Inter-Religious Marriage and the Role of Voluntary Organizations in Contemporary India

Abstract

This study aims to reveal the current status of inter-religious marriage in India through analysis of the life histories of couples and interviews with voluntary organizations. Inter-religious marriage has hitherto been analyzed primarily from two points of view: the antagonism couples face in dealing with the social norms, especially vis-a-vis their families and relatives; and the opportunity inter-religious marriage affords couples to transform themselves and intimate others through their everyday interactions and relationships with the people around them. However, actors outside of family and relatives have not been taken into consideration as agents that mediate and collaborate in the process of their struggle. Such actors include voluntary organizations, which are treated in this article.

This paper first discusses the various problems that inter-religious couples have faced since the 1970s. It then describes the background that allowed them to marry and the process of antagonization, negotiation, and collaboration, focusing on the interaction and relationships between the inter-religious couples and various actors who protect and support them. Finally, it reveals that although inter-religious marriage involves various problems in everyday life, such as family strife and isolation, couples have attempted to manage the situation by continuing to negotiate with the actors around them. Voluntary organizations play a key role in this process of negotiation and construction of new social relationships by mediating between the couples and other social actors.