Chicago, Aug 28 (IANS)
A growing number of Indian American husbands claim to be victims
of an Indian law against dowry that has them vulnerable to exploitation
- both financial and emotional - by their wives and in-laws.
The complaint is also reflected in support groups and blogs -
'Batteredhusband' and 'Indianbakra' - in the US, meant for male
victims of the Indian legislation.
The anti-dowry law is being misused, say some husbands, while
others allege extortion or vindictiveness by wives and their families
when it comes to child support or custody.
NRI men apparently get harassed when their estranged wives go
to India, at times illegally with the children, and file criminal
cases against their ex-husbands with police.
NRI men are vulnerable, agreed a social rights activist here.
Not only do they face demands for thousands of dollars to withdraw
harassment cases filed against them but are also coerced to give
US visas to the wives' families, he added.
According to activists, there has been a dramatic rise in misuse
of the law, with cases reported from the US, Britain and Canada.
The number of cases against Indian Americans has been significant
enough for the State Department to publish a travel warning: "A
number of US citizen men who have come to India to marry Indian
nationals have been arrested and charged with crimes related to
dowry extraction. Many of the charges stem from the US citizens'
inability to provide an immigrant visa to prospective spouses
to travel immediately to the US.
"The (Indian) courts sometime order the US citizen to pay
large sums of money to his spouse in exchange for dismissal of
the charges. The courts normally confiscate the American passport
and he must remain in India until the case has been settled."
A group of victims and their friends in the US set up www.498a.org
last year. Satya, 30, a victim-turned-volunteer and software engineer
in California - who gave only his first name - maintains the site.
The number of hits, he said, is an indication of the extent of
the problem.
"In July alone we had 100,000 hits," he said. "About
80 people from the US have filled up a form on the site seeking
advice. There are 20 Canadian residents seeking help. We have
had about 200 requests for help from the Delhi-Noida-Ghaziabad
belt (in India) alone."
Another victim, Rajeev Mehta, is an associate
director of neonatology and associate professor of pediatrics
at the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick.
In April 1994, when the New Jersey-based physician met his now
ex-wife, Nalini Michelle Gupta, he was one of the highest paid
academic neonatologists in the US.
"Soon after we started living together. We got married in
October 1994 because she was pregnant. Soon after the marriage,
I discovered that she had had numerous failed relationships. I
filed for a divorce when I realised that she and her family were
using me," Mehta said.
"After more than three years of divorce litigation in the
US and having proved my case before the Superior Court of New
Jersey, I obtained a divorce. The court awarded me sole legal
custody of my children and determined that Nalini had been cruel
towards me, had destroyed my well-paid job in New York and had
fabricated a story of domestic violence to counter my divorce
petition," he added.
"Knowing that she was in serious trouble with US courts,
Nalini decided to run away to India. In order to carry out the
abduction of the children (aged 12 and nine), she claimed that
her father was on his deathbed in India and his last wish was
to see his grandchildren," he said.
"In India, my ex-wife filed a false dowry case. For filing
this case, she lied and claimed that her parents had given us
gifts worth $12,000. She conveniently concealed the fact that
ours was not an arranged marriage and we had met and lived together
in the US prior to (marrying) solely because she was pregnant,"
Mehta said.
Following his ex-wife's abduction of his children, the US government
revoked Nalini's passport. On July 12, Interpol issued an alert
for her, Mehta said.
The delay in the Indian judicial system did not make it easier.
Mehta has written to US Congressmen and Indian politicians and
spent several thousands of dollars in legal fees. But he does
not see any "resolution in the near future".
Some victims are not even aware of the provisions of the law,
activists say.
Californian resident Bhavani Ramamurthy said:
"In 2005 my brother's wife left Texas for India with their
child following some disagreement. Later I went to Chennai to
attend my mother-in-law's funeral.
"One day the police came to our home and said my sister-in-law
was at the police station and wanted a reconciliation. When my
mother and I went to the station, we found my sister-in-law there.
"The police officer turned abusive and took me and my mother
into judicial custody. Even though I told the police that neither
my mother nor I had ever lived with my sister-in-law, it did not
help. Both of us were taken into judicial custody for seven days.
The police also took my passport away," she said.
Bhavani said she and her relatives had to bribe the police to
expedite the legal process.
"We paid a lot of money at every stage. For them, we (from
the US) were like golden ducks. Till this happened, I did not
even know that such a law existed. What amazed me was that the
police did not question any of the statements my sister-in-law
made.
"We had to spend our days with petty criminals. The woman
who made false statements got away scot-free and was not even
charged with perjury. Everyone makes money. It is a form of legal
terrorism. I still get nightmares thinking of my experience."
--By Ashok Easwaran
Ritesh Parek, Hong Kong SAR, China, parekhrb@yahoo.co.in,
852-98376500
