You're fired

There's another story in this morning's Bangalore Mirror about dowry harrassment. A husband, Mohamed Arif, who'd already received cash and a scooter along with his bride, (well, it makes a change from a toaster I suppose), was evidently still not content with his marriage deal. Ten months later and with the onset of hotter weather here in Bangalore, he decided to up his demands and request a ceiling fan as well. Exasperated, his bride Gulista, poured kerosene over herself, at which point Mohamed did what all reasonable men in his situation would do and set her alight. She's now in hospital with burns from the waist down.

The story highlights a number of issues. The first of course is dowry harrassment which is still a very real phenomenon in India. Bangalore Mirror notes that 2,237 cases were registered last year. I presume that's just in Bangalore but you can bet that in any event that that's just the tip of the iceberg and that the majority of cases go unreported. The second issue for me is the use of kerosene as the substance of choice for an exit from this life into whatever awaits us in the hereafter. I can't think of a much more painful way to die and yet it's commonplace to read that women (usually), douse themselves with kerosene and then set themselves alight.

I remember a few years ago when I was doing some work in Tamil Nadu. The shopkeepers in the particular town I was in, called a local bandh (I suppose we'd call it a strike or protest in the UK) because a proposed new road would take traffic away from the town and rob them of business. So they closed their shops for a day in protest and lost a day's business as a result. As far as I know, the road still went ahead.

They've not quite got the art of this protesting lark right in India. Petition the Road's Minister, lie down in front of a bulldozer, march, wave banners, lobby; but don't shoot yourself in the foot.

And for any immolator-wannabes out there who happen to stumble across this entry whilst looking for a cheap supplier of kerosene in Bangalore, for God's sake woman, think again. Buy the kerosene by all means, but tip it over your greedy husband instead and then light the match.

Originally published on Blogger on 16th May 2008.