What influences our youth to set aside their enterprising, free-wheeling spirit to follow the well-trodden path of arranged marriages? Part...
What influences our youth to set aside their enterprising, free-wheeling spirit to follow the well-trodden path of arranged marriages? Part of the answer lies in the deep socialisation process, which is woven into the fabric of the close-knit extended Indian family, and its rootedness in the larger network of society.
Marriages in India don’t just bring two individuals together but are focused on bringing families closer as well, an arrangement that everybody endorses. The young too seem to believe in the cultural definition of marriage as a family affair, rather than an individual undertaking. Harmony and shared values arising from common backgrounds are seen as more important than individual attraction.
Sociologists Sudhir Kakar and Katharina Kakar explain this phenomena: “Given the deep stratification of Indian society along the lines of caste, creed, hierarchy, social class and education, the young feel relieved that their parents would arrange their marriage and make the best selection within the available pool of eligible men and women within their caste, community and economic status.”
The common grounds provided by an arranged match – familiar customs, foods, relatives, incomes, etc – also helps in negotiating the dark thicket of matchmaking. The upside is also that this aids the adjustment...
