Arranged Marriages : Past and Present

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In times where marriages are being arranged by advertising through the media, how does one define and rate an arranged marriage? Can celebrities like Madhuri Dixit displaying all rich finery and the million dollars smile really unite two individuals for a lifetime?

Madhuri's Script may not be much appreciated by the viewers but India does follow the ancient script of courtship and arranged marriage still prevails widely throughout the nation. Marriages are the biggest and the grandest of the rituals in India. Like most of our bollywood movies showcase, marriages are all pomp, splendor and grandeur.

Let's also add that it's the arranged marriages that are celebrated and not the self matched ones. Arranged marriage is the expected and appreciated norm here. In a large part of Asia marriages are still arranged by parents and families. Arrangements are often made on purely rational grounds. The custom of arranged marriages in India has survived migration and modernization remaining central to the ideals of the society. In India marriages are a family matter; the best interests of the family often govern the arrangements.

Many marriages are even arranged without the consent of the bride, or where she has little opportunity to go against the wishes of her parents

An arranged marriage is a contract between families, not just between individuals. The parents investigate the family background before initiating the talks between the elders in the families. They would like to ascertain that the each family is of the same class, is of comparable financial standing and that the family has no hereditary diseases.

Arranged marriages were not always so frequent. In ancient India, the most popular form of marriage was Swayamvara. Prospective grooms would assemble at the bride's home and she would pick her husband on the spot. Along with Swayamvara, Gandharva vivaha (love marriage), and Asura vivaha (marriage by abduction), were also practiced.

The trend of Arranged marriages was started to rescue and protect the women and child folk from abduction by foreign invaders prior independence. What started as a protective measure has spread over and stayed as a stringent forceful practice. Many Indians contend that arranged marriages are more successful than marriages in the West, particularly given the latter's staggering divorce rates.