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Social Factors Influencing the Choices of the Indian Hindu Women In SOCIAL FACTORS INFLUENCING THE CHOICES OF THE INDIAN HINDU MARRIED WOMEN IN MARRIAGE _______________ A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Department of Sociology University of Houston _______________ In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Sociology _______________ By Ragini Sengupta May, 2013 SOCIAL FACTORS INFLUENCING THE CHOICES OF THE INDIAN HINDU MARRIED WOMEN IN MARRIAGE _________________________ Ragini Sengupta APPROVED: _________________________ Tracy Xavia Karner, Ph.D. Committee Chair _________________________ Amanda Baumle, Ph.D. _________________________ Elizabeth Gregory, Ph.D. _________________________ John W. Roberts, Ph.D. Dean, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences Department of English ii SOCIAL FACTORS INFLUENCING THE CHOICES OF THE INDIAN HINDU MARRIED WOMEN IN MARRIAGE _______________ An Abstract of a Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Department of Sociology University of Houston _______________ In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Sociology _______________ By Ragini Sengupta May, 2013 ABSTRACT In India, “Vivaha or marriage, is one of the most significant samaskara” (rite of passage) in Hinduism (Ramdya 2010:xi) and is deemed essential for virtually everyone. With the growing economy, increased educational levels, the gradual rise in ‘love match marriages’ and knowing that marriage is usually a onetime opportunity, young Indian couples are willing to adopt and reject certain elements of the traditional Vedic wedding rituals to fit into the larger scheme of their life’s meaning and establish their own style. In this study, in-depth interviews were conducted with 20 married Indian Hindu women currently living in the United States to identify and examine the social factors that influenced the choices that these women made regarding the various Vedic wedding rituals. Ann Swidler’s (2004) “tool-kit” approach provides a theoretical framework for better understanding of how culture works, i.e., the complex ways in which people use their diverse culture as repertoires to describe the meaning of another culture that shapes the individual’s day-to-day lives. The interviewed women identified the social factors as the influence of modernization and westernization in India; the role of family and community; and the role of education which affected their choices. These three major social factors played a significant role in their decisions and conceptualizing their choices in the ritual selection process as well as providing a means to better understand the changing aspects of the Indian society. ACKNOWLEMENTS I would like to express my appreciation to my committee members Dr. Tracy Xavia Karner, Dr. Amanda Baumle and Dr. Elizabeth Gregory. You all have been extremely patient, supportive and encouraging during this entire research and writing process. I would like to specially thank Dr. Karner for her invaluable attention as a teacher and as a mentor. I owe many thanks to my dear friends in the department for their words of encouragement and faith in my abilities to do good work. Also, I would like to thank Dr. Stella Grigorian for her help and advice. I also owe special thanks to my husband Mr. Aritra Sur for his support, patience, constant encouragement and for proof reading the entire material. Also, I would like to deeply thank my family for their love, support and patience. Finally, I would like to extend a special thank you to my research participants. Without you, this thesis would not even have been possible. I truly enjoyed hearing your stories. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................. 1 Chapter 2. Review of the Literature .......................................................................................... 6 2.1. The History of Hindu Society, its Tradition and the Interpretation of Marriage ........... 7 2.1.1 The Hindu Society: The Caste System And Hindu Marriage .................................. 8 2.1.2 The Hindu Society: The Social and Religious Construction of Man and Woman And Hindu Marriage ........................................................................................................ 11 2.2. Hindu Marriage and its Ideals ...................................................................................... 12 2.2.1 Arranged Marriage vs. Love Marriage ................................................................... 14 2.3. The Age at Marriage in India: A Statistical Overview................................................. 16 2.4. Hindu Society: Its Education Syetem and Hindu Marriage ......................................... 18 2.5. Marriage/Wedding Rituals ........................................................................................... 20 2.6. Ann Swidler’s “Tool-Kit” Approach ........................................................................... 25 Chapter 3. Methods ................................................................................................................. 29 3.1. Research Design ........................................................................................................... 29 3.2. Sample Selection .......................................................................................................... 32 3.2.1 Recruitment ............................................................................................................ 32 3.2.2 The Interviewees (Sample Demographics) ............................................................. 36 3.3. The Interviews .............................................................................................................. 39 3.3.1 Instruments ............................................................................................................. 39 3.3.2 Conducting the Interview ....................................................................................... 40 3.3.3 Consent Form and Human Subject Issues (IRB) .................................................... 41 3.4. Data Management and Transcribing Process ............................................................... 42 3.5. Analysis of Data ........................................................................................................... 43 3.5.1 Data Analysis Strategy ........................................................................................... 44 Chapter 4. Observations and Findings .................................................................................... 46 4.1. Westernization and Modernization in India ................................................................. 48 4.1.1 Unacknowledged Influence of Westernization and Modernization ....................... 51 4.1.2 Age at Marriage ...................................................................................................... 62 4.2. The Role of Family and Community............................................................................ 65 vi 4.2.1 Role of Family In Marriage Arrangement – Arranged Marriage vs. Love Marriage ......................................................................................................................................... 71 4.3. The Role of Education.................................................................................................. 80 4.4. Shifting between Repertoires ....................................................................................... 85 4.5. Understanding the Importance of the Rituals in a Wedding ........................................ 91 4.6. Interpretations and Significance of Key Rituals .......................................................... 97 4.6.1 Haldi (Annointment of Turmeric) .......................................................................... 98 4.6.2 Kanyadaan (Giving away of the daughter) .......................................................... 101 4.6.3 Saptapadi/Saat-phere (Seven steps or seven vows) ............................................. 108 4.6.4 Sindoor/Mangalsutra (Vermilion/ Sacred thread) ................................................ 110 4.6.5 Vidai (Farewell ceremony) ................................................................................... 114 Chapter 5. Conclusion And Future Work ............................................................................. 121 5.1. Limitations and Future work of the Research ............................................................ 125 Chapter 6. Appendices .......................................................................................................... 127 6.1. Appendix A: Initial Introduction Contact Email ........................................................ 127 6.2. Apendix B: Telephone Script: For sample selection criteria ..................................... 128 6.3. Apendix C: Participation Consent Form .................................................................... 129 6.4. Apendix D: Demographic Face Sheet ........................................................................ 133 6.5. Apendix E: Qualitative Interview Instrument ............................................................ 134 6.6. Apendix F:Sample Demographics of the Participants ............................................... 137 6.6.1 Traveled to the US Prior to Marriage ................................................................... 137 6.6.2 Traveled to the US After their Marriage .............................................................
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