The arranged-vs-love-marriage debate goes back a Ardent advocates of both types of marriage exist.
Some cynics, however, argue that it doesn’t make much of a difference whether a marriage is arranged or ‘love’. Due to a lack of better options, I have been forced to use the conventional prefixes (‘arranged’ and ‘love’), which leave a lot to be desired really as both arranged and love marriages have something in common: Love inevitably forces the couple to make a lot of arrangements, and love lurks somewhere in arranged-marriages too. It is still an arranged-marriage even if you fall in love with the photograph of
your betrothed. Supporters of arranged-marriages contend that a collective decision is bound to be better than a man deciding on his own. A little reflection tells a different story, however. Probability dictates that a solitary man is more likely to find a decent wife than his mother finding the ‘perfect’ daughter-in-law. Not just that, but other family members will also want a say. In fact, it will be a miracle if all of them end up agreeing on any candidate.
Aleena Anwar Siddiqui
