Dowry And Me

A few days back, we had this discussion regarding dowry issues and how nowadays giving and receiving of dowry is being disguised as ‘a gift from the daughter’s parents’. It was pretty clear that though most of us opposed the idea of dowry, none of us were bothered with the ‘gifts’ our parents want to send us with. This, however, was another way of claiming dowry from the parents of the bride. Right away, I could recall a few familiar sentences which we come to hear almost everywhere in Indian marriages, be it the daily tv soaps or real life; “ hamaari toh koi maang nahi hai, baaki aap jo chaahe apni beti ko de sakte hain.”( We don’t have any demands, but you can gift your daughter whatever you wish to).


And when we read in between the lines, it becomes apparent that the groom’s family is trying to convey to the other party that we would be more than happy to receive anything from you but we are too civilized to call it dowry.

Many times I have even noticed that if the bride’s parents were not able to read between the line of the groom’s family and they send their daughter without any ‘gifts’ to her in-laws, the in-laws, disappointed on not receiving their much awaited gifts, humiliate the bride for being from such a ‘low-class’ family that her parents could not even give her a gift.

Although, I am a muslim and according to my religion we are not supposed to give and ask for dowry but there have been many instances in my own family where the groom’s family has demanded for dowry.

This bothered me a lot (given the fact that I was brought up with women empowerment speeches always echoing in my ears).So, this one fine day, I ask my parents that if the family I get married in asks for dowry, would they be willing to give dowry. I got a categorical no from my parents. And they got a content smile on my face as my response.

On Independence Day

This independence day as the spirits have been dampened by the ever so tattered image of the country’s machinery, I would like to celebrate the Independence Day exploring my country. I would love to get in touch with the rural side of my country rather than give a speech in the capital city and boast about the country’s high GDP and growing economy. I would love to be in the nature, to interact with the ever so neglected part of our country. I would like to dedicate just one day of the year to these poor majority of whom we think very less of for the whole year.


I would like this affair to be a hush -hush affair with no media barging into my affairs this one day. Celebrating the independence day the ‘gandhi way’ would be too much to say but a day to know and get in touch with one’s roots is not too much to do when the whole year I go places both national and international. This way I can build a connect with these places and relate to my country more rather than talking about ‘gareebi hatao’ programs in the air conditioned conference halls.

I would also like to get in touch with the nation’s children for as the cliché goes, ‘they are the future of our nation’. The idea of toy giving is really nice. We could also try to be a part of their day, interact with them for at times big and great ideas come from people with very little experience.

Family Planning Ad w/Juhi Chawla - India (National Rural Health Mission)

Health and Family Planning

The govt. lately reitterated on the fact that India needs to control the population rise. The health minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad, however also mentioned that though the govt. will give incentives to small families but there won't be any disincentivesfor the larger families.
This he said on the mention of the stringent and forceful laws of Sanjay Gandhi. I suddenly realised that all i know about Sanjay Gandhi is that he was notorious for initiating the family planning drive. The forceful sterilisation of men and women at health camps had created a terror in the minds of the common and ignorant masses. It took a lot of time for the rural population of the country to come out of that shock and this also made the govt. and teh policy makers think of new and friendly ways of luring the people to plan their families. and the govt i must say is doing a fair job of trying to put their point of view infront of the people in  the form of informative ad campaigns through tv and radio and folk media.

Following is an ad put up to catch on to the nerve of the common masses, as Juhi Chawla is a widely known tv  actress and as or country folk highly follow and look up to actors.

Agriculture Extension

To my mind, agriculture extension seems to be the dissemination of agricultural knowledge to the grass root level. It involves educating and informing the farmers regarding the latest scientific developments and their application in daily practices of farming and cultivation.


Agriculture extension like all developmental fields is going through a turn around. The turnaround is in the context that the latest researches are now concentrating on eco-friendly and natural ways of developing agriculture rather than on application and usage of artificially created products to boost output. It also now enables us to cultivate plants in a very limited area and get good produce and therefore try to make effective use of space and money.

Agriculture extension education programs are initiated in all parts of the country and aim at raising the total output and also making the people aware and enlightened regarding the work they are doing. In a country like India, where more than 70% of the people depend on agriculture as their source of income, agriculture extension plays a very important role. And if executed effectively, these programs can prove to be very beneficial and worthwhile.

I came to know a few more things about agriculture extension from your blog (Abhay sir). Very interesting pieces. Looking forward to learn more.