FALING HINDU MARRIAGES IN ADVANCING INDIA

There is no denying that India is advancing fast materially and Indian couples have all the essentials needed for a comfortable living. Yet, Hindu marriages in particular are breaking down more frequently than ever before. It shows a marriage needs something more that material comforts to make it stable.

Earlier, a Hindu marriage was thought to be a bond for seven lives when science was a little less advanced. But now there are no seven lives, your life is here and now. Hindus are adopting an attitude similar to other religions that a marriage is a contract not an institution any more. And a contract can be signed and broken with the convenience of one or both the parties. Here it is broken even if not signed !!

The contract of a Hindu marriage is broken not because of breach of agreement as there were no conditions laid down like in several other religions. We enter into an institution and think it is a contract. The Hindu Marriage Act has given the women their rightful due but did not redefine a Hindu marriage as a contractual agreement. It is still based on the assumption of pious relationship, eternal bond and social sanction.

I know several marriages that broke down simply because of clash of ego of one or the other partner. The only difference that Hindu Marriage Act has brought about is that men cannot utter Talaq Talaq Talaq and get rid of their spouses. But once they know that the bond is actually an unwritten agreement that can be broken, they break it at the drop of a stone.

It is time we should either redefine a Hindu Marriage as a contractual agreement based on a written and signed document or else continue with the marriage of faith of eternal emotional bond. We cannot have benefits of both. Indeed, we are landing into evils of both models.