Trending: A groom from Muzaffarnagar rejects dowry of ₹31 lakh

The groom accepted Re. 1 as “Shagun” and said it was the bride’s father’s hard-earned money.

A video has now gone viral on the internet, for all the right reasons. In a society where dowry is still common at weddings across several villages, a groom from Muzaffarnagarchose to defy the norms and set an example for others. He rejected a dowry of ₹31 lakh and instead accepted just Re. 1 as “Shagun.”

Muzaffarnagar groom rejects dowry of ₹31 lakh.

A heartwarming story of a Muzaffarnagar groom’s refusal of dowry of ₹31 lakh and instead accepting Re. 1 as a token has won hearts and widespread praise. The groom, AwadheshRana, 26, made it to the headlines after taking a stand at a time when dowry practices persist in several parts of UP and Bihar. As per a TOI report, Rana stunned everyone during the Tilak ceremony, folding his hands in front of the money arranged on a ceremonial plate. He said, “I have no right to take this. This is the bride’s father’s hard-earned money. I cannot accept it.” Rana, who runs a cosmetics business in Nagwa village, later told TOI, “During our wedding on Nov 22, my wife Aditi Singh’s family was giving ₹31 lakh as dowry, but we returned it because we are against the dowry system.”

Watch the viral video here:

https://x.com/LogicalIndians/status/1994318759071568199?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1994318759071568199%7Ctwgr%5E6d35d7baddee28cb89f964f32231a92aef5e007d%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Findianexpress.com%2Farticle%2Ftrending%2Ftrending-in-india%2Fmuzaffarnagar-groom-reject-rs-31-lakh-dowry-accept-only-re-1-as-shagun-this-is-brides-fathers-money-10391344%2F

Groom’s parents also rejected the dowry.

The groom’s parents supported their son’s decision to refuse the dowry, and the bride’s family expressed deep gratitude for the gesture. Residents across Muzaffarnagar have since been discussing the incident, calling it a bold step toward eradicating age-old customs like dowry. One villager told TOI that the couple’s wedding has become “a widely celebrated example of rejecting harmful social customs.”

For a brief moment, people were left speechless, and then the entire gathering erupted in applause. The bride, Aditi, had lost her father during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, she and her younger brother, Anubhav, have been living with their maternal grandfather, Sukhpal Singh, in Shahabuddinpur village under UP’s Sultanpur district. Aditi had completed her MSc before her marriage to Rana was fixed.