In which year did the Government of India pass the Dowry Prohibition Act?

Appeared in: DSSSB -28 August 2019 (Shift-2)

Explanation

The Dowry Prohibition Act was passed by the Parliament of India in 1961.
This Act's primary objective was to make the act of giving, taking, or demanding dowry a criminal offense.
It marked the first major legal step by the central government to combat the social evil of the dowry system.
The law has since been amended in 1984 and 1986 to make it more effective and stringent.

Option B: This year is from the British colonial era, long before the independent Indian government enacted this social legislation.
Option C: This year holds no specific significance related to the enactment or amendment of the Dowry Prohibition Act.
Option D: This was the year of a significant amendment to the Dowry Prohibition Act and the introduction of Section 304B (dowry death) into the Indian Penal Code, not the year the original act was passed.

Clinical Relevance

Nursing practice connection: This is primarily an exam-oriented knowledge point with limited direct bedside application, so retain Indian Legislation: Dowry Prohibition Act as background academic context rather than a clinical decision trigger.
Nurses are in a unique position to identify victims of domestic and dowry-related abuse during routine care in OPDs, antenatal clinics, or wards.
Key nursing responsibilities include ensuring patient privacy, providing non-judgmental support, accurate documentation of injuries, and referring the victim to resources like hospital social workers, Protection Officers, or One-Stop Centres.
What if a married woman dies from burns within 7 years of her marriage? The nurse has a medico-legal duty to ensure the death is reported to the police, as it is legally presumed to be a 'dowry death' until proven otherwise.

How to Approach the Question

First, identify the core of the question, which is a factual recall about a specific piece of Indian legislation: the 'Dowry Prohibition Act'.
The keyword is 'pass', indicating the year of original enactment, not subsequent amendments.
Scan the options, which are all years. This confirms it's a date-based recall question.
Access your knowledge of major Indian social laws. The Dowry Prohibition Act is a foundational law from the post-independence era.
Eliminate 1916 as it's from the pre-independence period.
Differentiate between the original act (1961) and the major amendments (1984/1986). Since the question asks when it was 'passed', 1961 is the correct answer. 1986 is a common distractor because of its importance in strengthening the law.

Concept Tested & Keywords

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E6 Applied Sociology for Nurses TK Indrani p. 157-159

E6 Parks TextBook of Preventive & Social Medicine part 2 — Subpart B (pp 233-449 of 464) p. 2-4

Practise the full DSSSB -28 August 2019 (Shift-2)

Attempt every question from this paper in a timed mock, then review the full solution for each one.