Changing preference pattern in Indian arranged marriage market: a longitudinal study

Debashis Ganguly, Daily News and Analysis (DNA)
Aparajita Chattopadhyay, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)

India has recently embraced open market economy, which has major social ramifications in the context of changing lifestyle aspiration of its people. Marriage being an important indicator of social reorganization provides an effective tool to study this relationship in terms of changing preference parameters in spouse selection in arranged marriage. However, dearth of reliable longitudinal records provides the main research constraints. This paper attempts to overcome the hurdle using classifieds matrimonial advertisements from the worlds highest circulated English newspaper daily -- The Times of India, over 20 years viz. 1983 to 2003 by focusing on the matrimonial pages with regular intervals of 5 years in between. The data selection is done using 30% of the representative samples using simple random method. Subsequent analysis reveals significant increase in preference towards more socially upwardly mobile educated bachelors (spinsters) who can adopt themselves to the emerging socio-economic order.