Exploring the Concept of Mixed Marriages in Indian Context: First Time Evidences from Large Scale Survey

Deepti Singh, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)
Srinivas Goli, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)

Marriage system in India is virtually endogamous; however, few historical evidences disclose the mixed marriage custom in India. Rapid changing socio-economic and cultural values, western education and economic diffusion led enormous changes in existing customs of marriage system in India. This paper presents the first time assessment of mixed marriages by using Indian Human Development Survey data. Bivariate results evident that inter-caste marriages and marriage out side same economic group are not well-known phenomena in India. However, most of the Indian marriages are outside the same blood relatives. Results of multivariate analysis reveal that socio-economic differential are more predominant in inter-caste marriage, However, marriage outside same economic group and blood relative are also significantly influenced by socio-economic status. Analysis indicates that state level variation in Mixed marriages are prominent. Results suggest that in India, very fewer women have freedom to make decision on marriage and selection of spouse.