Friday, 17 May, 2024
By: Anshul Vipat
In a unusual judgement, a division bench of Kerala High Court observed that the younger generation apparently views marriage as an "evil" to be avoided in order to enjoy a "free life" without any liabilities or obligations.
In a unusual judgement, a division bench of Kerala High Court observed that the younger generation apparently views marriage as an "evil" to be avoided in order to enjoy a "free life" without any liabilities or obligations. The court rejecting a divorce plea by a 51-year-old man said, "Nowadays, the younger generation think that marriage is an evil that could be avoided to enjoy free life without any liabilities or obligations. They would expand the word 'WIFE' as 'Worry Invited For Ever' substituting the old concept of 'Wise Investment For Ever Live-in relationships are on the rise. Just say good-bye when things fall apart,".
The bench of Justices A Muhammed Mustaque and Sophy Thomas was hearing a plea of a man who abandoned his wife and three daughters after nine years of marriage subsequent to an alleged affair with another woman.
The judgement has sparked a debate over the ambiguity of the relationships in the country. While many fumed to the court's judgement, some of them agreed to the notion.
CVoter-India Tracker did a survey to find out what Indians think about the issue. The respondents were asked whether they agreed to the observations made by Kerala High Court or not. Close to 48 percent respondents agreed to the court's judgement. 28 percent somewhat agreed to it, while 23 percent completely disagreed to the notion.
Source: Team Cvoter-India Tracker
As the accompanying chart shows, Indians across age, gender, educational, economical and ethnic background gave a positive response to the court's judgement. 56 percent youth (18-24 age group) and 52 percent senior citizens said the judgement was correct. Over half of the urban and 46 percent rural respondents responded positively. More males compared to females agreed to court's observations.
Source: Team Cvoter-India Tracker
A similar pattern was observed among ethnic groups. Half of the respondents among the Upper caste Hindus and Dalit groups supported the notion. The support among Tribals and Christians was 55 and 40 percent respectively. However, only 29 percent Muslims agreed to the notion. Among political respondents, 42 percent UPA supporters and 56 percent NDA supporters responded positively.
Clearly, the survey results suggest that people agree to Kerala High Court's judgement that matrimonial relationships have been affected by the 'use and throw' consumer culture and this is evident in the rise of live-in relationships as younger generations want to avoid responsibilities and liabilities.
