From CK Nayak
New Delhi: Contrary to popular belief, marriages do not last long in matrilineal Meghalaya, and one of the reasons could be non implementation of the Meghalaya Compulsory Registration of Marriage Act, conceived way back in 1986.
In fact, the entire North East belt has less than 7% of marriages lasting for 40 years a normal married life span. In Meghalaya, just 4.1% of all couples have been married for 40 years or more which is just one-third of Haryana or Maharashtra.
Ironically, most north Indian states, from Punjab to Bihar, and Maharashtra in the west, have a high share of couples married for 40 years or more – they make up 11-12% of all couples, latest data from the 2011 Census shows.
Across the country, couples married for 40-plus years account for 10% of all couples.
The Meghalaya Legislative Assembly had passed the Meghalaya Compulsory Registration of Marriage Act in 2012 but no steps were taken for its implementation.
Sociologists say this dramatic variation in duration of marriage across India has less to do with fidelity and love, and more with customs and health. Two key factors determine the duration of marriage – the couple’s age when they get married and how long they live. Since life spans are increasing all over, married life too is getting longer.
Meghalaya is closely followed by Arunachal Pradesh (4.7%), Nagaland (4.8%) and Assam (5.2%). Sociologists say the duration of marriage across India has less to do with fidelity and love, and more with customs, health and the couple’s age at the time of marriage.
