Arranged marriage is an integral part of Indian culture


An arranged marriage is a wedding arranged by parents or elder members of the family in to avoid the process of courtship. In India, arranged marriages are an important ceremony society for centuries and even today couples fix their marriage with the consent of their parents and other respected family members. parents felt that since they were older and wiser than their children, they would be able to find a appropriate match for their children with more care In Arranged marriages, first of all horoscopes of both male and female who are going to marry, were matched and then both sides' members thoroughly look the backgrounds of their families such as wealth, social standing and their castes. Although most marriages are arranged in Indian culture but some couples prefer for love marriage in urban areas.

There is a hot debate in present situation on arranged marriages. Some advocates favor arranged marriages as it provides security and family backing. Others opponents criticize on the ground that arranged marriages brings to mind harassed young men and women being forced to accept each other due to family and community pressure. However, this concept is not valid. Arranged marriages have seen changes with the passage of time. Today's youth do have the choice of finding their mate by themselves. Family members arranged all the traditional ceremony related to marriage. Today, couples are not compelled to marry partner with the choice of parents. There is no pressure involved. Youths are working outside family and they find partners of their status.

Arranged marriages have numerous benefits which some youngsters do not realize. They attract to someone and anxious to make life partner without knowing background, habits and other qualities. Great amount of sacrifice and compromise is required to make a marriage work. That unwavering love and respect comes of shared backgrounds, shared values, shared interests, shared experiences and a healthy respect for each other. The prospective brides and grooms are from shared backgrounds, similar family standings i.e. the basic criteria have been met. Proponents of arranged marriage think that individuals can be too easily inclined by the beauty to make a logical choice.

Arranged marriages have a higher probability of success because they tend to match persons with a compatible, but not necessary identical, profile. The parents from the experience of married life select the partner for their child. Another advantage of arranged marriages is that there are lower divorce rates in arranged marriages. Supporter of arranged marriages state that there is less separation or divorce in arranged marriages as compared to love marriages. Especially in India, the divorce rate for love marriages is much lower than the divorce rate in the United States. Rich traditional culture of India tie couples to stay married, even if the partners selected each other by a process of courtship.

Opponents view that arranged marriages which are not fixed with the consent of couples may create various problems and is considered to be a loveless marriage. Two people who do not know each other are pressurized to live as a union. There are chances of clashes in values, morals and way of living. Most often these marriages create a situation where abuse, neglect, sadness and anguish feelings involved. Though parents or elders thoroughly matched the couple's background but no one can sense what is happening in other's mind. Initially, couples from arranged marriages busy in traditional ceremony so they do not come closure to each other but as soon as they start living together, they face many problems. Arranged marriages sometimes prove poor relations among couples. Some people hate the view of being married to someone they do not already love.

No one can deny that partners in an arranged marriage are usually less likely to divorce for cultural reasons. If the marriage is arranged, they have to maintain good relation to conform society norms. Mainly female partner has to compromise who is often weak both socially and economically. Challengers say, individuals are the best judges of their own lives. Person is free to choose his partner. In their view, arranged marriages are not good for long term relation. People do not enjoy, they just compromise in life.

In India, arranged marriages almost always support the continued existence of the caste system in the society, which is a hereditary and discriminating system in itself. Even though youngsters are advanced and live high order life, they have to follow tradition. In fact arranged marriages solve many problems of couple which they can not eliminate alone. For example if they want to buy home, they need backing of parents. Life becomes comfortable with the advice of elders.

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