India’s Dowry Deaths: How many more women must burn before India ends dowry deaths?

KAKALI DAS

Trigger warning: This article contains details of dowry abuse, harassment, and murder that some readers may find disturbing.

Nikki Bhati lived in Greater Noida, a stone’s throw from India’s capital. She was only 26 when she was set on fire by her husband because she could not meet his dowry demands.

Nikki’s murder is not just her story, it is the story of thousands of women across India whose lives are destroyed in the name of greed disguised as “tradition.”

Nikki married Vipin Bhati in 2016. Almost immediately, the demands began. A car. Money. Gold. Gifts. The demands escalated until recently, when her in-laws wanted either ₹36 lakh in cash, a Mercedes, or ₹60 lakh outright. Nikki and her sister Kanchan had both been married into this family, each to one of the Bhati brothers. Their parents had knowingly sent their daughters into an unsafe household – because in India, parents often believe they have no other choice.

The sisters tried to reclaim some control over their lives. They opened a beauty parlour, Makeover By Kanchan, which grew to 54,000 Instagram followers and 3 million views across their videos. But independence is often seen as a threat in patriarchal families. Nikki’s husband disapproved, opposed her use of social media, and even vandalized the parlour to shut it down. On 21st August this year, Nikki told him she planned to reopen it. By evening, she had been beaten, doused in fuel, and set on fire.

The brutality was captured in videos taken by Kanchan. In one clip, Nikki is dragged by her hair. In another, she stumbles down the stairs while in flames. Worst of all, Nikki’s young son witnessed it all. He later told police that his father and grandparents poured something on his mother, slapped her, and then set her ablaze. Nikki died the same night.

Vipin was arrested, shot in the leg while trying to escape police custody. His mother and brother were also taken into custody. Lying in a hospital bed, Vipin showed no remorse. He told reporters that “husbands and wives fight all the time” and claimed he had done nothing wrong. That chilling indifference is not just his – it reflects a system where women’s lives are worth less than cars or cash.

Nikki’s case has grabbed attention, but she is far from alone.

In May this year, 23-year-old Vaishnavi in Pune was found dead at her husband’s home. Her in-laws had demanded a Toyota Fortuner even after receiving gold and silver. Her father-in-law, a politician with the Nationalist Congress Party, was expelled after police arrested him and other family members for her murder.

In Tamil Nadu, 27-year-old Ridhanya was found dead in her car just three months into her marriage. She had consumed poison, leaving a message for her father: she could no longer bear the torture of her husband’s family. Her parents had already spent ₹2.5 crore on her wedding and given cars and gold. Still, it was not enough.

“Before 27-year-old Rithanya died by suicide, her last words were, “I am sorry, Dad. I don’t want anybody to save me this time. All this while, I hoped that my life would change. I’ve now realised that it won’t.”

In Delhi’s Dwarka, a 22-year-old woman was found dead under suspicious circumstances. Her father alleged dowry harassment. Investigation later confirmed that her husband had tortured and killed her.

These cases make headlines. Thousands of others do not.

In 2021, official records show 6,589 dowry deaths in India. That is almost 18 women every single day, one every 77 minutes. But experts believe the actual number is far higher, as many deaths are disguised as suicides or kitchen accidents.

Among women aged 18 to 35, non-maternal deaths in India number around 2,28,000 each year. Nearly 7,000 of those deaths are linked to dowry harassment. Uttar Pradesh alone reported 2,218 dowry deaths in 2022, the highest in the country, followed by Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. Together with states like West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, and Haryana, they account for 80% of India’s dowry deaths.

Behind every number is a life. A young woman who was starved, beaten, burned, raped, and finally murdered.

Dowry was made illegal in 1961. Yet in 2025, it thrives under the name of “gifts” and “tradition.” Families save money not to educate their daughters but to marry them off. Even promising girls are pulled out of school because every rupee must go towards dowry. The message is clear: your worth is not in your mind or your dreams, but in what your family can pay.

Even when women fight back, through education, careers, small businesses, or social media, patriarchy responds with violence. Nikki’s beauty parlour was a success, a sign of her independence. It was also the reason she was silenced.

And for those who do seek justice, the path is cruel. Between 2017 and 2022, conviction rates in dowry cases stayed below 30%. Less than one in three cases ends with punishment. Delays are routine. By the end of 2022, 67% of dowry death investigations had been stalled for over six months. About 70% of charge sheets were filed late. Out of 6,500 trials each year, only around 100 lead to convictions. Ninety percent of cases remain stuck in courts.

So yes, women “behave like victims” – because in India, they are victims. Victims of a system that can kill them over dowry. Victims of fathers who kill daughters for using social media. Victims of families who murder daughters-in-law after million-rupee weddings because they still “didn’t bring enough.”

Murders of women have become so common that we barely react anymore. The most common reasons Indian women are murdered are chilling.

First, dowry deaths: nearly one every 77 minutes. Second, domestic violence: 34% of all crimes against women are committed by husbands and their relatives. Third, rape leading to murder: in 2022, India recorded 31,677 rape cases – 86 per day. Fourth, acid attacks and extreme violence. And finally, the countless cases that go unreported, dismissed, or disguised.

Dowry is not just about greed. It is about control. It ensures that women, no matter how educated, independent, or capable, remain tied to the power of men and their families.

We must face the truth: in India today, murders of women are routine. Reports of dowry deaths, domestic violence, rape-murders, and acid attacks have become so common that we are numb.

But numbness cannot be the answer. Every one of these women deserved to live. Nikki deserved to live. Vaishnavi deserved to live. Ridhanya deserved to live. The thousands whose names we will never hear deserved to live.

If this is the reality of 2025, then we must ask ourselves: is this really the way we should have to live?

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