Millennials prefer arranged marriages as they can’t afford to fall in love, says writer Vivan Marwaha – Times of India
What was the process of doing fieldwork for the book like?
I camped out in small towns and cities across thirteen different states (almost equally divided between the four regions of India), talking to millennials from a variety of backgrounds. From sanitation workers to snack stall owners and from climate refugees to coaching centre students, I spoke to more than 900 Indian millennials, asking them questions about their economic aspirations, social views (attitudes towards marriage, sex, and religion) and political attitudes.
Whether at skill development centres where young Indians were trying to upskill themselves, or at public squares in small towns in Madhya Pradesh, I constantly sought to broaden the scope of those I was interviewing by focusing on unheard voices.
In addition to my fieldwork, I use a dataset (with more than 6,000 respondents) compiled by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies to combine broad trends along with personal anecdotes to narrate an intimate biography of Indian millennials.
What are the kinds of aspirations that drive millennials?
Indian millennials aspire for stability in a volatile world. The economy wasn’t creating jobs before coronavirus. India had 45-year high unemployment in 2019, and the country was going through multiple periods of jobless growth. Millennials are in a global economy moving towards automation and on precarious financial footing, unable to afford their own homes and incapable of becoming the nation builders who will power the country to become a 10 or 15 trillion-dollar economy. Therefore, the aspirations that drive millennials are the only ones that promise stability in today’s world: government jobs, arranged marriage, and strongman politicians.
Education doesn’t guarantee employment. What would set up Indian youth for success?
India currently has a filtering system in place of an education system. Instead of teaching children how to think, it teaches them what to think, and the entire education system essentially serves to filter students towards the same opportunities which existed three decades ago: IITs, medical colleges, and joining the government bureaucracy.
India needs to think deeply about taking advantage of the vastly increased internet access across the country and focus on upskilling its youth for the future, along with creating the conditions for a blue-collar revolution by attracting good-paying manufacturing jobs for those who agriculture cannot absorb anymore.
Nine in 10 millennials you asked said they would not marry outside their community. Why is this?
About 84% of married millennials have had arranged marriages, which almost always take place among members of the same community. Most are not in a financial position to break away from their families and find their own partners, and definitely not from other communities due to the high associated costs. As I write in my book, “Many millennials simply cannot afford to fall in love: The risk of being cut off from their families or being evicted from their homes is too great. Given the low incomes and high cost of home ownership, many find it difficult to get by without familial support.”
Has social media changed the way young Indians present themselves?
Social media has given this generation crucial tools and platforms to define themselves on their own terms. Prior to internet proliferation, young Indians were always policed on their looks, behaviours, and how they presented themselves to the world. And although that still happens on the internet, young Indians are the only ones who decide how they define and present themselves to the world. They can have unfiltered conversations and interactions in ways that are still not possible for many — particularly women and minorities — in physical spaces.
What determines who they vote for?
Indian millennials came of age at a time of great global churn. Huge advances in technology and globalisation have created opportunity for many but have also led to the lack of stability and identity for many more. In this volatile world, Indian millennials began favouring bold leaders who promise big, bold solutions even if they have not created the kind of results that young India requires.
Whether this action is demonetisation or surgical strikes, leaders who provide an aura of any type of bold decision-making are the ones who find support among Indian millennials, who need radical solutions to improve their lives and livelihoods. This is not limited to Prime Minister Modi. Regional leaders like Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal, and Jagan Reddy are immensely popular among millennials because they also promise similar bold actions to everyday problems.
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