Pre-marital Relationships and the Family in Modern India
This paper is an inquiry into a form of intimate relationship that is garnering much public attention in contemporary India, namely, the pre-marital relationship. In order to query the rhetoric of individual agency and “freedom” that often gets associated with pre-marital relationships, this paper e...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Centre d’Etudes de l’Inde et de l’Asie du Sud
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| Series: | South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/samaj/4379 |
| _version_ | 1797316327913816064 |
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| author | Parul Bhandari |
| author_facet | Parul Bhandari |
| author_sort | Parul Bhandari |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper is an inquiry into a form of intimate relationship that is garnering much public attention in contemporary India, namely, the pre-marital relationship. In order to query the rhetoric of individual agency and “freedom” that often gets associated with pre-marital relationships, this paper explores the family’s involvement in pre-marital relationships of young adults aged 24–31. The paper argues that though pre-marital relationships often fashion themselves as a disjuncture from the narrative of marriage, in reality, they model themselves on structures and expectations of a marital union. This paper also pays attention to the ways in which families position themselves vis-à-vis pre-marital relationships. Specifically, it discusses the strategies by which the family can obstruct or encourage certain pre-marital relationships over others, thereby highlighting the bearing of the family’s involvement in changing the course of a relationship: either from a non-serious form of relationship to a committed one, or leading to the breaking up of the relationship. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T03:16:41Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7f07c458bec94d36bb20266c763d74ba |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1960-6060 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T03:16:41Z |
| publisher | Centre d’Etudes de l’Inde et de l’Asie du Sud |
| record_format | Article |
| series | South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-7f07c458bec94d36bb20266c763d74ba2024-02-12T15:38:41ZengCentre d’Etudes de l’Inde et de l’Asie du SudSouth Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal1960-60601610.4000/samaj.4379Pre-marital Relationships and the Family in Modern IndiaParul BhandariThis paper is an inquiry into a form of intimate relationship that is garnering much public attention in contemporary India, namely, the pre-marital relationship. In order to query the rhetoric of individual agency and “freedom” that often gets associated with pre-marital relationships, this paper explores the family’s involvement in pre-marital relationships of young adults aged 24–31. The paper argues that though pre-marital relationships often fashion themselves as a disjuncture from the narrative of marriage, in reality, they model themselves on structures and expectations of a marital union. This paper also pays attention to the ways in which families position themselves vis-à-vis pre-marital relationships. Specifically, it discusses the strategies by which the family can obstruct or encourage certain pre-marital relationships over others, thereby highlighting the bearing of the family’s involvement in changing the course of a relationship: either from a non-serious form of relationship to a committed one, or leading to the breaking up of the relationship.https://journals.openedition.org/samaj/4379familypre-marital relationshipsmarriagemodernmiddle class |
| spellingShingle | Parul Bhandari Pre-marital Relationships and the Family in Modern India South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal family pre-marital relationships marriage modern middle class |
| title | Pre-marital Relationships and the Family in Modern India |
| title_full | Pre-marital Relationships and the Family in Modern India |
| title_fullStr | Pre-marital Relationships and the Family in Modern India |
| title_full_unstemmed | Pre-marital Relationships and the Family in Modern India |
| title_short | Pre-marital Relationships and the Family in Modern India |
| title_sort | pre marital relationships and the family in modern india |
| topic | family pre-marital relationships marriage modern middle class |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/samaj/4379 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT parulbhandari premaritalrelationshipsandthefamilyinmodernindia |