Another dowry death: When silence becomes the greater violence

The news from Greater Noida — a 26-year-old woman tortured and set on fire over dowry — is not merely another headline. It is a wound to our collective conscience. What makes the crime even more unbearable is that this did not happen in silence. She had spoken up. The family knew. But it was brushed aside every time as “these things happen in marriage”! She was told it would stop, that they had “explained things” to her husband and parents-in-law. She was expected to 'adjust' (adapt), to keep it all together, to swallow her fear and continue with daily life as if nothing had happened.

But what was her day-to-day reality? Living on the edge, never knowing what might spark the next outburst. Cooking meals for those who tormented her. Trying to raise her child in a home soaked in threats. That was her life — until the violence consumed her entirely.

This was not a one-off. It had happened before, in smaller, quieter ways. Her everyday reality involved walking on eggshells, managing fear, and trying to keep peace in a home that gave her none. And then, one day, the cruelty crossed a line from which there was no return.

These tragedies are about individual cruelty and a society that hears the cries and still says, "Adjust kar lo" (Try to adapt). A society that teaches silence in the name of tradition, until another woman’s voice is forever lost.

And this is where our most significant contradiction lies. On the one hand, we silence women in the name of tradition. On the other, our traditions and epics remind us that silence in the face of injustice is violence.

Draupadi’s cry still haunts

Our epics are not grandma's stories; they are warnings. Silence in the face of wrong is itself violence.

When Draupadi was humiliated in the Kaurava court, she didn’t cower. She didn’t shrink. She spoke. She demanded justice. She faced kings, elders, her husbands, and everyone who could have turned away, and she made them hear the truth. Her courage pierced through fear and hierarchy. Even Dhritarashtra, blind to justice for so long, could not ignore her.

What lesson did she leave us with? Women’s voices must not be drowned in fear, humiliation, or outdated customs.

And yet, here we are—another bride, another life snuffed out, another silence accepted. We are repeating the same mistakes of that ancient court. This is not a one-off. It is part of a cycle, a pattern, that society keeps allowing to continue.

God's voice in the Gita

Srimadbhagavadgita (the Gita) is more than philosophy; it is a guide to courage and duty. When Arjuna hesitated to fight wrongdoing, Krishna reminded him: doing nothing in the face of adharma is cowardice.

Tradition cannot hide injustice. Arjuna feared breaking customs by fighting his own elders. Krishna’s message was clear: When evil rises, silence and blind tradition strengthen it. Action guided by dharma is the only way forward.

Dowry might once have been about protection or security for the bride [Not originally an Indian term or a translation thereof, it was first recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English dowerie, from Anglo-French douarie, from Medieval Latin dōtārium; the word "dahez" is of Persian origin]. But today? It has become fear, oppression, and death. Dharma must lead; tradition must follow.

From the Gita, we learn:

• Duty is action, not silence: stand for those who cannot defend themselves.
• Tradition is protection, not oppression: customs are meant to safeguard life, not justify cruelty.
• Virtue is courage with clarity: act with fearlessness and conviction when faced with injustice.

Beyond ordinary traditional wisdom, these are urgent calls we cannot ignore.

A wake-up call

What makes this tragedy even more horrific is that her child witnessed it. That child saw the person who gave him life being murdered by those meant to protect him. Experiences like this leave marks that last a lifetime. The ripples go far beyond one life; they reach generations.

This is our wake-up call. Injustice cannot be ignored, silence cannot be tolerated, and courage must replace fear. May her unnatural demise ignite something in all of us. May it ensure no daughter’s voice is ever drowned again. And may it finally break the cycle of cruelty that has haunted too many generations.