2 years, 1 month ago-
Marriage in India is an integral part of the culture and hence it is not something that has always been followed in the country. Looking back, we find that marriage in India was once nothing more than a contract between two families to bring about social stability. In certain communities even today, this tradition prevails. Despite such changes in marriage trends, there are still many Indians who are right now witnessing pressure to marry within their castes and communities. This is why people find it difficult to share their choice of partner with the elders, friends, and relatives. Their reason for this is that they will be teased by the remarks, remarks, and embarrassment of their family members.
Problems and conflicts arise when members of two different castes or communities fall in love with each other. Reason being that generally, both the families do not approve of inter-caste marriages for many reasons. One of the main reasons is an attitude where they think that if their child opted for inter-caste marriage, then he/she will take a stand against his/her culture and go against the values of his family. Marriage is the most sacred union that brings joy, happiness, and harmony to people’s life. It connects two hearts and transforms loneliness into the company. Along with the responsibility of changing life, it also comes with a big social pressure because of which this political theory can’t be overlooked by youngsters while they are deciding to marry someone from a community different than their own.
However, despite the changing trends in our country, matrimonial ads and social media platforms are flooded with caste-based requirements, and many couples from inter-caste relationships suffer lots of humiliation for marrying their life partner. Almost every parent would never accept this relationship as they do not consider their children’s choice as the right decision. Unfortunately, there is also a sizeable portion of our people who can’t see beyond their caste and religion. They live in the era of narrow minds and hate everything which isn’t the “in-their-community” type. People who can’t think independently consider inter-caste marriage as taboo.
In India, the caste system is followed rigorously. People do not prefer to marry outside their community because of the deep-rooted customs and traditions. In Indian culture, any differences in community or caste signify a huge gap between two people. Indian society is diverse and tolerant; however inter-community marriages are not favored by families because of the difference in the cultures of different communities. Comparing them, we can say that inter-caste marriage is accepted more than inter-racial one in India. It is difficult for the people from the two different communities to follow the traditions and rituals of each other. Coming together of the two cultures may create disharmony in their family. As far as urban areas are concerned, especially the families belonging to the middle class and upper-middle-class have become more open towards this trend. Today, a generation later, these caste hierarchies still exist even though India has gained independence.
Indian parents always say do whatever you want now but when you settle down it must be with someone from the community. There are many Indian myths about people falling in love and marrying outside their communities. Scholars say that the ancient Dharmashastra text event sanctioned Gandharva marriage, which didn’t require parental approval. However other texts like Manusmriti did not reply to such acceptance. If the cast of a man was lower than his wife’s, the marriage was called Pratiloma and strongly condemned. Children born out of such marriages were considered ‘impure’. Unfortunately, our current attitudes see into the mirror this thinking. Like all 2011, census only 5.82% of marriages in India were inter-caste. And contrary to popular belief the more educated people are the stronger their preference for marrying within their caste. On the other hand, honour killing is a crime Indians are only too familiar with where a couple is murdered by their families for daring to marry outside their caste gotra or religion. Even in popular culture scholars point out that Indian TV shows different relationships that are inter-caste or inter-religious. Even in Bollywood, this kind of movies always has a tragic ending. The preference of marrying within your community isn’t unique to India. Opposition to community marriages is seen in many different contexts, it all comes down to the notion of maintaining the purity of lineage and ensuring that the future generations of the family continue to uphold the social divisions and networks that the family has been benefited from. It’s their political position, socio-cultural identity, ritual status, or ownership of properties everything is going to be linked to the notion of purity, which makes any transgression a matter of shame and dishonour. What sets India apart is the extent to which we live and die by these social hierarchies. Scholars argue that the Indian caste system is one of the longest surviving social hierarchy in the world today.
Marriage is a very holy thing in Indian culture and people‘s religious sentiments are connected with so it’s been a tradition that people want to marry in their traditional caste, and there is a difference in caste, status, and rituals. Marriage is the relationship where two persons their families also meet. There are earlier there very few inter-community marriages and people who do that marriage they will be not accepted by the family of groom and bride. But now things are changing people are understanding that religion and rituals are not much important marriage is the celebration of love. If the person who is happy with each other and ready to share their life and accept each other, there are also many instances in India where who is blindly in love with each other they want to marry each other but boy and girl have different status their family will not accept them, they will go against their family and marry each other which is not the right way. People who do inter-community marriage have to listen to taunts from society if their family against them, female especially she has to learn the rituals and adjust to family and wins the heart of the people it is not easy for a girl who is married in an inter-community. Couples are now breaking the stereotypes by marrying in inter-community and they trying to share about their loved one with their family so with family blessings they will start their married journey. Indian people still follow many rituals of their specific community. Now, most things have evolved so people also need to change and accept this.
With India becoming globalized, the virtues of getting married are being discussed intensely in conservative homes. The clear plan is to request family referrals and browse community-specific websites. In general, Patrika and gotra matches and some family meetings follow. But as our scientific awareness of diseases and other heritage qualities develops, we must wonder whether it is relevant to continue to insist on community-based marriages. Endogamy is married inside one group and is the main consequence of genetic illnesses resulting from a limited gene pool. These activities are needed more and more to ponder and find out what is the ideal method to choose a partnership with life.
In a period of long journeys between villages and the lack of effective communication means, getting married inside one’s community-made sense in history. In addition, for a long time, our social institutions influenced community behaviors, from food production to prayers in communities (if they choose to). It makes sense for parents to be better able to marry their children within communities—it is simpler to welcome or to share familiar rituals with a family member. A non-vegetarian woman who marries into a vegetarian orthodox family would, for example, find her food restricted. If you do not speak the native language of your partner, you may also feel like participating in family meetings tough. In spite of growing urbanization and the development of smaller families, community-based marriage systems are still common. They are more prevalent than the rest of the country among the wealthier urban Indians. It is not really improper or unethical to decide for the community, but today there is one big caution – genetic illness. Centuries of endogamy have resulted in a limited community gene pool. If the gene pool contains a faulty gene, its presence is amplified across generations. This may not lead to illnesses.
Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Hrishikesh Roy, Judicial Bench of the Supreme Court also stated that parents’ shelter merely by deciding to marry outside their caste/community would ‘not be a desirable social exercise. Adults’ freedom to pick their partnership in life, adding it is time for society to learn to embrace inter-caste and inter-religious weddings without harassing couples. Trained young boys and girls are increasingly choosing their own life partners,” which may be considered by society and parents as a deviation but the police forces had a duty to prevent such couples from being detrimental until the law was violated.There are many people in our society who are against of inter-community marriage due to having mindset from old times that both men and women are not allowed to marry outside their community. Society think that they should get marry with the person having same community. In our society parents will see two things in groom or bride their community and profession. From old times, we all know that people are against of inter-community marriage they don’t accept the marriage at all and parents used to finish their relationship with their daughter or son for going against them to do inter-community marriage. In villages also people are strictly against the inter-community marriage and they used to beat and do murder of couples who does inter-community marriage. People of villages used to throughout them from particular village because they think if these people will stay her than it will get bad impact on their children. In many tv shows like crime petrol and savddhan india they used to show such cases of villages due to which we can see that how badly they were treated. But now-a-days people in urban areas are some where start accepting inter-community marriage. Because both men and women are been independent due to which some parents are accepting inter-community marriage. Their are many actor and actress who has done inter-community marriage like Karenna Kapoor and saif ail khan, Ritesh deshmukh and Genelia D’Souza and many more. This shows that society some where are trying to accept inter-community marriage. In today’s generation their are people who has mindset against inter-community marriage they also taunts and create obstacles for couples to show other people to not follow their foot steps. In inter-community marriage it is not esay for women because they has to be comfortable with the groom’s family and after marriage lots of things get change for women. Society should start changing their mindset according to the generation.
With the globalization of India, the advantages of marrying in their own group are intensely deliberated in orthodox families. The evident approach to the market is to ask for family suggestions and to browse community-friendly websites. In general, the matching Patrika and gotra and several family gatherings follow. But as our knowledge of illnesses and other heritage features develops, we have to ask whether continuing insistence on marriages that are Community-based is relevant. Endogamy is a marriage practice in the same society, with a significant effect on genetic illnesses that arise from a small gene pool. People of different faiths in the country have stated “high priorities” for them to halt interfaith marriage. The investigation follows the introduction of legislation criminalizing interfaith love in various Indian states. According to the survey, 80% of Muslims interviewed thought it vital to stop people from marrying in another faith in their community. About 65% of Hindus had the same feeling. The poll also examined the relationship between religion and nationality. Hindus “see their religious identity as strongly interconnected” and their Indian national identity. The survey showed that although some ideals are shared, they don’t feel much in common.
In conservative Indian households, matrimonies between Hindus and Muslims have long been the subject of censorship, but couples increasingly face legal barriers.
The Special Marriage Act of India stipulates an interfaith couples 30-day notification period. And certain Indian states run by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have gone additional moves to introduce legislation against “illegal transformation” by force or by means of fraud. In conservative Indian households, matrimonies between Hindus and Muslims have long been the subject of censorship, but couples increasingly face legal barriers. The Special Marriage Act of India stipulates an interfaith couples 30-day notification period. And certain Indian states run by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have gone additional moves to introduce legislation against “illegal transformation” by force or by means of fraud. It is in response to what is called “love jihad” by right-wing Hindu organizations – a bogus conspiracy theory that claims Muslims of lurking Hindu women with the only goal of turning women into Islam. India as a society requires healthy, trained, and productive individuals for our future generations. There is a natural part and an essential element to their development—that entitles them to healthy genes and provides them with the possibility to learn and explore in a calm atmosphere. However, for this, our existing generations need to be educated and free to choose their spouses in an informed way.Indians have long believed that marriage should be between two people of “equal” social standing. The reasons they give are mostly baseless. The most famous one of which, is the belief that equal social standing in a society would lead to more compatibility and hence the less marital conflicts and adjustments. So this is basically why Indians support marriage within the community.
Indians are against inter-community marriage because according to them it will lead to more issues and misunderstandings. But what they don’t want to accept is the fact that they are just being highly casteist and discriminating in nature.
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