PAPER ID:IJIM/V.I(III)/1-13/1

AUTHOR: Ms. Neha Saran

TITLE :MARRIAGE: A FORM OF SOCIAL CONTROL

ABSTRACT:It is believed that in the context of rural urban continuum, those who defy tradition and kinship/ customary rules regarding marriage create social disjunction in loosening collective community control which sets standards of behaviour and in sharpening of the generation gap between young and old. There has been a lot of resistance to intercaste marriages time and again. In-fact the resistance has been to such an extent that it has led to intolerable human rights violation. Based on my fieldwork in western Uttar Pradesh using a descriptive research design and an inter-disciplinary framework, this article reflects on the issues of  inter caste marriage, the resistance and changing patterns in society and the power play and dynamics of various generations in resisting the trend towards marrying outside their caste. And this conflict is leading to social change in the society. Social control is exercised through severe punishments for marriages outside the caste system Quite clearly punishments are differentiated on the lines of caste and gender.

KEYWORDS : Marriage, Inter-caste marriage, Social Control, Social Norms, Gender Differentials, Punishment

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