Scribd
Upload
60 views2 pages

Trends in Indian Arranged Marriages

Arranged marriages have long been the norm in Indian society, with parents and family typically planning marriages even today. Traditionally, dowries were provided by the bride's family and inheritance passed through the male line. While divorce rates remain low in India, they have been rising, especially in urban areas where most divorces are initiated by women. Recent studies also suggest a trend away from purely arranged marriages without consent toward more arranged marriages with consent and an increase in self-arranged marriages, particularly in Indian cities.

Uploaded by

Vinay landge
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
60 views2 pages

Trends in Indian Arranged Marriages

Arranged marriages have long been the norm in Indian society, with parents and family typically planning marriages even today. Traditionally, dowries were provided by the bride's family and inheritance passed through the male line. While divorce rates remain low in India, they have been rising, especially in urban areas where most divorces are initiated by women. Recent studies also suggest a trend away from purely arranged marriages without consent toward more arranged marriages with consent and an increase in self-arranged marriages, particularly in Indian cities.

Uploaded by

Vinay landge
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

Arranged marriage[edit]

Brides in India

Bride in a Hindu Indian wedding

Indian bride on her wedding day


Arranged marriages have long been the norm in Indian society. Even today, the majority of Indians
have their marriages planned by their parents and other respected family members. In the past, the
age of marriage was young.[61] The average age of marriage for women in India has increased to 21
years, according to the 2011 Census of India.[62] In 2009, about 7% of women got married before the
age of 18.[63]
In most marriages, the bride's family provides a dowry to the bridegroom. Traditionally, the dowry
was considered a woman's share of the family wealth, since a daughter had no legal claim on her
natal family's real estate. It also typically included portable valuables such as jewelry and household
goods that a bride could control throughout her life.[64] Historically, in most families the inheritance of
family estates passed down the male line. Since 1956, Indian laws treat males and females as equal
in matters of inheritance without a legal will.[65] Indians are increasingly using a legal will for
inheritance and property succession, with about 20 percent using a legal will by 2004. [66]
In India, the divorce rate is low — 1% compared with about 40% in the United States. [67][68] These
statistics do not reflect a complete picture, though. There is a dearth of scientific surveys or studies
on Indian marriages where the perspectives of both husbands and wives were solicited in-depth.
Sample surveys suggest the issues with marriages in India are similar to trends observed elsewhere
in the world. The divorce rates are rising in India. Urban divorce rates are much higher. Women
initiate about 80 percent of divorces in India.[69]
Opinion is divided over what the phenomenon means: for traditionalists, the rising numbers portend
the breakdown of society while, for some modernists, they speak of healthy new empowerment for
women.[70]
Recent studies suggest that Indian culture is trending away from traditional arranged
marriages. Banerjee et al. surveyed 41,554 households across 33 states and union territories in
India in 2005. They find that the marriage trends in India are similar to trends observed over the last
40 years in China, Japan, and other nations.[71] The study found that fewer marriages are purely
arranged without consent and that the majority of surveyed Indian marriages are arranged with
consent. The percentage of self-arranged marriages (called love marriages in India) was also
increasing, particularly in the urban parts of India.

You might also like