Dowry

A dowry (also known as trousseau or tocher) is the money, goods, or estate that is given to a woman at the time of her marriage. A dowry creates a fund for her support in case her husband dies. The dowry eventually goes to her sons and daughters of this marriage. At different times in history, a dowry was needed to prove that the marriage was real. Sometimes the woman controlled her dowry throughout her life. Other times, her husband took control of the dowry.
Dowry started as gifts that were handed out to the bride at the time of marriage to make her stay at in-laws place more comfortable. It has hence taken an ugly turn, many parts of India still have a high incidence of dowry demands.Many people still continue dowry system for their own uses . Some states with a very poor reputation with regards to dowry are - Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Tamil Nadu. This is a sad reality in Indian marriages and has gone unchecked.