he plans to continue his search for solutions by establishing shelters in India where women will feel comfortable expressing their concerns and voicing their opinions. Few shelters currently exist in India.

Thakur said he hopes efforts in the United States will create awareness and raise funds for work to be done in India.

"This is only the beginning," Thakur said.

Participants at the conference said it is crucial to bring an issue like this into the public eye.

"It is a worthwhile effort," said Piyush K. G. Kaman, a student at the Law School.

"It is a problem which is far beyond what it is portrayed to be. I think people will realize that the magnitude of the problem is very immense," Kaman said

"This is the first time we are openly discussing this subject," Thakur said.

Thakur said he was inspired to start this conference after he first presented this issue at the World Sanskrit Conference held in Melbourne, Australia in Jan. 1994.

"It has opened up a big dialogue and minds are being opened," Thakur said. "But this is a continuous process."

Michael E.J. Witzel, Wales Professor of Sanskrit in the Committee of South Asian Studies at the College, helped organize the conference this weekend.

Future Plans

Thakur said he plans to continue his search for solutions by establishing shelters in India where women will feel comfortable expressing their concerns and voicing their opinions. Few shelters currently exist in India.

Thakur said he hopes efforts in the United States will create awareness and raise funds for work to be done in India.

"This is only the beginning," Thakur said.

Participants at the conference said it is crucial to bring an issue like this into the public eye.

"It is a worthwhile effort," said Piyush K. G. Kaman, a student at the Law School.

"It is a problem which is far beyond what it is portrayed to be. I think people will realize that the magnitude of the problem is very immense," Kaman said