The 498a Curse

IPC 498a or the Anti-Dowry law is one of the most infamous acts within the Indian Legal System.

Primarily the Indian Sub-continent has been a patriarchal or male dominated society. The favouritism towards the male gender has been incorporated within the social belief system to create one of the most primitive and nonsensical traditions called “dowry”.  

The greed and need for materialistic pleasures saw "dowry" as an option to achieve the desired. It motivated some of the most gruesome atrocities and crimes against women in the name of tradition.


IPC 498a was written to empower women and prevent these physical, emotional and sexual abuses.

It’s rightly said “with great power comes great responsibility” and unfortunately that’s something the original script writers of this law forgot to think about it.

The new age socio-economic revolution that started in the late 70’s, by the 90’s started showing yields of economic, social and personal empowerment to the different sectors of the society. Urban women found a new awakening in the social and economic independence they experienced. It was this new found confidence, economic status and social position that triggered a set of social changes. One of its major effects was on marriage. The urban Indian male stopped thinking of a saree clad housewife and moved to desire for an english speaking, formally dressed corporate wife. The definition of housewife was broadened to home-maker. A super-woman who would do a job and take care of her family at the same time. Even with all of the same, the monster of "dowry" still kept haunting millions of women.


During this time the world moved rapidly from a time where owning a land-line telephone was a trophy to the era of information highway, where every information was available at the click of a button. It's at this point where initial social reformers rejoiced on the women just not becoming socio-economically powerful but also well informed of the laws and rights present within the legal system.


All this coupled with the emotional benefit of being considered the weaker sex helped create a “deadly cocktail” which gave enough power for the victim to turn into the hunter. This was like god taking away the Lions claws and make him vegetarian, while giving them to the deer and making him carnivore.


Greed, Anger and Vengeance are not just negative emotions but also destructive emotions. The last 10years has seen women possessed by these emotions utilising the IPC 498a as their single most powerful weapon to emotional, physically and financially destroy their husbands and their in-laws.


As Medical expert within the field of emotional and behavioural health, I have noticed some very common personality patterns among women who tend to utilise IPC 498a as a weapon of selfishness rather than a tool for empowerment.


Call it a curse of the “traditional” system or a lack of knowledge, the seeds of misutilization of IPC 498a are sowed during “Match-making” process. 

The personalities of women who misutilize IPC 498a without any history of emotional or physical abuse from husband and in-laws include three or more of the following points:

1. History of parental abandonment in childhood or adolescence
2. Disrupted family life - with physical and emotional fights between mother-father.
3. History of sexual abuse
4. Extreme mood swings
5. Extreme fear of abandonment
6. Feelings of emptiness
7. Episodes of one or more attempts of suicide 
8. History of addictions to alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, heroin, etc.
9. Extreme emotional levels- extreme levels of love and extreme levels of hatred.
10. Medical History of Paranoia
11. Extremes and uncontrolled anger
12. Dominating behaviour and not wanting to adjust.
13. Extreme need to be centre of attraction.
14. Etreme possessiveness
15. Legal History of fraud or cheating.
16. Break the law repeatedly 
17. Disregard for the safety of self and others. 
18. Extreme dependency on one or more of her family members. And that family member has three or more of the above personality traits.

Not all Men and Not all Women are fraud.. many women make use of the IPC 498a because they are truely abused by husband and in-laws for dowry... It's important to understand that only a handful women or men behave out of the ordinary because of personality disorders they have. And such people are dangerous for the society.


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Dr.Hemant MittaL

Motivational Speaker - Mind-Body Healer

(MBBS, PG.DPM, M.D.(Mind Mantra Wellness Concepts - Mumbai))

(Specialize in Emotional, Behavioural, Sleep, Memory, Concentration and Sexual Health)

(www.mindmantra.in)