Sept 27, 2010
Bangalore: Wives fighting for maintenance in divorce cases have a lot to look forward to if the state government accepts the recommendations of the Karnataka Law Commission.
On Monday, the commission, headed by retired Justice V S Malimath, recommended the amendment of Section 125(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), making it mandatory for husbands to file an affidavit about their income and assets.
Pressing for this change, the report said in many divorce cases, wives, children and parents are struggling to lead a normal life due to no maintenance.Therefore,husbands should declare assets and liabilities within 15 days from issuing notice of the divorce. They should also give details of employment.
“Having regard to the urgent need to provide maintenance to neglected wife, children and parents, the law requires that the magistrate should dispose of the application as far as possible within 60 days from the date of service of notice of the application,’’ the report said.
The commission also came to the rescue of a woman who marries a man without knowing about his earlier marriage. It has also recommended the inclusion of a woman in a live-in relationship in the definition of wife.
Recommending the amendment of Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code, the commission said if a woman files a compliant against her husband or relatives, it’s considered a non-bailable offence and the entire family is punishable with three years’ imprisonment if found guilty. The commission recommended it should be made a bailable offence and only the husband or a relative of husband subjecting her to cruelty be punished.
Submitting the report to law minister S Suresh Kumar, Malimath told reporters the commission was ready to help people who approach it on legal issues. The commission has also submitted 10 other reports related to Criminal Law Amendments Act, Karnataka Lokayukta Act, The Indian Succession Act 1925, Karnataka Panchayat Raj Act 1993, CrPC 1973, among others.
Mr.Rebates
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Census data: Marriages in 2009 at record low level
Sept 28, 2010
WASHINGTON – The recession took a dramatic toll on the institution of marriage in America last year, new figures show, with weddings for people 18 and older at the lowest ebb in over a hundred years.
A broad array of new Census Bureau data released Tuesday documents the far-reaching impact of a business slump that experts say technically ended in June 2009: a surging demand for food stamps, considerably fewer homeowners and people doubling up in housing to save money.
The new figures show, among other things, that marriages fell to a record low level in 2009, with just 52 percent of adults 18 and over saying they were joined in wedlock, compared to 57 percent in 2000. Many young people, at the same time, struggled to find work and achieve economic independence.
On the positive side: Americans spent about 36 minutes fewer minutes in the office per week and were stuck in less traffic, although the reason was largely because millions of them had lost jobs or were scraping by with part-time work.
The government revealed that the income gap between the richest and poorest Americans grew last year by the largest margin ever, stark evidence of the impact the long recession starting in 2007 has had in upending lives and putting the young at greater risk.
The top-earning 20 percent of Americans — those making more than $100,000 each year — received 49.4 percent of all income generated in the U.S., compared with the 3.4 percent earned by those below the poverty line, according to the newly released Census figures. That ratio of 14.5-to-1 was an increase from 13.6 in 2008 and nearly double a low of 7.69 in 1968.
A different measure, the international Gini index, found U.S. income inequality at its highest level since the Census Bureau began tracking household income in 1967. The U.S. also has the greatest disparity among Western industrialized nations.
At the top, the wealthiest 5 percent of Americans, who earn more than $180,000, added slightly to their annual incomes last year, government data show. Families at the $50,000 median level slipped lower.
Three states — New York, Connecticut and Texas — and the District of Columbia had the largest gaps in rich and poor, disparities that exceeded the national average. Similar income gaps were evident in large cities such as New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Boston and Atlanta, home to both highly paid financial and high-tech jobs as well as clusters of poorer immigrant and minority residents.
On the other end of the scale, Alaska, Utah, Wyoming, Idaho and Hawaii had the smallest income gaps.
"Income inequality is rising, and if we took into account tax data, it would be even more," said Timothy Smeeding, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor who specializes in poverty. "More than other countries, we have a very unequal income distribution where compensation goes to the top in a winner-takes-all economy."
Lower-skilled adults ages 18 to 34 had the largest jumps in poverty last year as employers kept or hired older workers for the dwindling jobs available, Smeeding said. The declining economic fortunes have caused many unemployed young Americans to double-up in housing with parents, friends and loved ones, with potential problems for the labor market if they don't get needed training for future jobs, he said.
Rea Hederman Jr., a senior policy analyst at The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, agreed that Census data show families of all income levels had tepid earnings in 2009, with poorer Americans taking a larger hit. "It's certainly going to take a while for people to recover," he said.
On the issue of marriage among adults 25-34, roughly 46.3 percent reported they had never wed. It was the first time the share of unmarried young adults exceeded the 44.9 percent who were married.
Homeownership declined for the third year in a row to 65.9 percent, after hitting a peak of 67.3 percent in 2006. Residents in crowded housing held steady at 1 percent, the highest since 2004, a sign that people continued to "double up" to save money.
Average commute times edged lower to 25.1 minutes, the lowest since 2006, as fewer people headed to the office in the morning. The share of people who carpooled also declined from 10.7 percent to 10 percent, while commuters who took public transportation were unchanged at 5 percent.
The number of U.S. households receiving food stamps surged by 2 million last year to 11.7 million, the highest level on record, meaning that 1 in 10 families were receiving the government aid. In all, 46 states and the District of Columbia had increases in food stamps, with the largest jumps in Nevada, Arizona, Florida and Wisconsin.
The census figures come weeks before the pivotal Nov. 2 congressional elections, when voters anxious about rising deficits and the slow pace of the economic recovery will decide whether to keep Democrats in power.
The 2009 census tabulations, which are based on pre-tax income and exclude capital gains, are adjusted for household size where data are available. Prior analyses of after-tax income made by the wealthiest 1 percent compared to middle- and low-income Americans have also pointed to a widening inequality gap, but only reflect U.S. data as of 2007.
WASHINGTON – The recession took a dramatic toll on the institution of marriage in America last year, new figures show, with weddings for people 18 and older at the lowest ebb in over a hundred years.
A broad array of new Census Bureau data released Tuesday documents the far-reaching impact of a business slump that experts say technically ended in June 2009: a surging demand for food stamps, considerably fewer homeowners and people doubling up in housing to save money.
The new figures show, among other things, that marriages fell to a record low level in 2009, with just 52 percent of adults 18 and over saying they were joined in wedlock, compared to 57 percent in 2000. Many young people, at the same time, struggled to find work and achieve economic independence.
On the positive side: Americans spent about 36 minutes fewer minutes in the office per week and were stuck in less traffic, although the reason was largely because millions of them had lost jobs or were scraping by with part-time work.
The government revealed that the income gap between the richest and poorest Americans grew last year by the largest margin ever, stark evidence of the impact the long recession starting in 2007 has had in upending lives and putting the young at greater risk.
The top-earning 20 percent of Americans — those making more than $100,000 each year — received 49.4 percent of all income generated in the U.S., compared with the 3.4 percent earned by those below the poverty line, according to the newly released Census figures. That ratio of 14.5-to-1 was an increase from 13.6 in 2008 and nearly double a low of 7.69 in 1968.
A different measure, the international Gini index, found U.S. income inequality at its highest level since the Census Bureau began tracking household income in 1967. The U.S. also has the greatest disparity among Western industrialized nations.
At the top, the wealthiest 5 percent of Americans, who earn more than $180,000, added slightly to their annual incomes last year, government data show. Families at the $50,000 median level slipped lower.
Three states — New York, Connecticut and Texas — and the District of Columbia had the largest gaps in rich and poor, disparities that exceeded the national average. Similar income gaps were evident in large cities such as New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Boston and Atlanta, home to both highly paid financial and high-tech jobs as well as clusters of poorer immigrant and minority residents.
On the other end of the scale, Alaska, Utah, Wyoming, Idaho and Hawaii had the smallest income gaps.
"Income inequality is rising, and if we took into account tax data, it would be even more," said Timothy Smeeding, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor who specializes in poverty. "More than other countries, we have a very unequal income distribution where compensation goes to the top in a winner-takes-all economy."
Lower-skilled adults ages 18 to 34 had the largest jumps in poverty last year as employers kept or hired older workers for the dwindling jobs available, Smeeding said. The declining economic fortunes have caused many unemployed young Americans to double-up in housing with parents, friends and loved ones, with potential problems for the labor market if they don't get needed training for future jobs, he said.
Rea Hederman Jr., a senior policy analyst at The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, agreed that Census data show families of all income levels had tepid earnings in 2009, with poorer Americans taking a larger hit. "It's certainly going to take a while for people to recover," he said.
On the issue of marriage among adults 25-34, roughly 46.3 percent reported they had never wed. It was the first time the share of unmarried young adults exceeded the 44.9 percent who were married.
Homeownership declined for the third year in a row to 65.9 percent, after hitting a peak of 67.3 percent in 2006. Residents in crowded housing held steady at 1 percent, the highest since 2004, a sign that people continued to "double up" to save money.
Average commute times edged lower to 25.1 minutes, the lowest since 2006, as fewer people headed to the office in the morning. The share of people who carpooled also declined from 10.7 percent to 10 percent, while commuters who took public transportation were unchanged at 5 percent.
The number of U.S. households receiving food stamps surged by 2 million last year to 11.7 million, the highest level on record, meaning that 1 in 10 families were receiving the government aid. In all, 46 states and the District of Columbia had increases in food stamps, with the largest jumps in Nevada, Arizona, Florida and Wisconsin.
The census figures come weeks before the pivotal Nov. 2 congressional elections, when voters anxious about rising deficits and the slow pace of the economic recovery will decide whether to keep Democrats in power.
The 2009 census tabulations, which are based on pre-tax income and exclude capital gains, are adjusted for household size where data are available. Prior analyses of after-tax income made by the wealthiest 1 percent compared to middle- and low-income Americans have also pointed to a widening inequality gap, but only reflect U.S. data as of 2007.
Panel for changes in dowry law
Sept 27, 2010
| The State Law Commission has recommended amendment to section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code, which deals with dowry harassment cases. | |
| So far, when a complaint was registered under this section, police could take members of husband’s family, including aged parents, into custody. Noting that this provision might give room for its misuse as well, the commission has recommended amendment to the section. The commission, headed by Justice V S Malimath, on Monday submitted a total of 12 reports on different sections of the Code of Criminal Procedure to Law minister S Suresh Kumar. The panel has also recommended amendment to section 125 of the CrPC to ensure that wives get proper alimony in divorce cases. The section should be amended in such a way that the man, in such cases, should declare his assets, so that the wife gets alimony and child support accordingly, the recommendation states. Malimath said in certain cases of divorce, the wife failed to get proper alimony because the man did not disclose his assets. If the law makes it mandatory for the husband to declare his assets, the wife and children will get their due alimony. Justice Malimath urged the government to implement the recommendations at the earliest. Kumar said the government would go through the pros and cons, before steps are taken. | |
We Should Celebrate Rising Divorce Rates in India
Sure Divorce is good for women, since Men are ATM's, she walks out of a marriage, my heart goes out to them, with 1/2 his money, lets see if women like it if they have to give away half there money to Men when the decide to call it quits. If this is called Empowerment its a real pity, its more like theft, fraud and down right laziness. Let us see how happy women will be if they get nothing during a divorce, and no gold digger mindset. IF this is what the Fascist Feminazi's call Empowerment they better go back to the drawing board because no one is going to take if laying down forever.
We live in times when progress is often denoted in statistical terms: the Sensex rises by this much, the economy grows by that much, inflation is so much, poverty is that much, and so on. In a complex world, any single piece of data always tells just part of the story. So which statistics do a good job of illustrating India’s progress? One very good one, in my view, is the divorce rate.
Divorce rates are going up across India. The figures that exist for our cities and towns show a sharp increase in the last decade or so. Many commentators bemoan this trend, speaking of the breakdown of families, the loss of family values and the influence of the West. But to me, the rising rate of divorces is a trend to celebrate. It is the single best statistical indicator we have of the empowerment of women.
Rising divorce rates tell us one thing for sure: that more and more women are finding the means, and the independence, to walk out of bad marriages and live life on their own terms. If we judge ourselves as a society on the state of our women – and surely that must be a parameter – then this is good news. We do not need to credit either Feminism or Western culture for this – the emancipation of women in real terms, across the world, has been enabled by technology, and can be explained most easily with economics.
Well, in the words of Tim Harford, who devotes an excellent chapter to this subject in his book The Logic of Life, the family is “the oldest pin factory of all.” In old days, before the advent of modern technology, for a single man or woman to earn a living and look after the household all by himself or herself was immensely difficult. It became a little easier if two people came together and split both tasks half and half. But it became exponentially easier if they specialised. For evolutionary reasons, and because women were stuck with child-bearing, it so happened that men traditionally got the role of earning a living while women raised kids and looked after the house.
These gender roles evolved out of circumstance, and not necessarily because women weren’t capable of earning a living. Indeed, in cases where the wife was better at both earning a living and keeping house, the traditional role allocation would still make sense for them as a unit if the husband was especially bad at housekeeping. Thus, the incompetence of men at keeping house might have played a greater role in the perpetuation of gender stereotypes than any shortcoming women might have had in the workplace.
These gender roles got reinforced culturally. If men earned a living and women looked after the house, it made economic sense to bring up children to specialise in those areas. Thus, the boys got a better vocational education while the girls were taught to cook. This also reinforced prejudices in the workplace, intimidating women from taking up a profession. Women thus became dependent on men, unable to break out of bad marriages because they simply didn’t have choices available to them. No wonder divorce was so rare.
All this changed in the 20th century. The catalyst for these changes was technology.
Two, the pill allowed women to delay child-bearing and plan parenthood. This meant that they could be sexually active without the risk of pregnancy, and thus delay marriage. That allowed them to study further and be as qualified as men for the workforce. And, most importantly, it gave them options.
A qualified woman who chose family over work is much better placed than a woman who hasn’t got any skills to help her earn a living. She has more leverage within the relationship. One, it is easier for her to quit the marriage if she feels unhappy with it. Two, because that option is open to her, her husband cannot take her for granted, and has to treat her better than he otherwise would.
Harford, in his book, points to a study by Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers that showed that as states across America passed ‘no fault’ divorce laws, allowing women easier routes to divorce, “domestic violence fell by almost a third.” When incentives were in place for men to behave better, men tended to behave better. Thus, technology not only enabled women to walk out of bad marriages, it also made them more powerful within a marriage.
Tradition -
Families have such sanctity in Indian tradition because until recently, people needed the division of labour that a family provides. Indeed, joint families used to be common here because, when we were a poorer country, they made economic sense. (A common kitchen for 20 people provided economies of scale.) But times have changed, incentives have changed, and to value these things for the sake of tradition alone is irrational.
As a society, our highest value should be to ensure that every individual has the maximum opportunities possible to find happiness. This means educating our daughters to be independent and removing the stigma that comes from a broken marriage. Every divorce means that two people have a better chance at finding fulfillment than they did in the marriage, and that is surely cause for celebration. In America, divorce rates climbed back down after the surge of the 1970s, mainly because young people took greater care in getting married, and premarital relationships were not considered sinful. Change is happening at different rates across classes in India, and the divorce rate will continue to rise for many, many years. That is a sign of progress, and we should be happy about it.
We live in times when progress is often denoted in statistical terms: the Sensex rises by this much, the economy grows by that much, inflation is so much, poverty is that much, and so on. In a complex world, any single piece of data always tells just part of the story. So which statistics do a good job of illustrating India’s progress? One very good one, in my view, is the divorce rate.
Divorce rates are going up across India. The figures that exist for our cities and towns show a sharp increase in the last decade or so. Many commentators bemoan this trend, speaking of the breakdown of families, the loss of family values and the influence of the West. But to me, the rising rate of divorces is a trend to celebrate. It is the single best statistical indicator we have of the empowerment of women.
Rising divorce rates tell us one thing for sure: that more and more women are finding the means, and the independence, to walk out of bad marriages and live life on their own terms. If we judge ourselves as a society on the state of our women – and surely that must be a parameter – then this is good news. We do not need to credit either Feminism or Western culture for this – the emancipation of women in real terms, across the world, has been enabled by technology, and can be explained most easily with economics.
Economics -
In economic terms, the biggest factor behind human progress is the division of labour. If we all hunted our own meat and grew our own food, we’d still be hunter-gatherers. Adam Smith used the example of a pin factory to illustrate how division of labour improves productivity: if one man attempts to make pins all by himself, he might make about one pin a day; but his productivity can increase by as much as five thousand times if every person in the factory focuses on just one aspect of the pin production. This is true of everything in our lives, such as a newspaper: if every employee of a Newspaper sets out to write, design and produce the whole newspaper, it would take weeks for each person to put together a single issue, and they would all be substandard in one way or another. Instead, they specialise, and the result is good.
In economic terms, the biggest factor behind human progress is the division of labour. If we all hunted our own meat and grew our own food, we’d still be hunter-gatherers. Adam Smith used the example of a pin factory to illustrate how division of labour improves productivity: if one man attempts to make pins all by himself, he might make about one pin a day; but his productivity can increase by as much as five thousand times if every person in the factory focuses on just one aspect of the pin production. This is true of everything in our lives, such as a newspaper: if every employee of a Newspaper sets out to write, design and produce the whole newspaper, it would take weeks for each person to put together a single issue, and they would all be substandard in one way or another. Instead, they specialise, and the result is good.
Well, in the words of Tim Harford, who devotes an excellent chapter to this subject in his book The Logic of Life, the family is “the oldest pin factory of all.” In old days, before the advent of modern technology, for a single man or woman to earn a living and look after the household all by himself or herself was immensely difficult. It became a little easier if two people came together and split both tasks half and half. But it became exponentially easier if they specialised. For evolutionary reasons, and because women were stuck with child-bearing, it so happened that men traditionally got the role of earning a living while women raised kids and looked after the house.
These gender roles evolved out of circumstance, and not necessarily because women weren’t capable of earning a living. Indeed, in cases where the wife was better at both earning a living and keeping house, the traditional role allocation would still make sense for them as a unit if the husband was especially bad at housekeeping. Thus, the incompetence of men at keeping house might have played a greater role in the perpetuation of gender stereotypes than any shortcoming women might have had in the workplace.
These gender roles got reinforced culturally. If men earned a living and women looked after the house, it made economic sense to bring up children to specialise in those areas. Thus, the boys got a better vocational education while the girls were taught to cook. This also reinforced prejudices in the workplace, intimidating women from taking up a profession. Women thus became dependent on men, unable to break out of bad marriages because they simply didn’t have choices available to them. No wonder divorce was so rare.
All this changed in the 20th century. The catalyst for these changes was technology.
Technology -
Technology freed women in two ways in the last century. One, household technology made it possible for women to finish off household work quickly, while it was otherwise enormously time-consuming. The cooking range, the microwave, the mixer-grinder, the pressure cooker are all commonplace kitchen items today, but imagine how arduous preparing a meal was before they existed. (It still is in poorer parts of the world and our country, which partly explains why the oppression of women varies with class.) Once these gadgets entered the kitchen, women found themselves with more free time at their disposal, which they could use to take up a job or to get an education.
Technology freed women in two ways in the last century. One, household technology made it possible for women to finish off household work quickly, while it was otherwise enormously time-consuming. The cooking range, the microwave, the mixer-grinder, the pressure cooker are all commonplace kitchen items today, but imagine how arduous preparing a meal was before they existed. (It still is in poorer parts of the world and our country, which partly explains why the oppression of women varies with class.) Once these gadgets entered the kitchen, women found themselves with more free time at their disposal, which they could use to take up a job or to get an education.
Two, the pill allowed women to delay child-bearing and plan parenthood. This meant that they could be sexually active without the risk of pregnancy, and thus delay marriage. That allowed them to study further and be as qualified as men for the workforce. And, most importantly, it gave them options.
A qualified woman who chose family over work is much better placed than a woman who hasn’t got any skills to help her earn a living. She has more leverage within the relationship. One, it is easier for her to quit the marriage if she feels unhappy with it. Two, because that option is open to her, her husband cannot take her for granted, and has to treat her better than he otherwise would.
Harford, in his book, points to a study by Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers that showed that as states across America passed ‘no fault’ divorce laws, allowing women easier routes to divorce, “domestic violence fell by almost a third.” When incentives were in place for men to behave better, men tended to behave better. Thus, technology not only enabled women to walk out of bad marriages, it also made them more powerful within a marriage.
In India affluence acts, in some cases, as a substitute for technology. In Mumbai, for examples, the typical middle-class house is too small for household devices like washing machines and dishcleaners. But in families that can afford household help, maids take care of those functions, freeing up women’s time in ways that technology does in the West.
Tradition -
Families have such sanctity in Indian tradition because until recently, people needed the division of labour that a family provides. Indeed, joint families used to be common here because, when we were a poorer country, they made economic sense. (A common kitchen for 20 people provided economies of scale.) But times have changed, incentives have changed, and to value these things for the sake of tradition alone is irrational.
As a society, our highest value should be to ensure that every individual has the maximum opportunities possible to find happiness. This means educating our daughters to be independent and removing the stigma that comes from a broken marriage. Every divorce means that two people have a better chance at finding fulfillment than they did in the marriage, and that is surely cause for celebration. In America, divorce rates climbed back down after the surge of the 1970s, mainly because young people took greater care in getting married, and premarital relationships were not considered sinful. Change is happening at different rates across classes in India, and the divorce rate will continue to rise for many, many years. That is a sign of progress, and we should be happy about it.
In Tradition-Bound India, Female, Divorced and Happy
Sept 19, 2010
KOLKATA, India -- In India, a divorce is slowly becoming a girl's best friend.
Across the country's teeming urban centers, petitions for divorce are rising and so are the numbers of headlines and blog entries about how the trend could be the most powerful proof of female empowerment in India in decades.
"We Should Celebrate Rising Divorce Rates," read a headline on the editorial page of Mail Today, a tabloid in New Delhi, the nation's capital. "70-year-old woman wants divorce after 53 years!" read another recent headline in The Times of India newspaper.
In a country where marriage is a cornerstone of family life, there has long been a deep social stigma associated with divorce. Arranged marriages are still common, linking families and, often, lucrative businesses. Many in the older generations discourage the legalization of marital separation. And many couples who have been split up for years and do not live together are still not officially divorced.
Weddings are the most expensive event in Indian family life, opulent soirees that last for days and are the heart of a wedding industrial complex estimated at $11 billion a year. That's in addition to millions of rupees spent yearly on expensive dowries of gold, silk saris, apartments and cars given to grooms and their families by the brides' families. Because of both societal shame and financial pressures to repay dowries, divorce has been so scorned as to be a whispered secret, especially among India's older generations.
But societal mores in India's cities are starting to change. And India is a young nation, with 75 percent of the population under age 35. Major city dailies feature complicated and dramatic divorce stories. Data show that New Delhi, the nation's capital, is also the divorce capital of the country, with about 9,000 cases, or almost double the number registered in family courts four years ago.
Other Indian cities are not far behind. Mumbai captured recent headlines when news surfaced that for every five weddings registered since 2002, family courts have received two applications for divorce.
Even in Kolkata, long seen as a mainstay of traditional Indian culture, cases have soared by a reported 200 percent in recent years, according to divorce experts tracking the trend.
Most of those seeking divorces are young adults employed in call centers, technology companies and elsewhere in the country's booming corporate world. Lawyers say women more often file for divorce and typically have been married for less than five years; some have no children.
Interference by the families of both spouses, especially the husband's stereotypically domineering Indian mother-in-law, is cited as the most common reason for divorce, a sign of the younger generations' growing push for independence.
"Being a divorce lawyer has never been better. The profession is booming," said Suhail Osama, senior associate at Divorce Lawyers India in New Delhi. "One of the reasons is that women are now conscious of their personal space, and men find this fact very difficult to accept. Today, independence has made women less dependent on men, especially in the financial department. No nonsense is tolerated any longer."
A new matchmaking Indian Web site called SecondShaadi.com -- shaadi meaning marriage -- is targeting divorcees and widows. Remarriage was once unthinkable.
Sixty-five percent of the users of SecondShaadi.com are divorced, said Bharani Dharan, site co-founder.
"Part of the trend is because the first marriage is arranged by the family," Dharan said. "The initiative for a second marriage is usually taken by the person himself."
But not everyone is happy with rising divorce rates.
Divorce proceedings often go on longer than the marriage, and debates over child custody and alimony are increasingly complicated. Indian courts are also heavily backed up with all kinds of cases. A majority of divorce cases filed are years from being made final, experts say.
Older Indians still view divorce as a societal ill imported from the West. The subject is often debated on call-in talk shows. Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, 70, blamed "intolerance" between couples for rising divorce rates and recently started a helpline for pre-marital counseling.
Traditional joint family living, where a bride moves in with her in-laws and is often expected to care and cook for them, is also changing. Many young Indian couples prefer their own flats and often work in cities far from their home villages.
While meddling parents can be a cause of divorce, some also believe that parental interference often kept squabbling couples together.
"Earlier, there were people in the family who were there to iron out any friction between the partners," Dikshit told the Times of India in a story that contrasted her views with those of a Bollywood star and a novelist. "Now, with nuclear families becoming the norm, where do people go to seek comfort or solace? Financial independence could be one of the factors, too, though that does not mean that you lose your family life in the process."
Best-selling author Shobhaa De, who writes some of India's most provocative romance novels, fired back: "The day the Indian woman walked out of the home and into the workplace, everything changed -- the dynamics of traditional family life and the position of women in our society," she said. "Divorce is still an urban phenomenon and has to do with expectations -- women are not prepared to settle for less."
KOLKATA, India -- In India, a divorce is slowly becoming a girl's best friend.
Across the country's teeming urban centers, petitions for divorce are rising and so are the numbers of headlines and blog entries about how the trend could be the most powerful proof of female empowerment in India in decades.
"We Should Celebrate Rising Divorce Rates," read a headline on the editorial page of Mail Today, a tabloid in New Delhi, the nation's capital. "70-year-old woman wants divorce after 53 years!" read another recent headline in The Times of India newspaper.
In a country where marriage is a cornerstone of family life, there has long been a deep social stigma associated with divorce. Arranged marriages are still common, linking families and, often, lucrative businesses. Many in the older generations discourage the legalization of marital separation. And many couples who have been split up for years and do not live together are still not officially divorced.
Weddings are the most expensive event in Indian family life, opulent soirees that last for days and are the heart of a wedding industrial complex estimated at $11 billion a year. That's in addition to millions of rupees spent yearly on expensive dowries of gold, silk saris, apartments and cars given to grooms and their families by the brides' families. Because of both societal shame and financial pressures to repay dowries, divorce has been so scorned as to be a whispered secret, especially among India's older generations.
But societal mores in India's cities are starting to change. And India is a young nation, with 75 percent of the population under age 35. Major city dailies feature complicated and dramatic divorce stories. Data show that New Delhi, the nation's capital, is also the divorce capital of the country, with about 9,000 cases, or almost double the number registered in family courts four years ago.
Other Indian cities are not far behind. Mumbai captured recent headlines when news surfaced that for every five weddings registered since 2002, family courts have received two applications for divorce.
Even in Kolkata, long seen as a mainstay of traditional Indian culture, cases have soared by a reported 200 percent in recent years, according to divorce experts tracking the trend.
Most of those seeking divorces are young adults employed in call centers, technology companies and elsewhere in the country's booming corporate world. Lawyers say women more often file for divorce and typically have been married for less than five years; some have no children.
Interference by the families of both spouses, especially the husband's stereotypically domineering Indian mother-in-law, is cited as the most common reason for divorce, a sign of the younger generations' growing push for independence.
"Being a divorce lawyer has never been better. The profession is booming," said Suhail Osama, senior associate at Divorce Lawyers India in New Delhi. "One of the reasons is that women are now conscious of their personal space, and men find this fact very difficult to accept. Today, independence has made women less dependent on men, especially in the financial department. No nonsense is tolerated any longer."
A new matchmaking Indian Web site called SecondShaadi.com -- shaadi meaning marriage -- is targeting divorcees and widows. Remarriage was once unthinkable.
Sixty-five percent of the users of SecondShaadi.com are divorced, said Bharani Dharan, site co-founder.
"Part of the trend is because the first marriage is arranged by the family," Dharan said. "The initiative for a second marriage is usually taken by the person himself."
But not everyone is happy with rising divorce rates.
Divorce proceedings often go on longer than the marriage, and debates over child custody and alimony are increasingly complicated. Indian courts are also heavily backed up with all kinds of cases. A majority of divorce cases filed are years from being made final, experts say.
Older Indians still view divorce as a societal ill imported from the West. The subject is often debated on call-in talk shows. Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, 70, blamed "intolerance" between couples for rising divorce rates and recently started a helpline for pre-marital counseling.
Traditional joint family living, where a bride moves in with her in-laws and is often expected to care and cook for them, is also changing. Many young Indian couples prefer their own flats and often work in cities far from their home villages.
While meddling parents can be a cause of divorce, some also believe that parental interference often kept squabbling couples together.
"Earlier, there were people in the family who were there to iron out any friction between the partners," Dikshit told the Times of India in a story that contrasted her views with those of a Bollywood star and a novelist. "Now, with nuclear families becoming the norm, where do people go to seek comfort or solace? Financial independence could be one of the factors, too, though that does not mean that you lose your family life in the process."
Best-selling author Shobhaa De, who writes some of India's most provocative romance novels, fired back: "The day the Indian woman walked out of the home and into the workplace, everything changed -- the dynamics of traditional family life and the position of women in our society," she said. "Divorce is still an urban phenomenon and has to do with expectations -- women are not prepared to settle for less."
Why is the divorce rate increasing in India?
Divorce is on the rise. Whether it’s Delhi or Lucknown, Kerala or Punjab, Kolkata or Chennai, the upper classes or the middle classes, metros or semi-urban areas…the specter of divorce is now here to haunt us all. Why, just in Delhi the figures go thus:
1960’s – 1-2 cases per year
1980 – 100-200 cases per year
1990s – 1,000 cases per year
This decade…a jump to 9,000 cases per year
About Mumbai (update):
Greater societal acceptance of divorcees in urban areas and also a gradual acceptance of divorced daughters by families (not in rural areas) because families have started to believe that perhaps their daughter can have a life after marriage and without a husband.
The anonymity of big cities has helped divorced people avoid the glare of judgmental friends and relatives.
Financial freedom to walk away from an abusive relationships.
The sanctity of marriage is taking a beating. People’s attitudes towards marriage itself are changing…and as a result they do not work hard at it as before.
More DINKS couples (double income no kids) who are not held back by the fear of how the divorce will impact children.
Stress of modern life. Today’s working environment has changed drastically. The economy having opened up, most companies are facing intense competition and this leads to tremendous pressure on employees. Working late, 6 days a week, without holidays and with a boss who breathes down your throat can create a lot of frustration and tension. This can destroy a marriage, whether it’s just one partner working, or both.
Loneliness. Nuclear families have meant loneliness for the non-working partner, compounded by moving away from familiar environments. This can result in estrangement, affairs…
Change in gender roles. If the wife is working, gender roles change. Conflicts arising from sharing the work load at home adds to the stress faced at work. Tensions often arise if the husband imagines that the woman’s career is temporary or the woman imagines that her husband will lend a hand at home…
Professional rivalry. Whether in traditional India or the emancipated west, men are still not comfortable with the strong independent modern woman. Men might feel that they are ready for a working partner, and they can be…but not for a high powered career woman.
This article in the nytimes explains how highly paid women in a modern city like New York find it difficult to find love because they aren’t enough men who are emotionally secure enough to be comfortable with a woman who is more successful than them. Women can be equally at fault because not all successful women can adjust, even if they find their ideal guy. They find it hard to respect a man who earns less than them! So it’s a catch-22 situation.
So what’s the solution? Well, women giving up their careers is certainly not one. In fact, I was rather disturbed when I read this article on rediff. It began thus:
That must be true I’m sure, but women cannot take a step back, or start to take up non-threatening jobs…it’s taken hundreds of years for women to reach here. They have aspired to reach here because the traditional ‘woman’s work’ has never got them the respect they deserved. I personally believe that nurturing kids is a job as worthy as that of a chief executive, but how many people will agree? It’s human beings that we are talking about here…and if things go wrong at a company, sure people lose money…but if upbringing fails the result can be disturbed people and unhealthy people! Or even worse.
All the more reason why dads should contribute to parenting…and that will also give women a chance to do more ‘important’ work, like gossip on the phone.
Well, whatever men want, the truth is that women are not going to go back to their traditional gender roles…in fact the opposite is happening. More and more women are going out into the big bad world…and it’s good. Modern industrialized society is different from an agricultural economy and women need to contribute.
So what’s the future? Whether for men or women, I guess greater comfort levels with the changed gender roles is a must! Women need to value and respect men who earn less than them and men need to put aside their egos when faced with a woman who earns more. Obvious huh…but easier said than done! I just hope we don’t have to wait for another hundred years…
1960’s – 1-2 cases per year
1980 – 100-200 cases per year
1990s – 1,000 cases per year
This decade…a jump to 9,000 cases per year
About Mumbai (update):
So far nearly 7,000 divorce cases have already been filed at the family court this year, and the number is expected to reach 7,200 by year-end — 60 per cent more than the 4,500 cases filed in 2005. Couples in the 25-35 age group accounted for 70 per cent of the cases, and 85 per cent of them were filed in the first three years of marriage.A lot of us have tried to understand why the divorce rate in India has been low for so many years (post on divorce rates of the world) and why it was slated to increase. In this post I shall concentrate on the latter question…divorce rates in the context of modern society. Here are some pointers as to why divorce rates are increasing (not in order of importance) and you will find that some points are connected:
Greater societal acceptance of divorcees in urban areas and also a gradual acceptance of divorced daughters by families (not in rural areas) because families have started to believe that perhaps their daughter can have a life after marriage and without a husband.
The anonymity of big cities has helped divorced people avoid the glare of judgmental friends and relatives.
Financial freedom to walk away from an abusive relationships.
The sanctity of marriage is taking a beating. People’s attitudes towards marriage itself are changing…and as a result they do not work hard at it as before.
More DINKS couples (double income no kids) who are not held back by the fear of how the divorce will impact children.
Stress of modern life. Today’s working environment has changed drastically. The economy having opened up, most companies are facing intense competition and this leads to tremendous pressure on employees. Working late, 6 days a week, without holidays and with a boss who breathes down your throat can create a lot of frustration and tension. This can destroy a marriage, whether it’s just one partner working, or both.
Loneliness. Nuclear families have meant loneliness for the non-working partner, compounded by moving away from familiar environments. This can result in estrangement, affairs…
Change in gender roles. If the wife is working, gender roles change. Conflicts arising from sharing the work load at home adds to the stress faced at work. Tensions often arise if the husband imagines that the woman’s career is temporary or the woman imagines that her husband will lend a hand at home…
Professional rivalry. Whether in traditional India or the emancipated west, men are still not comfortable with the strong independent modern woman. Men might feel that they are ready for a working partner, and they can be…but not for a high powered career woman.
There is one more – compatibility, which kind of overlaps everything. Says Savita Pandey, acting deputy registrar at the family court in Bandra to DNA: (update)
Problems with attitude can arise because most men prefer being the bread-winners. An article on a reputed site run by mental health professionals says that American men tend to do less housework than women, even if their wives are working. But the situation gets worse if women start to earn more than their men. The men start to help less at home!Earlier, cruelty, desertion and harassment used to account for two out of three cases. But in the last two years, compatibility has been cited in a majority of the cases. This is linked to the fact that most of the cases this year have been filed by younger couples, who mostly complain of attitudinal problems while filing for divorce.
This article in the nytimes explains how highly paid women in a modern city like New York find it difficult to find love because they aren’t enough men who are emotionally secure enough to be comfortable with a woman who is more successful than them. Women can be equally at fault because not all successful women can adjust, even if they find their ideal guy. They find it hard to respect a man who earns less than them! So it’s a catch-22 situation.
So what’s the solution? Well, women giving up their careers is certainly not one. In fact, I was rather disturbed when I read this article on rediff. It began thus:
Guys: A word of advice. Marry pretty women or ugly ones. Short ones or tall ones. Blondes or brunettes. Just, whatever you do, don’t marry a woman with a career.The advice may have been given in a light-hearted tone, but how many are going to take it so? The article does however acknowledge that “the link between work, women and divorce rates is complex and controversial.” At the crux of the argument is that the very basis of marriage is based on some sort of labor specialization which can go for a six if both partners are in high pressure jobs.
That must be true I’m sure, but women cannot take a step back, or start to take up non-threatening jobs…it’s taken hundreds of years for women to reach here. They have aspired to reach here because the traditional ‘woman’s work’ has never got them the respect they deserved. I personally believe that nurturing kids is a job as worthy as that of a chief executive, but how many people will agree? It’s human beings that we are talking about here…and if things go wrong at a company, sure people lose money…but if upbringing fails the result can be disturbed people and unhealthy people! Or even worse.
All the more reason why dads should contribute to parenting…and that will also give women a chance to do more ‘important’ work, like gossip on the phone.
Well, whatever men want, the truth is that women are not going to go back to their traditional gender roles…in fact the opposite is happening. More and more women are going out into the big bad world…and it’s good. Modern industrialized society is different from an agricultural economy and women need to contribute.
So what’s the future? Whether for men or women, I guess greater comfort levels with the changed gender roles is a must! Women need to value and respect men who earn less than them and men need to put aside their egos when faced with a woman who earns more. Obvious huh…but easier said than done! I just hope we don’t have to wait for another hundred years…
Divorce Rate In India
Divorce rates in India are amongst the lowest in the world. 11 marriages out of 1,000 marriages (around 1 marriage out of 100 marriages) ends up to divorce in India. This figure was even low in 1990. In 1990, 7.40 marriages out of 1,000 marriages ended up in divorce in India.
The divorce rate in India is even quite lower in the villages in India and higher in urban parts of India. These days divorce rates in India’s urban sphere are shooting up.
Some facts from CIA Worldbook for comparison with US
--Infant mortality rate
India - 64.9 deaths/1,000 live births
USA -6.76 deaths/1,000 live births
--Life expectancy at birth
India 62.5 years
USA 77.26 years
--Birth rate
India - 24.79 births/1,000 population
USA - 14.2 births/1,000 population
--Death rate
India -8.88 deaths/1,000 population USA - 8.7 deaths/1,000 population
--Divorce rates
US - 50%
India - 1.1%
The divorce rate in India is even quite lower in the villages in India and higher in urban parts of India. These days divorce rates in India’s urban sphere are shooting up.
Some facts from CIA Worldbook for comparison with US
--Infant mortality rate
India - 64.9 deaths/1,000 live births
USA -6.76 deaths/1,000 live births
--Life expectancy at birth
India 62.5 years
USA 77.26 years
--Birth rate
India - 24.79 births/1,000 population
USA - 14.2 births/1,000 population
--Death rate
India -8.88 deaths/1,000 population USA - 8.7 deaths/1,000 population
--Divorce rates
US - 50%
India - 1.1%
Divorce Statistics in India
One of the highlights of the divorce rates in India is that it is one of the lowest across the globe. Out of 1,000 marriages in India, 11 marriages terminate in a divorce. These statistics were even lesser in 1990, when out of 1,000 marriages, just 7.4 marriages ended up in a divorce. Another aspect of the divorce statistics of this country is that the divorce rate is higher in the urban regions while very low in the rural area. In the 21st century, the divorce rates in the cities in India have been shooting up alarmingly. Delhi, the capital city of India, witnessed that the divorce rate doubled in five years. Bangalore, a very hi-tech city in India, experienced that the divorce rate tripled in 4 years. These are very shocking statistics, given the background, that the country is one of the most traditional places on the globe.
Effect of IT boom on Divorce Statistics in India
India is the favorite place for outsourcing in the world. The IT sector has provided a plethora of people very lucrative jobs. Simultaneously, it has been observed, that from 2003, the number of divorce cases related to this sector are increasing day by day. Bangalore is the major city related to IT sector. The following table is self-explanatory.
It is being gauged that the magnification in the number of divorce cases has occurred due to the following reasons –
Another noted city in the IT sector is Pune, which is in Maharashtra state and close to Mumbai. In 2006, 150 divorce cases on an average per month were recorded in this city. This number expanded to 240 cases a month in 2007. About 50 percent of these were as per mutual consent, the remaining were related to unilateral consent.
Effect of Independence of Women on Divorce Statistics in India
Since the last few years, the Indian women are getting educated and becoming capable of earning. They have developed the power to spend money and gain knowledge of their rights. The result is that they have become independent and consequently reluctant to adjust with the traditional views of their counterparts. The Indian women do not want to continue the same old rut that has persisted for centuries in the country. As they desire to explore more opportunities and experiment with this newly acquired independence, the divorce rate in India is increasing.
Effect of IT boom on Divorce Statistics in India
India is the favorite place for outsourcing in the world. The IT sector has provided a plethora of people very lucrative jobs. Simultaneously, it has been observed, that from 2003, the number of divorce cases related to this sector are increasing day by day. Bangalore is the major city related to IT sector. The following table is self-explanatory.
| Year | Number of Divorce cases in Bangalore |
|---|---|
| 2003 | 283 |
| 2004 | 526 |
| 2005 | 946 |
| 2006 | 1,246 |
- Work pressure and stress
- Economical security
- Haphazard working hours
- Lack of time to spend in the house with family
- Financial freedom
Another noted city in the IT sector is Pune, which is in Maharashtra state and close to Mumbai. In 2006, 150 divorce cases on an average per month were recorded in this city. This number expanded to 240 cases a month in 2007. About 50 percent of these were as per mutual consent, the remaining were related to unilateral consent.
Effect of Independence of Women on Divorce Statistics in India
Since the last few years, the Indian women are getting educated and becoming capable of earning. They have developed the power to spend money and gain knowledge of their rights. The result is that they have become independent and consequently reluctant to adjust with the traditional views of their counterparts. The Indian women do not want to continue the same old rut that has persisted for centuries in the country. As they desire to explore more opportunities and experiment with this newly acquired independence, the divorce rate in India is increasing.
Causes of divorce in india
Their are various causes of divorce in india. The situation in india is not yet worse as compared to U.S. but in past one decade divorce rate increased a lot. As india is developing very fast. Cities are expanding and Live relationship increased with love marriages. If you don't live in india then you probably wonders most of indian marriages are arranged. Arranged means Family of bridge and groom decide their marriage. It is exactly opposite of love marriage. Now, what are various causes of divorce in india.
In india divorce rate is very low 1 out of 1,000 marriage end up with divorce. This is very low as compared to countries like U.S. where divorce rate is more then 50%. Their are many reason why indian marriage are very stable.
Arrange Marriage: Indians do arrange marriage. Most of marriages in india is arranges as compared to love marriage. Arrange marriage is more stable then love marriage. Probable reason because family pressure in arrange marriage to resolve any dispute. If any dispute happen between husband and wife then both family seniors sit and talk. This is big reason for so, called stable family relationship for divorce in india. This arrange marriage is good to raise their childrens as compared to other countries. Where peoples marry in morning and divorce in evening like changing their clothes.
Love Marriage: Yes, indian do love marriage. in past few decaded love marriage increased a lot in urban india. Hence divorse rate also increased in india. Most love marriages are unsuccessful in india. not in india every where in the world. Most probable reason Because love marriage in india. If any dispute and ego clash happen. then no body is responsible for solving the problem. In arrange marriage parents are responsible for marriage so, they control the situation but love marriage is decision of two individual not parents.
Their are many causes of divorce in india. It is bit different for urban india and rural india. Urban divorce rate is higher then the rural india.
Causes of divorce in urban india
India is growing very fast in last few decades. hence mordernization increased. Now peoples are changing their life style and living high profile life. They have plenty of money to enjoy the life. they do love marriage and enjoy many things. So, called busy life style. made both partner unsatisfied. they don't have time to talk with each other. these days in hyper metro cities in india. where husband do call centre job do night shift and wife do day shift. they hardly spend time. it is impossible for each other to understand hence higher divorce rate.
also, Now indian females are more educated. now they understand the their rights. they don't listen to their husband. Many times husband and wifes ego leads to divorce in india. This is unsatisfaction in marriage life is major cause of divorce in india.
Causes of divorce in rural india
Their are very few cases of divorce in rural india. 99% of marriage is arranged marraige. hence very less divorce in rural india. but these days this is also rising.
Top causes of divorce in india
1) Ego between parteners
2) No communication
3) Stress
4) Not satisfied with each other
5) Don't trust on each other
6) Abnormal behaviour
7) Extra-maritial affair
8) Property
are the main reasons for divorce in india.
Love Marriage: Yes, indian do love marriage. in past few decaded love marriage increased a lot in urban india. Hence divorse rate also increased in india. Most love marriages are unsuccessful in india. not in india every where in the world. Most probable reason Because love marriage in india. If any dispute and ego clash happen. then no body is responsible for solving the problem. In arrange marriage parents are responsible for marriage so, they control the situation but love marriage is decision of two individual not parents.
Their are many causes of divorce in india. It is bit different for urban india and rural india. Urban divorce rate is higher then the rural india.
Causes of divorce in urban india
India is growing very fast in last few decades. hence mordernization increased. Now peoples are changing their life style and living high profile life. They have plenty of money to enjoy the life. they do love marriage and enjoy many things. So, called busy life style. made both partner unsatisfied. they don't have time to talk with each other. these days in hyper metro cities in india. where husband do call centre job do night shift and wife do day shift. they hardly spend time. it is impossible for each other to understand hence higher divorce rate.
also, Now indian females are more educated. now they understand the their rights. they don't listen to their husband. Many times husband and wifes ego leads to divorce in india. This is unsatisfaction in marriage life is major cause of divorce in india.
Causes of divorce in rural india
Their are very few cases of divorce in rural india. 99% of marriage is arranged marraige. hence very less divorce in rural india. but these days this is also rising.
Top causes of divorce in india
1) Ego between parteners
2) No communication
3) Stress
4) Not satisfied with each other
5) Don't trust on each other
6) Abnormal behaviour
7) Extra-maritial affair
8) Property
are the main reasons for divorce in india.
Why Divorce Rate in India Increasing
Divorce rate in india is steeply increasing as indian cities are devloping. In india no metro cities is likely to be Hyper metro cities with population of 20 millions. No other countries have this type of hyper metro cities. Now, rural indian are shifting to urban india in search of jobs and ample of opportunity provided by these cities. Now, india is one of the largest exporter of IT. And now millions of peoples work for IT companies and related companies like BPO, KPO etc. Now, females also do work like males in india. Now, divorce rate in india is also increasing.
Rate of Divorce in India
From past one decade divorce rate in india is increasing, but it is not that high as compared to U.S. Unites states divorce rate is almost 50% but in india it is world lowest 1.1%. On rural india divorce rate also very low. but now in urban india divorse rate is shooting.
Very low divorce rate in india. Help childrens raise without trouble. In europe peoples wonder how indian do arrange marriage. But fact is most indian do arrange marriage. And this type of marriage don't break as easy as love marriage. Their are various causes of divorce in india. It differs from European countries. Indian have to much pressure to run family properly. and most of them don't believe in second marriage. if nay dispute happen then both bridge and groom family sit and sort out the problem.
Very low divorce rate in india. Help childrens raise without trouble. In europe peoples wonder how indian do arrange marriage. But fact is most indian do arrange marriage. And this type of marriage don't break as easy as love marriage. Their are various causes of divorce in india. It differs from European countries. Indian have to much pressure to run family properly. and most of them don't believe in second marriage. if nay dispute happen then both bridge and groom family sit and sort out the problem.
In metro cities like delhi and banglore rate of divorce increased more then 50%. Number of cases of divorce is alarming. Highest rise of divorce cases is in IT and related industry.
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