IIM graduate's family demands Rs 7 crore wedding - 'What’s the point of this degree?'

A woman has shared an account of how an IIM graduate's family demanded the bride's side to spend crores of rupees on the wedding. According to a video by Mallika Ahluwalia, the incident involved an arranged marriage where the groom's family asked for Rs 7 crore to be spent on the entire thing. She said that a friend's family was looking for a suitable match for their daughter through a marriage broker.

A prospective family demanded the eye-watering sum to be shelled out for the wedding. “My girlfriend’s parents are looking for a guy for her through a marriage broker. There’s one guy’s family that’s demanded seven crores to be put into the wedding. The guy is an IIM graduate," she said in the video clip. The incident remains unverified.

Expressing her disbelief, she goes on to ask, "I want to know this, especially from the guys, like where is this audacity coming from?" “Not even about the money, it’s the audacity to demand someone spend something on your wedding," she says, adding that it's strange that a groom's family would decide how much the girl's family should spend on the wedding.

Ahluwalia also questioned the purpose of studying in an elite university like the IIM, and still holding on to regressive societal patterns of demanding dowry. "What’s the point of this degree if you’re still regressive?" she asks, adding that the marriage system favours the men in India, but “all of these 2 out of 10 men and their families demanding just anything is baffling to me. Like go look at yourself in the mirror.”

Internet reacts to Rs 7 crore wedding claim

Netizens were divided on the topi, with some saying that marriages in India are give and take where the girl's family look for boys with a fancy degree and hefty packages, while the men's family want a beautiful bride, or a large amount of money in lieu if that.

“In India, the marriage market favours only the men. Have stood true for generations . Sad reality," a comment read.

Another said, "Marriage is a business. Women looking for a high degree man earning in 6-7 figures. Men looking for beautiful women and if she isn’t up to the mark then dowry demands to cover her beauty."