Marrying in South Asia looks closely at the changing notions and practices of marriage in Bangladeshi, Pakistani and south Indian Muslims, Bhutanese ethnic groups, Nepali widows, the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora, south Asian gays and lesbians, middle class and urban, working class communities, and many other groups. With the globalising world as the backdrop, the essays in this volume examine the processes that make a marriage, the implications of marriage, cohabitation and divorce on domesticity and work, and the acknowledgement of multiple sexualities, as well as the contestations and conflicts—including in the law courts—that are part of the institution. The diverse ethnographic accounts, demographic analyses and economic investigations provide a wider window to marriage than is usually available in a single volume.
This volume brings together scholars in sociology, anthropology, economics, demography, development studies, queer theory and gender studies, and historical research from around the world. It is a must-read for students and scholars of sociology, anthropology and South Asia studies.
Rajni Palriwala is Professor, Department of Sociology, Delhi University. Ravinder Kaur is Professor, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT, Delhi.
List of Tables, Figures and Map Editors’ Acknowledgements Publishers’ Acknowledgements Introduction: Marriage in South Asia: Continuities and Transformations Rajni Palriwala and Ravinder Kaur Part 1: Diversities in Models and Practices 1. Change and Continuity in Marital Alliance Patterns: Muslims in South India Sylvia Vatuk 2. Marriage in Bhutan: At the Confluence of Modernity and Identity Sonam Chuki 3. Transgressions, Accommodations and Change: Configuring Gender and Sexuality within Marriage Practices of the Kolams Pushpesh Kumar Part 2: Behind Demographic Trends 4. Marriage Continuity and Change in Bangladesh Sajeda Amin and Maitreyi Das 5. Negotiating Marriage: Examining the Gap between Marriage and Cohabitation in India Lester Andrist, Manjistha Banerji and Sonalde Desai Part 3: Economics of Marriage 6. Marriage, Women and Work: The Estate Tamils in Sri Lanka’s Tea Plantations Amali Philips 7. Marriage, Labour Circulation and Smallholder Capitalism in Andhra Pradesh Priti Ramamurthy 8. Marriage, Women’s Economic Participation and Patterns of Support in Urban Karachi Anwar Shaheen 9. Why Marry A Cousin?: Insights from Bangladesh Shareen Joshi, Sriya Iyer and Quy Toan Do Part 4: Making a Marriage 10. ‘Love’ in the Shadow of the Sewing Machine: A Study of Marriage in the Garment Industry of Chennai, South India Johanna Lessinger 11. Transnational Marriages: Documents, Wedding Albums, Photographers and Jaffna Tamil Marriages Sidharthan Maunaguru 12. Surfing for Spouses: Marriage Websites and the ‘New’ Indian Marriage? Ravinder Kaur with Priti Dhanda Part 5: Love and Conjugality in and Beyond Marriage 13. ‘Why did you send me like this?’: Marriage, Matriliny and the ‘Providing Husband’ in North Kerala, India Janaki Abraham 14. ‘Purani aur Nai Shaadi’: Separation, Divorce and Remarriage in the Lives of the Urban Poor in New Delhi Shalini Grover 15. Multiple Ironies: Notes on Same-Sex Marriage for South Asians at Home and Abroad Ashley Tellis Part 6: Legal Interventions and Activism 16. Dreaming a Better Court for Women: Adjudication and Subjectivity in the Family Courts of Kolkata, India Srimati Basu 17. When Marriage Breaks Down How do Contracts Matter?: Marriage Contracts and Divorce in Contemporary North India Katherine Lemons 18. Widowhood, Socio-cultural Practices and Collective Action: A Study of Survival Strategies of Single Women in Nepal Makiko Habazaki Notes on Contributors Index