Международный журнал экономики и менеджмента

Marriage Extravagance Posing Serious Socio-Economic Problem in Kerala: An Analytical Study of Thalapalam Gram Panchayat

Abstract

Sherin George

Marriage is an important social institution. Nowadays, this sacred institution is being commercialised due to the changing trends in weddings.
On the one hand people spend lakhs/crores for a wedding, whereas, on the other side there are families who struggle to conduct their
daughter’s marriage.
Kerala is a state, known for its extravagant wedding especially the use of gold.
A daughter’s marriage is a costly event in the life of an Indian family, often driving parents into severe debt at interest rates of over 200
percentages. These expenses, which amount to more than six times a family’s annual income, can force a family in the destitution and bonded
labour especially when there are several daughters to be married. The economic burden of a daughter’s marriage has been identified as
a major cause of gender discrimination and domestic violence in the Indian subcontinent. Marriage a norm in most parts of the
country. Indian wedding have always been special occasions, celebrated with zest, enthusiasm, and in the case of the wealthy,
elaborate setting and food. But as a growing economy pumps new wealth in to the country, weddings have turned into veritable
showpieces. Times have changed the festive spirit, and have taken on a more ostentatious flavor as weddings become occasions for
India’s rapidly growing affluent classes to show off their wealth. There are many factors that contribute towards the system of dowry