Emerging patterns of marriage and fertility behavior among women in India

India has undergone rapid modernization in its socio-cultural aspects in the last few decades. Some of the changes taking place are crucial to positioning the country’s level of development and prevailing gender equity, yet they remain largely unexplored. In this thesis, I identify some key features which suggest that Indian women are achieving emancipation, in the encompassing patriarchal set up, through contemporary marriage and fertility decisions. Major findings show, that despite the prevailing traditional environment, where most marriages are still arranged and endogamous, and society is largely pronatalist, significant changes are taking place. I document behaviour which indicates, that women are increasingly opting for love marriages and choosing their spouses themselves, participating in marital bargains by exchanging education, caste and occupation statuses, and opting to remain childless to pursue higher economic opportunities. These practices suggest that Indian society is going through a complex socio-cultural transition, with traditional norms and modern practices coexisting. Although the share of women displaying modern behaviour is low, it is gradually increasing over marriage and birth cohorts and is more prevalent among women with better socio-economic standing in the society. These findings concur with the modernization, developmental idealism, status-exchange and opportunity cost theories, as do many other contemporary changes in fertility and family structures in India that have been documented so far. Therefore, it can be predicted that Indian marriages will increasingly be based on companionship rather than externally arranged, women will increasingly take part in marital bargains when choosing their husband, and women who have enjoyed higher education and economic opportunities will reach the end of their reproductive years childless.