Study on Cross Regional Marriage in Gujarat

In India, marriage has received specific norms regarding its religious, territorial and post-marital residential compulsions, a woman moves to her husband‘s home after marriage from her natal home like in other Asian countries. The marriage institution itself may demands migration for woman (Palriwala and Uberoi, 2008). Due to the dependency on her male migrant partner women‘s migrations has been ignored or gained a little attention in migration studies for a long period of time. Further, migrant women are seen as “wives” and never as “workers”, concealing their economic roles (Piper and Rose, 2003). Due to their less involvement in income generation as well as the social practices of hypergamous and exogamous marriage systems and the practice of dowry make them less-preferred and unwelcomed in many communities. Since the female sex are considered to be the second sex and less valuable they are always thought to be the burden of the family whereas sons are valuable for so many reasons like support to parents in old age, continuing the ancestry or take over the properties. The constant demand of son-preference is resulting into the low female sex ration which is adversely affecting the continuation of social process and patterns. As marriage needs an equal proportion of both the sexes; so what does the decreasing number of marriageable girls signify? And how different communities will develop the mechanism to cope up with this problem? Different societies have developed numerous ways to overcome the problem of the shortage of marriageable women. In countries like China and Korea, are using the extreme measures like, abduction of a bride or fostering a girl child from an early age as their future daughter-in-law, bringing ethnic Koreans from China, Vietnam, even Philippines and Uzbekistan (Das Gupta and Li Shuzhuo, 1999; Zhang, 2006; Kim, 2013). Where as in India, men from Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab, Utter Pradesh and Rajasthan are brought brides from Odisha, West Bengal, Assam, Andra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Bihar. The main focus of the research is on economic and socio-cultural aspects on cross-region marriages and how these factors are influencing the two regions i.e., the regions which receive brides and the source regions which send the brides and thereby promoting cross-regional marriage. These strange marriages are the outcome of a combination of factors: unfavourable sex ratios, heightened poverty and the wish of parents to escape from dowry. Poor parents are being ambitious to marry their daughter's hundreds of miles away from home while men from the low sex ratio states of Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan are ‗importing-foreign women' from the eastern and southern parts of the country as marriage partners. Also, women are approaching this strange marriage pattern to improve their social as well as economic status in society.

The Gujarat state shows remarkable growth in infrastructure and revenue from different fields like agriculture and technology. Gujarat which is the

development in the technology made the abortion of female foetus through ultra-sound technology affordable to the people. According to the NFHS 2005/6 like many Indians, adults in Gujarat show a strong preference for sons. One in five or more women and men want more sons than daughters, but only 2 per cent want more daughters than sons. Only 49 per cent of women are having two daughters and they do not have the desire for more children. According to the 2011 census data, it stood at 919. In the district where research was conducted, the figure stood at 908 in Kutch district which has decreased drastically from 942 in the census of 2001. The fall in sex ratio is sudden in Kutch. The girl dispreference is still in the community even though they have to bring brides from far-off to get marry with their male members. As discussed in many newspaper articles, that how the adverse sex ratio as well as the high rate of dowry forces parents to send their daughters far-off as well as bringing bride from far-off regions by paying bride price (The Indian Express, 2008, 2007; daily news and Analysis, 2011, Frontline, 2007). This research gives them a detailed idea about female migration across all caste groups which show a shortage of brides, Moreover the shortage of women has meant that there are lesser women available for the custom of adla-badla (satuv yavhar in Rabari community) which results in the exchange of daughter from one family, in return for a boy from the other. The one who secure a good job, business or whose family own the good amount of property they always prized as grooms locally. As described by Kaur, in bride receiving societies, the perception is that such men could not find local brides because they did not have sufficient land or were jobless; these men are unable to compete in the local marriage market and are forced to look outside for seeking brides (Kaur, 2010). One of the local village men narrated the reason for the cross-region marriage as ―In our Rabari community the female sex ratio is very less due to which we need to take brides from out of our community by paying money. The satu vyvhar which means the exchange of daughters is commonly practised in our community. We give our daughter to the conjugal family in return from the same family we will be taking our daughter-in-law but if there is an absence of a girl child in a family and if we are not in a condition to pay the big amount of money and jewellery to the bride's family, due to the economically poor condition we prefer to bring bride with the help of middle-men (Dalal) by paying him less amount of money‖. An Ahir community man (35 years) revealed a fact about his third marriage with a girl from Maharashtra. give their daughter to me and even if they give also I need to take care of the marriage expenses as well as the bride price which is very costly so I preferred to get a girl from Maharashtra.‖ Migrating to Gujarat for Marriage: Background and Compulsion Poverty is one of the reasons why girls/women are crossing their regional boundaries and getting married into some strange region, which is entirely different in terms of social, culture, linguistic background. It is clear that the pressure to provide a dowry puts a great strain on the parents of daughters. Over the years the amount of dowry has drastically increased; dowry has replaced bride-price in many communities; and dowry is no longer confined to upper-caste Hindus but has spread to other castes, religious and tribal groups (Palriwala, 2009; Rao, 1993). A cross-regional bride from Puruliya, West Bengal, telling why she is chosen for this marriage by her own parents, ―We are four sisters, first two sisters were got married in the same village my father had to pay dowry. Later my father did not have money to pay the dowry so I got married here and my sister got married in a small village in Punjab.‖ A cross-regional bride from Baleshwar, Odisha, ―My parents got me married here because my husband‘s family didn‘t ask for anything. Over there in my native place, the demands are very high. The groom asks for ` 20,000-50,000 rupees and gold. My parents are poor. How could they have arranged a dowry? Later on, I was married here." At the same point of time the marriage institution became so rigid that girls are totally excluded from their own parental home where they have spent their whole childhood and part of their adulthood. As described by one of the cross-region bride from Maharashtra revealed her story about her bitter experience in first marriage and how she came to this region by saying, ―I got married when I was 15 years old, but my husband use to beat me and he consumes alcohol too. So I ran away from there. But my family members felt disrespect of keeping me here so they just want me to send out of the home and sent me to this village.‖ Here in the case of respondents who came back to their natal home after marriage due to the reasons like widowhood and divorce, they are concerned as a burden on the family who brings dishonour of the family. Being in wifehood is the only appropriate status for women and those girls who came back from their conjugal home due to the reasons like divorce and widowhood they became the only because of the women‘s less participation into the political as well as economic spares.

In some cases, women are facing intensive violence at the receiving end where daughter-in-law is considered at the bottom of the family. Thus, the woman is accepted with different cultural background from her own cultural and societal context; it is only her productive and reproductive labour capacity which helps her creating her own persona within her conjugal family.

Andrist, (2011) Stated that for many years, the Indian culture has been stratified fundamentally based on caste. The lower castes are socially denied as well as financially segregated. Endeavors by different social reformers and associations to liberate India from the grasp of the caste framework, unapproachability and racial segregation had a constrained effect. When we talk about Indian marriages with a shade of intercaste association, it seems like an unthinkable to the greater part even right up 'til the present time. Vasconcelos (2011) Author worried about flagging. Maybe there is no genuine inclination for wedding in caste; in light of the fact that nobody really does it in balance, be that as it may, the individuals who make proposition to non-caste individuals are treated with doubt. Creator analyze this by taking a gander at the real matches of the individuals who make recommendations out of caste and find that they are no deferent from that of others, proposing that their hidden in secret quality must be comparative. Second, need to manage the probability of vital reactions it is normal to have more troubles adapting to a very surprising network. Bhattachan (2010) Analyzedthat if the guardians, especially from non-Dalit families, acknowledge such sort of marriage, it will bolster for social combination and monetary assistance for the couples Therefore, this examination has inspected the impetuses for inter-caste marriage. Furthermore, their adequacy separation and Dalit's incorporation at family and society level. Hortacsu and Ariely (2010), His paper is an endeavor to comprehend why the expressed job of caste in marriage remains so solid. One probability is this is simply something that individuals state, yet they don't really follow up on it–maybe if we somehow happened to watch their genuine conjugal decisions we would see that caste is substantially less significant than it is guaranteed. The way that numerous individuals do wind up wedding in caste isn't sufficient to dismiss this view since it is outstanding that caste is connected with numerous different qualities and those could be driving the watched decisions. Hortacsu and Ariely (2010) his outcomes demonstrate that the level of intra-caste marriages drops significantly. This infers caste isn't only an intermediary for different attributes family units likewise care about and that there are a few potential counterparts for every person, both inside and outside their caste. Simultaneously, we likewise find that people are coordinated with life partners who are fundamentally the same as on all non-caste qualities to the mate they would have chosen when caste was incorporated inside one's inclinations. Second, creator gauge the "balance cost" of caste regarding an assortment of properties, characterized as the concession between the life partners of two observationally indistinguishable people, one who is from a similar caste and the other who isn't. This is finished by relapsing a spousal trademark, for example, instruction, on every single recognizable normal for the people and a sham for whether the match is "inside caste" among the arrangement of recreated matches. There is no trademark for which this proportion of cost is fundamentally positive. Significant discoveries from creator. To begin with, there is no motivation to expect that monetary development independent from anyone else will undermine caste-based inclinations in marriage. Second, caste-based inclinations in marriage are probably not going to be a significant limitation on development. At long last, one may stress that if caste turns out to be less significant, disparity may increment along different measurements as we will see progressively assortative coordinating. Acharya (2010) Explains, its well meaning goal, the administration's impetus approach has been dubious, for instance, individuals contend that such financial motivator trades marriage with cash. They further claims that such a marriage will further underestimate Dalit ladies. Moreover, the current execution system is thorough one and isn't effectively open it doesn't rouse the couples rather it debilitates them. The couples who do such marriage face extremely hard to get remunerate Due to this

Kansakar and Ghimire (2010)analyze the issue face by such couple. Couples who wed with another caste life partner face various types of social monetary and social rejection after marriage. The confirmations that they incorporate demonstrates that lady of the hour tavern are progressively helpless from such sorts of marriage. Likewise they lovers couples are bound to confront family and cultural exclusions contrasted with hypogenous couples upper caste individuals do asocial blacklist disallow entering ins to his/her country limits from appropriate to property to companion after such marriage. Daniel, (2009) Given hypothesis on inter caste marriage that clarifies that all most all individuals and society has been rehearsing caste based separation, which is guided by Hindu Varnasystem. In any case, there are various speculations of caste framework. As per religious hypothesis, the Brahmin was conceived from the Brahma's head; the Kshetriy as from the Brahma's hands the Vaishyas from the Brahma's thighs and the Sudras from the Brahma's feet. The Varnahierarchy is dictated by the slipping request of the various organs from which the Vernas were made. In like manner, the natural hypothesis of Varna framework guarantees that the Brahmans in heritSattva characteristics. Kshatrias and Vaisias in recluse Raj as characteristics and the SudrasinheritTamas characteristics. As per the social chronicled hypothesis, the caste framework started with the appearance of the Aryans in India. Hypothesis of shading expect that the Varna and the caste framework started based on shading. As indicated by this hypothesis, above all else Brahma made the Brahman and after that Kshatria, Vaishya and Shudra were brought into the world with white, red, yellow and dark separately. Correspondingly, the hypothesis of capacity or occupation contends that Varna and caste framework developed through the capacity or control of individuals. Hypothesis of birth accept that Varna framework was shaped by the introduction of people. This hypothesis further contends that nature and characteristics of person have been changing as indicated by time and circumstance however the one Varnaneverturn in to other Varna...Although these speculations have various cases and supposition with respect to the beginning of Varna, all have comparative conclusion on caste pecking order. Practically the majority of the scholars accept that the caste framework started in the Indians mainland and spread somewhere else later on. Joanne, (2018) Analyzed that India has sanctioned the inter-caste marriages for over fifty Years back, recently wedded are as yet undermining by brutal methods, regularly by their very own families and town pioneers. During the previous couple of years, in excess of 1000 Honor Killings were accounted for from different states, in which youngsters and ladies, history inter-varna marriage was endured and individuals didn't end up extraordinary by caste yet by deed: the joining between Shakti, the child of Basishtha and Acchemala, a sweeper or chandala brought forth Parasharrishi whose connection with a Majhi lady, Satyabati brought forth a famous Maharishi Bays who composed Veda. So the case of supposed unadulterated castes to be the relatives of rishis from unadulterated blood appeared to be somewhat unclean.

These indicators for sending daughters away from the native region by the families of cross-region brides are based on data collected through the respondents and their conjugal family members. Further study is needed in this topic where there is a chance to explore the source regions for understanding the concepts regarding the marriage migration and the reasons for sending their daughter‘s to the far off regions.

1. Chaudhry, Shruti and Mohan, Tanisha D. (2011). ‗Of Marriage and Migration: Bengali and Bihari Brides in a U.P. Village‘, Indian Journal of Gender Studies, Vol. 18, No. 3, pp. 311–340. 2. Kaur, Ravinder (2004). ‗Across Region Marriages: Poverty, Female Migration and the Sex Ratio‘, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 39, No. 25, pp. 2595–2603. 3. Jha, P., Kesler, M.A., Kumar, R., Ram, F., Ram, U., Aleksandrowicz, L., Bassani, D.G., Chandra, S., and Banthia, J.K. (2011). ‗Trends in Selective Abortions of Girls in India: Analysis of Nationally Representative Birth Histories from 1990 to 2005 and Census Data from 1991 to 2011‘, The Lancet, Vol. 377, No. 9781, pp. 1921–1928. 4. Chakravarti, Uma (2004). ‗Conceptualising Brahmanical Patriarchy in Early India: Gender, Caste, Class and State‘, Caste, Class, Gender, Mohanty, M. (ed.), New Delhi: Sage Publications, pp. 271–295. India‘, Family, Kinship and Marriage in India, Uberoi, P. (ed.), New Delhi: Oxford University Press, pp. 54, 50–73. 6. S. Rukmini (2014). ‗Just 5% of Indian Marriages are Inter-Caste: Survey‘, The Hindu, 13 November 2014, http://www.thehindu.com/data/just-5-per-cent-of-indian-marriages-are-intercaste/article6591502.ece, [accessed 16 July 2017]. 7. The Shudra varna, though not Untouchable, comprises the peasant proprietary and artisan classes with tremendous socio-economic variations among its constituent sub-castes. 8. Deepender Deswall (2013). ‗Inter-caste Marriages Taking Toll in Jatland‘, The Times of India, 20 April 2013, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Inter-caste-marriages-taking-toll-in-Jatland/articleshow/19642268.cms, [accessed 24 June 2017]. 9. News of caste-based violence against Dalits is reported almost daily. Vishal Joshi, ‗Dalit Locality Attacked, Water Supply Cut after Inter-caste Marriage in Haryana‘, Hindustan Times, 15 April 2013, http://www.hindustantimes.com/india/dalit-locality-attacked-water-supply-cut-after-inter-caste-marriage-in-haryana/story-MFjl6c9WiHan6JoqU8fW2O.html, [accessed 18 July 2017]. 10. Empower People, Molki: Bride for Sale, Delhi: mimeo, 2013; Pandey, K. K. and Kant, R., Female Foeticide, Coerced Marriage and Bonded Labour in Haryana and Punjab, Faridabad: Shakti Vahini, mimeo, 2003.

Research Fellow, Central University of Gujarat meghdey89@gmail.com