Daijiworld Media Network
Bengaluru, Jun 6: A web portal, which allows one to calculate the dowry a groom should receive based on his personal details has shocked many. Apparently though, it is supposed to be a satire on the dowry system.
When one logs on to dowrycalculator.com, the groom is asked to enter details like age, caste, profession, salary, country where the person is employed and the profession of the man’s father.
The skin colour of the groom is also asked, with what may seem like offensive options such as “pitch black (not visible on a moonless night)” and “wheatish (Almost white. Would need some Fair n Lovely)”.
Once the details are filled, it calculates the results. While a 25-year-old Brahmin IAS officer is entitled to receive Rs 1 crore dowry, a person in late 30’s and not in one of the most sought after jobs is entitled to receive Rs 35 lac. "It is a decent amount, but who wants to settle for decent when there is an entire range of awesomeness available? You could achieve an awesome dowry amount too. Remember the guy who right now deserves the highest dowry, even he at once upon a time started with a market price of zero," the website suggests.
The website then advises the groom, "Your dream dowry amount awaits you. Be a man, and slog hard for it".
If the groom happens to be a Brahmin doctor earning over Rs 2 lac per month and is settled abroad, has 'fairy white' complexion and is over 6 ft tall, then the wesbite 'congratulates' the groom on being an 'inspiration to all prospective grooms'. The dowry is estimated at a whopping Rs 3 crore, together with a lavish wedding, property, expensive jewellery and fully financed honeymoon. "Congratulations! "The world is your oyester" and why should it not be? You have worked extremely hard for this day. You are an inspiration for all the prospective grooms toiling towards their dream dowries. Your current Dowry Rate is 3 Crore. Besides, you are assured a lavish wedding, a land property, hefty and expensive jewelry, a fully financed honeymoon amongst other perks. And the list has just started. You have trudged meticulously for this day. Now, is the time to make it count. Each and every rupee. From your in-laws pocket. Bravo!," it says.
The portal hit limelight after Congress party’s Guna MP Jyotiraditya Scindia tweeted “Someone just brought this site to my attention. Absolutely shameful! Let me remind the developers that giving or taking dowry is illegal in India. I urge the @MinistryWCD, @PMOIndia to take immediate action against this.”
Union Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi also wrote a letter to Minister of Information and Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad to block the site with recommendation that cases be slapped against its facilitators under Dowry Prohibition Act.
Satirical website
The website which carries a cheeky message ‘Dedicated to all the match making aunties of India’ is created by independent journalist Tanul Thakur.
However, Tanul in a media interview is adamant that he won’t pull down the portal nor put a disclaimer, as the satire is obvious.
"I am surprised that Scindia and Maneka Gandhi mistook the portal to promote dowry. If one clicks on the parameters it is obvious that the portal is a satirical take on a prominent social evil. However, I guess the ministers must have only checked what’s on the surface," he told a news website.
Tanul also adds that the confusion regarding the portal’s satire was not happening for the first time. "Earlier, a Telugu media channel ran an entire segment and even pulled out details from the backend. They recommended police action but that was the end of it and no one contacted me," he adds.
dowrycalculator.com was started in the year 2010 as a satire to the complex system of dowry that exists in India and also to poke fun at the patriarchal structure of the society.
When Scindia tweeted about the portal, Tanul was quick to reply "Calm down, it's a satire. (But thanks for directing traffic to the website)."
Women and Child Development Union Minister Maneka Gandhi also responded to Scindia’s tweet calling the portal shameful and on having it examined.
“Best wishes for 'getting it examined'. In the meanwhile please let me know if you've any questions. I made the thing,” Tanul had replied to Maneka Gandhi.
However, Maneka Gandhi’s tweet was later pulled down.