is caste playing a dominant role in india's matrimony
Answers
India is a traditional society with rigid caste and religious systems in place. Caste still plays a major role in the selection of partners in marriages in India. For majority of Indians, it is difficult to think of marriage beyond their own caste. But this force of the caste in choosing partners in marriages, is gradually loosening over time. About 10% of marriages in India now are found to be inter-caste marriages. This is the beginning of a trend to eradicate the caste system in India.
This change in the marriage pattern is a recent phenomenon influenced by the impact of modernization, socio-economic development and globalization of the Indian economy. Various demographic and economic pattern also influence this trend. There is a significant spatial variation in the pattern of inter-caste marriages too. There is a higher number of such marriages in the socio-economically developed states like Karnataka, Maharashtra, Assam, Punjab, Haryana compared to the socio-economically backward regions of northern states like UP, MP, Bihar and Rajasthan.
Inter-caste marriages are one of the significant means of completely eradicating the caste barriers in India, be it urban or rural. The initiate for this change should spread from the urban areas towards rural areas as the urban areas have cosmopolitan, educated and well aware population making it easier to accept and promote the change.
Caste systems are a bane for the progress of India. India has many different societies. For years, these societies, especially the Hindu society have been divided on the basis of caste and religion. The caste system was so deeply rooted in the Indian psyche that it took years to come out of this idea. Even today, we find it difficult to come out of this social menace. Indians have always had an orthodox mind-set. There was a conception that marriages should take place within the same community and caste. Even talking about inter-caste marriage was taboo in earlier times. As time passed, things changed which influenced the thinking of the society and inter-caste marriages became part of the new society. Marriages are considered the most important social custom and therefore, they were viewed as the best means to remove the barrier of caste system.
The modern youth are a significant influence in this changing trend. They are well educated and have very active and open mind-set to see a progressive India. As they study and work along with people of different castes and religions, they understand them and have developed good relations with them. Due to this factor, the mind-set of the youth is improving with each successive generation. It is sad that the older generation is still to come out of the earlier system of caste and religion which has an impact on marriages too. The uneducated youth is one more obstacle to still come out of the caste system for a better socio-economic development to cover all of India.
Today, though we see many inter-caste marriages, it is only part of the city culture. The rural parts of the country, which form a majority of our population, still have a long way to go.