ISSN 2348-3156 (Print)

International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research ISSN 2348-3164 (online)
Vol. 4, Issue 1, pp: (235-240), Month: January - March 2016, Available at: [Link]

Increasing Rate of Divorce: A Social Stigma

Arunima Kumari
Associate Professor, Deputy Director Extension Training, RAU, Pusa, Samastipur, Bihar, India 848 125

Abstract: This paper is a summary of a small study done to know about various types of marriages, increasing rate
of divorce and various causes of divorce in today’s world. The study was focused mainly on to know about the
different prevalent institutions for the sake of reproduction of same offspring or a living partner for whole life tied
with nautical bond, divorce, the increasing rate of divorce and their various causes. Marriage is an institution
which allows men and women to stay in to lead a family life. It gives a social recognition and religious sanction to
two different sexes for staying together. According to Mack and Young, “Marriage is the institution or set of
norms which determines the particular relation of parents to each other and to their children”. Marriage is a
social, spiritual or legal union of two hero sexual individuals. This union may also be called a wedding and the
status is called wedlock. In today’s fast stage of life increasing divorce rate as compared to previous years has led
focus towards study of this burning topic. A very simple questionnaire was framed to know about different causes
of divorce and then answers were categorized as per rank given by the respondents. Suggestions to overcome this
stigma have also been enlisted.
Keywords: Heterosexual, Wedlock, Questionnaire.

1. INTRODUCTION

Marriage is an institution in which interpersonal relationship (usually intimate and sexual) are acknowledged by the state,
by religious authority, or by both. It is often viewed as a contract. Civil marriage is a legal concept of marriage as a
governmental institution, in accordance with marriage laws of the jurisdiction.
Marriage may be of following types:
1.1. Polyandry: - In polyandry several men are legally bound to one woman. This is the best common form of marriage,
there being apparently bad formative localities in which it is found, in the Arctic region among certain Eskimo tribes, in
central Asia especially in Tibbetians, in the Marquesas of Africa, among Nair‟s of south west India and among Toads of
South India. In Hindu mythology we learnt that Panda was shared one wife is five male married to one woman.
This form of marriage might have originated due to following adverse conditions:
1.1.1 May be due to shortage of women as compared to number of men.
1.1.2 May be due to extreme poverty due to which one cannot support even one wife.
1.1.3 Members of family may not be willing to divide their property.
1.1.4 Desire to limit the population.
1.2 Polygamy: - In this system of marriage one man has two or more wives at a time. Polygene is generally called
Polygamy but strictly speaking the latter is a general term including both Polyandry and Polygene. This type of marriage
is commonly found in Eskimo tribes, Crow and Hidatsa of North America and African Negros. In ancient age it was quite
prevalent among the Assyria – Babylonians and the Hebrews. In India still it is common among Muslims and few of the
Hindu families.
The basic causes of Polygene may be:
1.2.1 Forced celibacy,
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1.2.2 Earlier aging of the female,

1.2.3 High desire of males for variety,
1.2.4 Desire for male child,
1.2.5 Symbol of social status,
1.2.6 Economic necessity.
1.3 Monogamy: - This is the most leading form of marriage which is more prevalent in today‟s society in which is one
man marries only one woman, at a time. Parents are able to focus more on their child & there is less chances of family
dispute but according to some authors Monogamy has its disadvantages too. According to Slumber and Keller,
Monogamy is Monopoly, there is bound to be „INS „and‟ „outs‟.
1.4 Compassionate Marriage: - This type of marriage is based on a type of understanding that as long as there is no child
the marriage may be dissolved simply by mutual consent. There are another type of marriages which needs to be clarified
here that Sorrel Polygene in which a man marries with many sisters. Levirate in which a man marriages with the childless
widow of his deceased brother. Serrate means marriage of a man with sister of his deceased wife, especially if she has left
no offspring‟s. Concubine is a stage of living together as husband and wife without being married. It is cohabitation with
one or more women who are distinct from wife or wives. This is accepted institution in some of the societies. Hyper gamy
means the marriage of a daughter in the superior family.
1.5 Single living Style with suitable friend: - Now a days in metros male and female both leads their own busy life to
achieve higher position in their career, they don‟t want to carry boredom of married life hence if they get suitable friends
or match then they stay together without a legal bond of marriage. Sometimes they may get marriage too or if they don‟t
feel comfortable with each other then they easily get separated. In ancient times or in Hindu laws marriage was supposed
to be a pure sacrament of life according to which a Hindu male or female was supposed to be half and he or she was not
supposed to do any holy ritual without completing his married life.
1.6 Divorce: - Divorce is a stage when either one or both the inmates are willing to stay apart from each other due to their
maladjustment for several reasons. Divorce has become the order of the day. In older days marital vows were held sacred
& once nuptial knot were tied then it meant tied together, through thick & thin till death did them apart. Today we are
throwing ourselves in the negative direction of life in respect to our quality of relationship. Just few years ago Divorce
was termed as a greater social taboo and divorcees were not getting proper social prestige but with the increase of
industrialization, with Modernization and Globalization it is no more a social taboo now, due to increased tension and
speed in life it has become a fashion that if one is not adjusting properly or if one is not feeling comfortable due to their
better half they may unlock their nuptial knot very easily.

2. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Apoorva Dutta states in her report in Hindustan Times on Jan, 2015, that 11,667 cases of divorce were filed in Mumbai in
2014 (till Nov. 30) up from 5,245 cases in 2010. (2). 8,347 divorce cases were filed in Kolkata in 2014, till Nov. 30 &
35% increase from the 2,388 divorce cases filled in 2003. About 2000 divorce cases were filed in the Lucknow family
court in 2014 of these 900 were filed by young couples married less than a year. In 2009, the number of cases filed by
young couples married less than a year was 30. 3 More family courts were opened in Bangalore in 2013 to cater to the
growing demand, taking the total number of such courts to six.
There are many more causes of Divorce, one of among them is complete lack of adjustment. Physical tortures by
husband, extramarital relationships or in unable diseases are other major reasons for divorce. About 20 years ago the rate
of divorce was only 5% in India but today it is 12.5%. This rate in recent years has increased tremendously in one area
called Haryana there are 5000 cases of divorce per year. This is the highest rate of divorce in India among its various
states with comparable populations. Padmini V supports the statement by saying that Divorce in most well to do families
is due to lack of adjustment and ego clashes. This is true for both the males and females especially when both are
working. There are ego clashes among educated working couples. In the poorer sections instances are there where
husband is one who always come forward to file a case for divorce.

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Common reasons for Divorce in India:

According to the Indian judicial system, the common grounds of divorces in which one of the partners can file for divorce
are:
 Adultery: When either of the two is involved in sexual relationship outside marriage.
 Cruelty: When the man or the woman is subjected to any kind of physical and mental injury.
 Desertion: When one partner abandons the other for at least a period of two years.
 Conversion: Forced conversion of religion.
 Mental disorder/ venereal disease: If one partner suffers from mental disorder/insanity or from serious communicable
diseases.
 Leprosy : If one of the partners suffers from incurable form of leprosy
 Renunciation: If a spouse renounces all worldly affairs.
 Conjugal rights: Failure in observing conjugal rights for 2 years or more.
 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. (Tags relation ship)
Recent trends in divorces in modern societies:
 Divorce is not looked down upon in the society today. While initially divorce was a hush-hush matter, there is greater
societal acceptance of divorcees in the modern families today.
 A divorced daughter is accepted with open arms by her parents and family.
 The very sanctity and importance of a relationship has gone down the drains. Young couples‟ attitude towards
marriage has changed.
 Increased number of DINK families. They do not hesitate to separate as they do not have to worry on how the
separation will impact children.
 Professional rivalry between the partners is another cause of divorce. Either the man files for a divorce due to ego
issues when he sees his wife more successful than him professionally. Or a professionally successful woman files for a
divorce when she sees that her husband‟s position is not at par with hers. Also there are chances of more extra-marital
affairs in such cases and the end result is a divorce.
 Lack of compatibility and sluggish sex life between the two are also major causes of divorce.
M. Guminski Cleek and A Pearson 1985 described in their research paper about perceived causes and their detailed
analysis of the type of interrelationship of husband and wife as the main cause of divorce.
M Thurneher, Cathy & teal 2008 Thoroughly Described in the their article Sociodemnographic Perspectives or Reasons
for Divorce in Divorce & Remarriage P- 25-35 that Reasons for divorce ranged from lack of personal self fulfilment, non

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fulfilment of mania role obligations, were shown to be influenced by Sex , Age, education, income, Sex difference to
number of children.
With economic prosperity & rising incomes, with increased ego between the partners & professional competition, the
number of divorce cases is increasing in India. Today most young married couples have stopped giving value to marriages
& for petty reasons, their married life fall apart (Rumani Saikia Phukan, India Society Blogs September 1, 2014).
Reason of Divorce of Mr. Tejas Chakbarty explains in his own words 28 about her wife. She was little secretive & would
never leave her phone attended. She was depressed sometimes, and then over compensated by lavishing attention on me.
Their marriage ended before the age of 30. This is an unusual trend in a country like India where & was just 1 in 1000, ten
year ago, & is still a relatively low 13/1000 as compared to the US average of 500/1000. While India has no central or
even State – wise registry of divorce data, family court officials say that the number of divorce application has doubled &
even tripled in cities such as Mumbai, Delhi Bangalore, Kolkata & Lucknow over the past 5 years. They cite a range of
reasons ---- the waning influence of the growing psychological & financial independence of women, late marriages,
resulting in a greater reluctance to compromise or change set ways & life styles. A Mumbai based psychotherapist &
counsellor Pallavi Bhurkay say earlier couples were coming to me to fix the marriage, now they request me to convince
their parents, family or partner that divorce is the right decision. This is the U turn Divorce has taken today in our modern
& so called developed Society. Padam Kriti Senior lawyer at the Lucknow family court says the number of divorce cases
........................................... in life.
Divorced before 30: 5 ex couples explain what went wrong with their marriages.
(a) He had very different expectation of a wife.
(b) It was clear that we were not meant for each other.
(c) He expected me to cook.
(d) I suspect he was gay.
(e) He changed after the wedding.
(With inputs from Sudipto Mandal, Richa Srivastava, Arpit Baser & Danish Raja).
kusuma kumari g December 11, 2014 at 3:23 pm
Divorces happen for many reasons but alcoholism is an important cause if divorce. Men drink a lot and women duffer.
Most suffer in silence the brave one take help from friends divorce and get, compensation. the silent women suffers. May
be there needs to be a ban on alcohol in India

3. METHODOLOGY
A set of simple questions were prepared and distributed among 100 different women asking that according to them what
the main causes of divorce were. 12 different reasons as per table no. 1. were mentioned into that question naire.
Answerers were summarised and categorised as per their rank given by the respondents. Suggestions to overcome this
stigma were also listed.

4. FINDINGS
There are many more and endless causes of divorce but after this small study the most prominent reasons which have
come out of peoples mind are as follows:-
1. Physical and Mental harassment by husband: - Out of hundred respondents 20 answered that physical and mental
harassment by husband or by any of the in – laws was the main cause of divorce. It has been very commonly observed
that due to one or the other due to which reason husbands of Indian families had been torturing their wives severely. Few
of them have been burned even alive hence after such torture women have come forward to go in judicial custody.
2. Male Dominance: - Out of hundred respondents 15 answered that male dominance was the main causes of divorce.
This is the second major reason which creates distance between the couples. Ours is the male dominant society hence they
do not like internally that their wives should reach on higher level in any sphere of life which further creates problem
between them.

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3. Extramarital relationship of either of the spouse: - According to data collected out of 100 respondents ten
responded that extramarital relationship is also one of the major causes for increasing rate of divorce in today‟s society. In
case of physical torture by husband, extra marital relationship occurs & then they become the prey of incurable diseases.
4. Infidelity: - Nine out of 100 responded that Infidelity is also one of the major causes of divorce. If either of the
spouse does infidelity to their partner then it also becomes a greater cause for divorce.
5. Inferiority Complex: - Out of hundred women eight responded that inferiority complex among the husband is also
major reason for divorce today. This factor causes distance between the spouses when any of them are on higher position,
from better background or of higher qualification. It has been very commonly found that if husband is on higher position
wife feels proud but if wife is on higher position then husbands create various kinds of problems, due to his own
inferiority complex or due to his own unsuccessful story.
6. Lack of adjustment: - Seven women responded about lack of adjustment as major causes of divorce. Sometimes if
either of the couple is selfish or they are more careers oriented then they lack in adjustment and then they opt for divorce.
7. Nosy Mother in law:- Six women complained about their nosy mother in laws. New bride comes from other houses
they are tuned to their own lifestyle they take time to adjustment if mother – in – law interferes more than the new girl
feel bad, if husband also does not cop rate with her then they go for Divorce.
8. Unreasonable expectations: - Out of hundred six women responded that unreasonable expectations are also one of the
major hindrance in happy married life. Sometimes spouse keeps higher expectations from their counterparts and when it
is not being full filled then they try and opt for divorce. In the poorer sections instances are there where husband is the one
who always come forward to file a case for divorce.
9. Lack of Physical Intimacy: - Five women said about lack of physical intimacy. In such type of cases women are
coming forward to file a divorce case because it is the women who requires physical intimacy more than a male and if
they feel it is not then they feel overlooked.
10. Negligence of Responsibility: - Due to increasing rate of demand of working hours it generally happens that male
counterparts are not having proper time to look after their household problems hence they simply fight, create problems
and the end result is the low productivity of all the members of the family.
11. Lack of time: - Due to increase in industrialization, Globalization and Modernizations people have become highly
ambitious everybody wants to earn more but they are not able to manage time adequately, hence everything becomes
hauch – pauch which ultimately results in either tensed marital life or divorced life.
12. Impotency: - Impotency in producing children is one of the major causes of separation.
All above mentioned reasons have been categorized rank wise as per collected data in table no. 1.
Table No. 1

SI. No. Causes of divorce No. of Respondents Scored Rank

1. Unreasonable Expectations 6 VII
2. Lack of physical Intimacy 5 VIII
3. Lack of adjustment 7 VI
4. Nosy Mother in law 6 VII
5. Infidelity 9 IV
6. Physical and Mental harassment by Husband or by any of 20 I
the in – laws
7. Impotency 4 IX
8. Inferiority complex 8 V
9. Male dominance 15 II
10. 10 Extramarital Relationship of either of the spouse 10 III
11. Negligence of responsibility 5 VIII
12. Lack of time 5 VIII
Total:- 100

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These causes are self explanatory in itself. In nutshell it can be summarized that marriage is another name of adjustment
and keeping this one word in mind both husband and wife should try to understand each other and even they should try to
make their family life more happier by solving the problems amicably then only an imagination of better India can be
made true through their best children. Within 20 years rate of divorce has increased from 5% to 12.5%, alone in Haryana
there were 5000 cases of divorce in a year (Mohan). If this increasing rate cannot be stopped but the rate can be slower
down with mutual rate. But a decision taken by Delhi High court of legal permission for homosexual marriages the age
old sanctity of heterosexual marriage will be disrupted badly.

5. RECOMMENDATIONS
(I) Every couple seeking a mutual consent divorce must spend time to explore whether their differences txely are
irreconcilable.
(II) Both the partners should respect the sentiments of each other both should give respects the other partner.
(III) Both partner should respect the caste (if inter caste marriage is there) clan, religion & family members of each other.
(IV) Male or female both should be responsible to maintain the dignity & sanctity of marriage. It should not be case that a
male should over dominate his wife or wife should not have over restrictions on her husband. Both should give space to
each of them for a happy conjugal life.
(V) Husband & Wife should move along each other in every state of life either in grief or in pleasure.
(VI) Last but not the least before breaking the bond both partner should think again to reset the things, to resolve the petty
issues and one should move one step ahead to save the marriage.

6. LIMITATIONS
(I) The very first limitation of this study was sample size was very small and limited up to semi urban area only. Sample
size should have been more than 100.
(II) This is a very vital issue and causing a discarder of mental depression & tension in society, which should be taken
seriously & hence Ministry of HRD or Women & Child Development should start a mega project on its reconciling and
corrective measures.

REFERENCES
[1] “The Dark Side of Marriage”: Express News Service: Tuesday 22, 1999.
[2] “Growing Divorce rate in India”, South Asian Women‟s Forum : V. Padmini
[3] India Society Blogs / Rising Trend of Divorce in India: Is women Empowerment the cause? By Rumani Saikia
Phukan.
[4] India Society Blogs p; Rising trend of Divorce in India: is human end causes: Rumani Saikia Phukan.
[5] Magnet Guminaski Cleek & T. Allen Pearson; Journal of Marriage & Family, Vol 47, No 1 (Feb 1985), PP. G9 -
183
[6] Mazda Thornier, Cathy Bartley Fenn, Joseph Melcher & David A Cribbage, Sociodemnographic Perspectives on
Reasons for Divorce, 2008 P. 25-35 Journal of Divorce Volume 6, Issue 4.

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