This paper suggests that, from a materialist perspective, dowry deaths in India, including both homicides & suicides, are caused by social pressures from the hierarchical relations to production that tie Indians to each other & to the rest of the world. Within this context dowry demands, that is the catalysts for dowry deaths, are one of a number of attempts for men to raise their status, at the expense of women. The work of diverse scholars as well as field data from 1987 is examined. (52 refs)