It is no shock anymore when we hear about yet another dowry death in India. Nikki Bhatti’s case is just the latest reminder of this ugly truth. Dowry deaths are not new; they have been happening for decades. The tragedy is that society treats them like routine news, and as time passes, each case quietly disappears as if nothing ever happened, and the cycle continues.

So, who should be blamed? The in-laws who shamelessly demand dowry? Or the families who knowingly give in to these demands? The truth is, both are responsible. The culprits are not just the greedy families demanding money and gifts, but also those parents who willingly hand it over, despite knowing the true colours of the people they are marrying their daughters into. By feeding this toxic system, both sides keep the practice alive.

Dowry deaths are not just murders committed by in-laws; they are also the result of weak decisions and silent acceptance by families who bow down instead of standing up against it. In this blame game between the victim and the culprit, we forget to see the root cause and the first place where it could have been stopped. I don’t understand why parents don’t double-check the background of the family with whom they are building a relationship. And in the end, who suffers? The girl, who was not even given the right to choose in the first place.

People who speak out against dowry deaths often overlook the fact that the blame is never one-sided. Parents, who claim to care for their daughters, share responsibility for these tragedies. While society mourns the victims and condemns the culprits, the same parents will tomorrow marry off their daughters and quietly agree to dowry demands. 

By treating their daughters like children, imposing their so-called “superior” decisions, and refusing to let them make their own choices, they are pushing them into the hands of predators. Following tradition blindly is a serious mistake. Parents must stop treating their daughters like property and start making sensible and courageous decisions. Only then can we hope to protect countless young women from these monsters disguised as husbands and in-laws.

This is not just about one family or one victim. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, over 6,000 women die every year in India due to dowry-related violence. That’s more than 16 women every single day. And yet, society treats it like background noise.

Yes, there are laws like Section 304B (dowry death) and the Dowry Prohibition Act. But what good are laws if they remain only on paper? Police investigations are often sloppy, families withdraw cases under pressure, and courts drag matters for years until they fade into nothingness. Justice delayed becomes justice denied, and perpetrators walk free, ready to torture the next daughter-in-law.

But let’s face the uncomfortable truth: laws alone will not kill dowry. It has to begin inside homes. Parents must stop treating their daughters like burdens to be “married off” at any cost. They must stop feeding greedy in-laws with cars, cash, and jewellery. Every time a family bows down to demands, they are not “securing their daughter’s future”; they are fueling the death of another woman.

And for men and in-laws who still demand dowry, it is nothing but legalised extortion and moral bankruptcy. Hiding behind tradition cannot justify murder. Society must stop glorifying such marriages and instead openly shame and boycott families who demand dowries.

Dowry deaths are not accidents; they are murders wrapped in custom. Until families learn to say “no” at the very first demand, until the law punishes greed with certainty and speed, and until society stops normalising this crime, the cycle will not break. Nikki Bhatti’s case will also become yesterday’s news, and another daughter will burn tomorrow.