An officer and a thug

In India's Hindi-speaking belt, dowrysometimes goes to the bride's new house with a police escort. In the early1980s, when a famous Patna doctor married his daughter to an IAS officer, thegroom received a ���gift' of Rs 11 lakh in cash, worthy of armed escortthen. Nothing much has changed. Grooms from the prestigious civilservices are still the top dowry grossers in the land, particularly in thenorth. Reaching the IAS or the IPS cadre immediately transforms a man into a"blank cheque," says R P Sinha, professor of sociology at A N Sinha Institute ofSocial Studies, Patna. To substantiate, he explains that as themarriage market is very fluid and competitive, the family of IAS and IPS groomswould look for the highest "bidder" through their social network. "Bidders arefamilies that have money but no power. It's a gamble they take to associate withthe power that the groom symbolises," he adds. Up north, grooms arecategorised according to their stature. A Lucknow-based matrimonial agency, theprofessor elaborates, would typically place an IAS-IPS groom under the���Lotus Category'. Lotus carries more weight than the���Marigold Category' of doctors, engineers, lawyers and lecturers. 'Rose'stands for grooms who have passed out from the IIMs and IITs. "These are theundisputed sultans of the wedding mart," the professor maintains. Theregistration fee structure of another Lucknow-based agency further details thehierarchy. To fetch IIT and IIMproducts, Class-I government officers or those with annual salaries above Rs 4lakh, the agency charges Rs 7,000. Add Rs 1,000 to this amount if you arelooking for an IAS or an IPS groom. The enterprising owner of the agency hasvaluable tips on dowry. For an IAS groom today, he suggests wiselythat the dowry starts at Rs 25 lakh. "There is no upper limit," he says. InDelhi, where life at every level revolves around deals, a marriage bureauemployee boasts that ministers and other political bigwigs line up at its doorsbecause his company proudly advertises the "largest database" of IAS-IPS grooms."There is no talk of dowry with us. It is an open secret that moneyis not a constraint if the alliance secures power," he says. He quotes instanceswhere a bride's parents literally give blank cheques to the groom asking him tofill in any amount he fancies. "I have heard of grooms in civilservices taking dowry up to Rs 1 crore." In Orissa, the term 'gift' is preferredover 'dowry'. Marriage transactions are huge but usually invisible becausegrooms are paid in cash. Professor of Sociology at Utkal University,Anup Das, explains why the IAS groom is still the prince of the marriage marketin Orissa. There has been littlecorporate growth in the state, he says. A feudal mindset continues to this dayand parents of eligible daughters still hunt for an IAS-IPS officer, or evenfrom provincial services. "This is an unfortunate and dangerous trend," he says.Defending his ilk, a Gujarati IPS officer says that dowry is notdecided by the services but by the caste of the officer. "Certain communities ofGujarat like Patels, Thakkars and Rajputs do take dowry," he says.Then again, there are those who refuse with a rider that only thebaraat should be "well taken careof".