Are people intolerant towards inter-faith and inter-caste marriages in India?

Pages: 443-447
Manpreet Ola (AIBAS, Amity University, Gurgaon, Haryana )
Dweep Chand Singh (AIBHAS, Amity University, Noida, Uttar Pradesh)

Caste and religion are integral parts of Indian society. At times, these interwoven systems create strong differences, hatred and tension among various social groups. Basic problem in Indian society is not of class division but of caste division. Arranged marriage within the same caste and religion is the rule of land in the Indian societies. Marriage of couples belonging to different castes and religions is a difficult and socially unacceptable proposition. To every such marriage, social / family opposition is surfaced, making it difficult for the couples to survive. Democracy, process of modernization and development has brought lots of changes in Indian society. It has provided opportunities and encouraged people for inter religion / caste marriages but with off-shooting problems between families, spouses, children and society at large. Honor killing is such problem. The major objectives of the present review paper are to understood and the spatial patterns and determinants of inter-caste and inter-religious marriages in India. The study used the data of third round of National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3, 2005-06) (2007) having sample size of 43102 ever married couples in India. Additionally, effort has been made to understand various issues rose due to inter religious / caste marriages and how can psychologists be of help in these cases. For counseling about marriages outside one’s caste and religion, psychologist must be aware of religious instructions and provisions in the Indian constitution.