Arranged Marriages in India - Paper

Arranged marriages in India

In country India, which happens to be modernized, seems to keep up to the tradition of arranged marriages. With this tradition it is really important that a person’s family plays a huge role in choosing the marriage partner. To some this might sound a bit odd but it’s really important to realize that in Indian culture a pre-planned marriage is a symbol of love. Many Americans today will disagree with this arrangement and argue that true love cannot be accomplished in a marriage that is not agreed by both partners. The Indian culture believes that marriage is the biggest decision you will make in your entire life and do not` accept divorce. The actual marriage as to be a well thought out and planned with strict enforcement. Indians believe that young people are unable to make such important decisions such as marriage on their own, so instead the parents search for specific traits in a partner. A few traits that are wanted includes: identical level of education, same cultures, similar parental cities, same religious preferences and surprisingly food habits. The men must match up closely for several areas in the matching process. Will they be good fathers? Do they have enough money to support a family? The groom’s parents have just as much pressure on them as their sons. They must already have extra living space for the children and bride. Also, the groom’s parents must have an excellent reputation. The bride should be respectful and have good manners. It is believed that the bride represents the family’s honor and pride. In most cases the bride will be moved into the in-laws home after the marriage. The entire process may be long and eventually turn into a session of meetings. Photos and a biography is provided to the boy-girl’s family. If everything is approved then meeting arrangements with the family will be made. Usually the bride and groom do not meet until the actual wedding day. If the bride or groom does not want to approve of the marriage at the time of the wedding it may be cancelled. You hardly will see family’s forcing marriages upon their children. But life in an arranged marriage is not always beautiful. This way of uniting two people is often associated with abuse like forced and child marriages. A forced marriage is strictly set by the parents and the sons or daughters have no say so on the decision. If the child fails to cooperate the parents will threaten them with severe punishment or death. Another type of marriage is child marriage which may involve infants. The children will continue to reside in their biological parents home until they hit puberty. Most of these choices are made for economic or religious reasons. These marriages are a result of the dowry system which is a method based upon how much dowry the girls family is willing to sacrifice for her happiness. In the US it is illegal by law, but in India it has become a traditional trade. If the girl’s family is poor she will most likely stay unmarried. If the agreement is not paid by the date then the girl will be put to death. Indians believe that there are many positive points of arranged marriages even though the conditions may be rough. In can be that parents feel safe knowing their son or daughter is marrying someone in their own culture and won’t have to worry about dealing with the unknown. It is a big ease on the parents of the bride knowing that she will be living in a higher social class. Many Americans see arranged marriages as not being true love and not in the best interest of your spouse. But statics prove that the divorce rate for arranged marriages is much lower than those in the US. Indians perform procedures like these because of their cultural differences and it shows love and honesty. Americans would understand if they stopped and smelled the coffee realizing that love can grow on you from lust to just a friendship and that sometimes you have to make it work