Do you think marriage as a sacrament is losing its value in Modern India?
1. Traditionally
Traditionally, Hindu marriage was a sacrament or sanskar, indissoluble, religious and binding beyond individual choice.
2. Modern law
Modern law, the Hindu Marriage Act 1955 and Special Marriage Act 1954, treats marriage as a civil, dissoluble contract.
3. Urbanisation
Urbanisation, education and women’s economic independence make marriage a matter of individual choice and delay it.
4. Rise of love
Rise of love, inter-caste and inter-religious unions, live-in relationships and cohabitation erode sacramental character.
5. Yet arranged marriages
Yet arranged marriages, family involvement and dowry practices persist, showing the institution’s resilience.
6. Courts increasingly affirm a contractual
Courts increasingly affirm a contractual, rights-based view, ruling on maintenance, live-ins and divorce.
7. The value is transformed
The value is transformed, not lost: rituals coexist with individualised, egalitarian expectations.
8. Family and community still regulate marriage;
Family and community still regulate marriage; stigma and honour codes remain in conservative settings.
9. Balanced conclusion: sacrament and contract coexist;
Balanced conclusion: sacrament and contract coexist; what declines is absolute value, not the institution.
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