Author Description

Although the challenge to the hegemonic status of the institution of marriage in India is grabbing the limelight in popular media, it has received comparatively less attention in the social sciences. This path-breaking collection presents an analysis of marriage from historical, social, cultural, psychological and legal perspectives. Some of the essays argue that marriage continues to retain its prime overwhelming importance in reproducing the social order and its claim to be the only legitimate structure of the family rather than one among many. Nevertheless, changes wrought by globalisation, by information technology and by the increasing social visibility of queer life forms and practices have had considerable impact on the homogeneous imagination of the 'Indian family', with the traditional marriage system as its base. The essays in this collection look behind and beyond the institutional framework of marriage to critique the structures of our everyday lives and to explore new horizons and possibilities in the domain of the intimate. The collection is divided into four parts, moving from a historical perspective to present-day concerns: Part I - 'Historicising Mar-riage: Marriages Are Made in Scriptures'; Part II - 'Contextualizing Marriage: Class, Caste, Masculinity and Violence'; Part III - 'Repre-senting Marriage: Sex, Conjugality and Videotapes' and Part IV - 'Recasting Marriage: Singlehood, Coupledom and Intimate Others'.