FORT WAYNE, IN, USA, November 30, 2008: Arranged marriages are more common across the world than romantic marriages, says Usman, a professor emeritus at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne and former sociology department chair. The cultural trend is popular especially in India, China and Indonesia – three countries that make up about 40 percent of the world’s population, reported USA Today.
Usman estimates that more than half of marriages in India are arranged, though the practice is not as common today as it was in his generation. Couples who opt for an arranged marriage now have technology, which has broadened the marriage pool, allowing parents to suggest mates who live on the other side of the state, country or even planet.
Bharatmatrimony.com, for example, allows users to specify searches down to height, horoscope and caste. Users from Bangor, Maine, to San Diego can look for an Afghan citizen aged 30 to 45 who lives in Saudi Arabia and has a dental degree.
Arranged marriages are a rational and pragmatic way to look at the union – two adjectives that hardly describe a romantic marriage, Usman says. The idea of parents choosing a mate for their son or daughter is sensical: Who knows a person better than his or her parents? “My mother knows me inside and out,” Usman says.