Bride-price
Topic: Mughal Agrarian Society and Economy · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 4 "Peasants, Zamindars and the State"
Meaning
Bride-price was a payment made by the groom's side to the bride's family at marriage. It was common among peasant and artisan groups in Mughal India. Many women died young because of poor food, frequent pregnancies and childbirth, so there were not enough wives. These groups also allowed divorced and widowed women to remarry. Women's work in the fields and in crafts made them highly valued, and the lack of wives raised their value further.
Example
In peasant and artisan communities of Mughal India, a family paid bride-price to get a wife for their son. The same communities accepted the remarriage of divorced women and widows, which elite groups usually did not.
Don't confuse with
- Dowry: here the bride's family pays the groom's side. Among the elite, dowry was the usual custom. Bride-price was a custom of peasants and artisans, not of the elite.