Short answers, pulled from the story.
A dowry is property - such as land, money, jewelry, livestock, or household goods - transferred from the bride's family to the groom or his family at marriage. Bride price is the reverse: a payment from the groom or his family to the bride's family. Dower is a third distinct concept, referring to property settled on the bride herself by the groom, which remains under her ownership and control.
Dowry is mentioned in the Code of Hammurabi from ancient Babylon, one of the oldest surviving legal documents, where it is described as an already-existing custom. Eyewitness records from Alexander the Great's conquest of India around 300 BC also reference dowry practices. Anthropologist Jack Goody documented dowry customs across Eurasian societies from Japan to Ireland.
Anthropologist Jack Goody argued that dowry developed in societies practicing intensive plough agriculture, where farming was largely men's work and property was passed to children of both sexes. Societies using extensive hoe agriculture - where women did most of the work - developed bride price instead. Scholars Schlegel and Eloul added that dowry concentrates property and is typical of property-owning, landed, or commercial peoples.
Yes. Payment of dowry has been prohibited under the Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961, and Sections 304B and 498A of the Indian Penal Code criminalize dowry-related violence and demands. Despite these laws, the practice remains widespread across all religious communities in India. Official government records documented 7,618 dowry deaths in 2006, and the dowry death rate held at approximately 0.7 women per 100,000 per year from 1998 to 2009.
Dowry was widely practiced in Europe until the early modern era. The Republic of Florence created a public fund called the Monte delle doti in 1425 to provide dowries for brides. Royal dowries could transfer entire territories: Portugal gave two cities - one in India and one in Morocco - as dowry when Catherine of Braganza married King Charles II of England in 1661. Providing dowries for poor women was considered an act of charity, and the Christmas stocking legend traces to St. Nicholas throwing gold into the stockings of three poor sisters to fund their dowries.
Bangladesh has seen dowry killings carried out more frequently by stabbing or poison than by burning. Between January and October 2009, more than 3,413 complaints were made to police concerning beatings and abuses related to dowry demands. Acid attacks have also been used as punishment; from 1995 to 1998-15 women reported dowry disputes as the motive behind acid attacks, with the actual number likely higher due to underreporting. The rate of dowry-related bride deaths in Bangladesh has been reported at between 0.6 and 2.8 per 100,000 women per year.