Arranged Marriage System in India

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to enlighten and explore the concept of arrange marriages in India. This paper aims to explore different conceptions regulating in India regarding arranged marriages. Nonetheless, the paper also explores the mind frame of Indian residents that prefer arrange marriages to any other form or category of marriage. This paper highlights the significance of arrange marriage and its advantages. In addition, the paper also describes the global acceptance of arrange marriages and its effects.

Table of Contents

Introduction4

Arrange Marriage System in India5

Global Significance of Arrange Marriages7

Conclusion9

Bibliography11

Arranged Marriage System in India

Introduction

Throughout history women have had little or no choice as to when they get married or whom they marry. Marriage and the arrangement of a marriage have been used as a way for a family to legally barter or in some cases sell a woman for cash or land to gain social and political status and connections. In some situations girls are sold into marriage simply because they are a financial burden on their families. In many cultures it will actually cost a family to have their daughter married. This is called a dowry. Dowries are often expected to be very large amounts of money or a combination of perhaps land, personal property, livestock, or political and social favors. Many cultures still believe in the arranged marriage India is the prominent example among the countries that prefer arrange marriages. Almost everyone in India is engaged in arranged marriage.

For many Indians the arrangement of their marriages may have taken place when they were as young as 12 or 13 years of age. For some their marriage will be determined as early 5 or 6 years of age. If the families are friends they may even arrange the marriage of their children before they are born. Ackerman uses many examples of how arranged marriages have a common thread of physical and emotional abuse, from prehistoric man to modern, as well as culture to culture, Asian and European to Middle Eastern. All of these examples ultimately negate the right of women to control their own destiny. These dowries often put a tremendous financial burden on a family. Often the amount of the dowry will determine a young girl's economic future, and whether or not a family with a good social and political standing within the community will accept her. Cultures that have the dowry system frequently have the problem of young girls and babies being abandoned or killed simply because their gender will bring too much hardship to a family.

Arrange Marriage System in India

Social practices involving sex, marriage and family have gone through severe changes in India. Arranged marriage being the traditional way to get married in Indian society has also changed but its purpose has remained. For many centuries, marriage has been the central concern in Indian traditions. The idea of marriage and its importance in India is significantly different than other religions. Unlike marriages in modern societies where the husband and wives find each other, most ...