A wealthy groom’s rejection in an arranged marriage match — simply because he refused to accept dowry — has sparked discussion online. The strange case of the rejected groom was shared on Reddit by a person claiming to be related to him.
The Reddit user said that his 27-year-old cousin — who owns luxury cars, comes from a family with real estate and hospitality businesses, and has ancestral property — was looking for an arranged marriage match. He explained that his cousin earned well enough to pay a surcharge on his income – which is only applicable if a person’s income exceeds ₹50 lakh – drove a BMW, and came from a well-off family.
A not-so-perfect match
This man eventually managed to find a girl who looked perfect on paper – she was “smart”, “career-focussed” and had “good family values”.
Both the bride and the groom’s family seemed happy with the match. Then the bride’s father asked the groom what he wanted as dowry.
The practice of paying a dowry is illegal in India, but continues to remain the norm, even though violation can be punished with imprisonment up to five years and fine of ₹15,000 or the value of the dowry given, whichever is higher.
{{/usCountry}}The practice of paying a dowry is illegal in India, but continues to remain the norm, even though violation can be punished with imprisonment up to five years and fine of ₹15,000 or the value of the dowry given, whichever is higher.
{{/usCountry}}In this case, the groom refused to accept dowry. However, the girl’s father continued to insist, offering to gift him a duplex flat or a Range Rover, among other things.
Groom refuses dowry
When the groom turned down all the offers, the bride’s father did something inexplicable – he refused to go ahead with the wedding.
“His reasoning? He said, “A high-value man knows his worth. If he’s refusing dowry, there must be some defect in him,” the Reddit user explained.
The girl’s father then used an analogy to explain his point – ““Xiaomi/Vivo phones are 15k-20k, but people still pay over a lakh for iPhones because they’re valuable,” he said.
Reddit weighs in
The case sparked a discussion on Reddit, where it has collected over 500 comments.
“Sometimes dowry is a bargaining chip if things turn sour. And for people who have money, they want something else to hold that upper hand which is what seems to be the case here,” wrote one user.
“The biggest bargaining chip for cutting their own daughters off their will,” another said.
“He was offering dowry so that if things go south and in most cases like these they do, the bride can then file cases of dowry harassment and extract a huge alimony,” a third person opined.