RE: inter caste marriage problem
July 20, 2014 at 10:41 am
(This post was last modified: July 20, 2014 at 10:47 am by Anomalocaris.)
(July 20, 2014 at 7:13 am)vodkafan Wrote:(July 20, 2014 at 6:29 am)BrianSoddingBoru4 Wrote: As a side note, I've always found caste systems (particularly the Hindu one) to be one of the most cynical and cruel methods of using religion to keep people in their place. Fucking Hindus.
Boru
This is a much wider subject than it appears on the surface. It is not just religion but culture. Also you are supposing that a love match is a far superior way of choosing a marriage partner than having a marriage arranged. In fact, it is not, as our divorce figures show. It is also only comparatively recent. 100 years ago even in the west people got married according to parents' wishes or for economic reasons.
I am white English, was married to an Indian woman for 20 years, and all our kids are half Indian. Ours was a love marriage. But I have came across lots of Indian couples in arranged marriages and they are doing just fine.
You have to look at it across history to get the big picture. It might look a bit harsh, but
the hindu system has worked pretty well for a couple of thousand years. Although they are supposed to marry within a caste, the couple are chosen from locations far apart which is an effective way of avoiding interbreeding and incest, which hindus are really careful about.
Unlike Pakistani muslims, who are often forced to marry first cousins, who are considered the same as brother and sister to hindus.
When you say worked well, what do you mean well?
Horse and cart worked "well" for much more than 2000 years. Would you prefer the stable and the wainwright over the automobile?
Also Divorce may means the failure of a marriage, but higher failure rate of marriage does not mean the society is not therefore better off overall because of mobility, experimentation, and willingness to break out of strictures that created the higher divorce rate as a byproduct. Enforced family stability is not a virtue if enforcement carries with it a myriad of other harmful oppressions.