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INTER CASTE MARRIAGE.docx

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2027 Words 10706 Characters

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9 Pages 192.8KB

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Oct 30, 2022 11:08 PM GMT+5:30 Oct 30, 2022 11:09 PM GMT+5:30

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Summary
 TOPIC: SOCIAL ASPECTS OF INTER-CASTE
MARRIAGE
SUPERVISED BY: SUBMITTED BY:

MR. AASHISH GAUR NAVITA

ASSISSTANT PROFESSOR OF SOCIOLOGY B.A.LL.B(Hons)

RGNUL, PUNJAB 22257

Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law Punjab, Patiala

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

It is always a privilege to acknowledge and let people know who the foundational elements of a
project are. First of all, I want to thank my university for encouraging research-based academic
projects because they helped me investigate and comprehend the concepts more fully. Further I
would like to thank Mr. Aashish Gaur, who places equal emphasis on teaching and mentoring
his students. While I was working on this project, he was always encouraging and approachable.
He carefully monitored over my projects and explained things to me.

Without my family and friends, this project would never have been possible. I would also like to
show my gratitude to each one of them. They encouraged me to reach my full potential and has
consistently encouraged my efforts and made me finalize the project within a limited time frame.

Navita
 DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the project work of Sociology tilted “Social aspects of inter-caste
marriage” submitted to Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Punjab, Patiala is an
outcome of my original work carried out under the supervision of Mr. Aashish Gaur. The
project is entirely based on my own research work and has not been submitted elsewhere. All the
ideas and references have been duly acknowledged. To the best of my understanding, the project
is free from plagiarism.

Navita

Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Punjab

Patiala

15 October,2022
 7
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgement………………………………………………………..2

Declaration ……….……………………………………………………...3

Table of contents…………………………………………………………4

Introduction to the concept of marriage……………..…………………5

Inter-caste marriages…………………………………………………….5

Laws pertaining to inter-caste marriages………………………………6

Social implications……………………………………………………….7

Perception of youth………………………………………………………8

Conclusion………………………………………………………………..9
 Introduction to the concept of marriage

Marriage is considered as the primary social institution in India. It is a social and a legal bond
which is formed to take forward the progeny and the institution of family altogether. Marriage
plays a significant role in the Indian society and it has been the part of its culture since ages.
Further, marriages that are done between the same caste and religion are the only ones which are
socially acceptable by the Indian society. India is a country where there are so many types of
castes, religions, faiths, etc. and each class is having their own rituals, beliefs and understanding
of marriage. Due to the prevalence of casteism and thinking of superiority of one’s own caste,
the institution of marriage has been spoiled which was basically meant to be a bond of two loved
ones sharing their lives together.

Inter-caste marriages

Inter-caste marriage is basically an exogamous form of marriage in which the spouses belongs to
two different castes and they decide to marry each other. Any such marriage which is performed
outside the purview of their caste has to face difficulty in receiving social recognition. This
makes the survival of that couple in such a society where they have to face continuous
humiliation and discrimination.

Though, India as a nation, has developed itself a lot in terms of education, infrastructure,
technology, and liberal perceptions, but still in remote areas people with orthodox thinking
disregards the marriage outside their own caste. The caste system is so deep rooted in the Indian
context that it so difficult for the Indians to come out of it. Many social reformers have
contributed to eradicate some social evils within the caste system such as untouchability, racial
discrimination, etc. but when it comes to inter-caste and inter-religious marriages, nothing much
9
has been done in this regard. However, it is crucial that inter-caste and inter-religious marriages
should be there in the society in order to end the caste system and racial prejudice in 21st century.
Marriage is regarded as the most significant social custom and the most effective way to break
down caste-based barriers. Inter caste weddings are still common in Indian society, but they tend
to be confined to urban and metropolitan areas and make up a small portion of all marriages.1
8
The institution of marriage is largely controlled by same-caste marriages in rural parts of the
country, and there is still a long way to go before inter-caste marriage is accepted.2 The society
do not accept such marriages since they have a pre-conceived notions in their minds that the
couple would not be able to follow each other’s customs and traditions and the upbringing of
their children would be difficult because of different cultures of their parents. Along with this,
the concept of racial purity and superiority of one’s own caste comes into picture. The orthodox
Indian families stringently believe in maintaining their racial purity and anything done contrary
to that would be a taboo for their caste. The upper castes feel a sense of inferiority if their
children got married with the lower caste and sometimes they even reject to acknowledge such a
marriage. They feel that their social standards and social status has been degraded by such kind
of act and they may have to face humiliation within their kinship and in society.

Laws pertaining to inter-caste marriages

5
Basically, in India, marriages are registered and governed under various personal laws such as
“Hindu Marriage Act,1955, Muslim Marriage Act,1954 and Special Marriage Act,1954.” For the
purpose of recognising and registering interfaith and intercaste marriages in India, the ‘Special
Marriage Act, 1954,’ was passed. It allows two adults to legally wed one another by a civil
contract. This law includes weddings between “Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Jains, and
Buddhists”; no religious rites are needed to be performed. It acts as a secular Act which upholds
the interests of inter-caste couples and releases them from the constraints of conventional forms
of marriages. This Act was introduced keeping in mind the rights of inter-caste couples
enshrined in Article 14 and 21 of Indian Constitution. With changing times, the state has to
introduce new laws in public interest. Just only because majority of the people are following the
traditional view does not imply that with changing times younger generation cannot upheld their

1
Das, K. C. . Accessed 14 Oct. 2022.
6
2
“Inter-Caste Marriage Issues and Challenges: With Special Reference to Tumkur District.” “ResearchGate,
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272866587_Inter-
Caste_Marriage_Issues_and_Challenges_With_Special_Reference_to_Tumkur_District. Accessed 15 Oct.
2022.”
own choices. So, to protect the interests of the couples that go beyond their rigidly defined caste
system, state had introduced this Special Marriage Act, 1954 so that their marriage can also be
legally ratified and is acceptable in the laws and along with that, they should also be entitled to
their basic rights including adoption, divorce and property rights.

Social Implications

There are ample reasons why the older generation does not accept the marriage outside their own
caste. There are hardly 5% Indian couples who had married outside their caste. The deep roots of
casteism and racial purity have impacted the whole mechanism of marriage in India.

It hampers the growth of the society as people have limited their mind-sets to one particular
caste only and the same is being propagated in the minds of younger generation. The sense of
superiority of own caste lead to the rise of discrimination for the lower castes and
consequently it creates differences among various groups, religions and castes.

All such differences are threat to the unity of the nation as a whole. If the people of India are
divided on the basis of caste, creed, religion, faith, etc. then how can we thought about the
progress of the nation? The development is not only calculated on the basis of technology and
innovations, it also takes into account the social progress of the society. And marriage being the
primary social institution plays a significant role in determining the social structure and the sense
of belongingness among different groups and castes.

But unfortunately, due to the lack of social acceptance of inter-caste marriages, couples choose
to end up their lives or they have to face humiliation for the rest of their lives. Sometimes, the
members of their families kill them for such an act which they think it has lowered their
reputation in the society. Honor killings has become such a serious issue in our country due to
inter-faith marriages and this is a not less than a shame in 21st century where it’s been 75 years of
independence of our country and people still prefer the reputation of their caste over the life of
10 1
their children. In Lata Singh v State of Uttar Pradesh, 2006, the top court said, “This is a free
democratic country, and once a person becomes a major he or she can marry whosoever he/she
likes. If the parents of the boy or girl do not approve such inter-caste marriage the maximum they
 2
can do is that they can cut off social relations with them, but they cannot give threats or commit
or instigate acts of violence and cannot harass the person who undergoes such inter-caste
marriage.” This remark of the top court upheld the fundamental rights of inter-caste couples and
provides them with a ray of hope that judiciary and the law of the land is there to protect their
rights and give them a dignified life.3

Perception of youngsters

With change in lifestyle, urbanization, modernization, educational advancement and western

influence, the perception of younger generation and older people to some extent, has transformed
and the social acceptance of inter-caste marriages has increased in urban parts of the country as
compared to rural areas. Education has played a significant role in changing the mind set of
youth and persuaded them to come out of the confined walls of caste and experience love and
respect for other’s caste without any restrictions and humiliations. The academic institutions
promote inter-caste connections by facilitating inter-caste interactions amongst individuals of
equivalent status. Such relationships are becoming increasingly popular among the youngsters as
the access to higher education becomes more widely available to both men and women and it has
liberalise their mind-sets. Now, they are putting their efforts to educate the general public about
this through various activities such as campaigning, awareness programs, etc. They are
propagating the belief that when The Almighty has not created any differences in us then why
any form of discrimination is being carried out by us?4 This kind of perception and thinking
comes with education and this need to be carried out to upcoming generations. There’s a very
famous quote. “Education is that tool which you can use to change the world”. This is the need
of the hour in our country and the younger generation need to take lead on this.

3
3
“ Audience, Law. “Volume 1 & Issue 3 » PERCEPTION OF INTER-CASTE MARRIAGE IN THE EYES OF THE
3
SOCIETY ». 29 Apr. 2019, https://www.lawaudience.com/perception-of-inter-caste-marriage-in-the-eyes-
of-the-society/.”
4
4
mohit. “Inter-Caste & Inter-Religious Marriages: Social And Legal Issues - Academike.” “Laxmikant Bhumkar, 21
Aug. 2014, https://www.lawctopus.com/academike/inter-caste-inter-religious-marriages-social-legal-
issues/”
 Conclusion
India is still having a traditional culture where the norms of caste, religion, race, creed and
beliefs are given importance. And if we look at marriage, historically, this primary institution
was supposed to be within one’s own caste and religion. But with modernization and
urbanization, there is a shift in this tradition and people have started accepting inter-caste
marriages, though to a limited extent. Approximately 5% Indian have recorded the inter-caste
marriages and that too is prevalent in urban areas mostly. This has marked the beginning of the
journey to dug out the deep roots of the caste system from the Indian society.

The frequency of these inter-caste unions is anticipated to rise with liberalization, globalization
and socio-economic progress. As discussed above, education is also one of the potent factors
which helps out in transforming the orthodox thinking of older people.

In order to eliminate the caste hurdles that still exists in Indian society, such marriages are
required to be welcomed, given media attention, and encouraged. The government should also
take incentives to safeguard couples who are married under the Special Marriage Act from being
stigmatized by their religious community for getting married to someone from a different caste.
The Constitutional Rights of every inter-caste couple should be protected and prevent them from
any kind of discrimination including honour killings.

To conclude, the concept of marriages within one’s own caste is still deep rooted in India and it
is going to take years to come out of that. Inter-caste marriages are still considered a taboo in
most of the parts and people don’t think about exogamous marriage of their kids. But some
progress has been made in this regard along with the government’s incentive but there is still a
long way ahead.
 Similarity Report ID: oid:28078:25788073

9% Overall Similarity
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9% Internet database 5% Publications database
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indianexpress.com
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feminisminindia.com
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juscorpus.com
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hindorama.com
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researchgate.net
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lawctopus.com
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Archana Shukla. "Attitudes towards Role and Status of Women in India:...

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