The Centre de Sciences Humaines is pleased to invite you to the CSH Workshop on:
Compulsory Marriage in India
The Enduring Nature and Changing Face of an Institution
Friday, 31 July 2026 | from 9:30 am – 4:15 pm IST
Register to attend at CSH Delhi
Register to attend online via Zoom
CSH Workshop is in hybrid mode. Please pre-register for offline and online registration before Thursday, 30 July, 12:00 p.m. IST.
About the Workshop:
A key element in the reproduction of families, the caste system and the social order; a primary tool for controlling women’s sexuality, marriage is nonetheless not an immutable institution that locks Indian society into ‘tradition’. On the contrary, for marriage to endure as a compulsory institution, it is compelled to adapt to economic and social conditions. The objective of this workshop is to understand, through specific empirical examples, how the marriage market is changing today under the influence of factors such as longer schooling, particularly for girls, the shortage of jobs, and the agrarian crisis.
Program
9h00 – Welcome, Tea/Coffee | |
| 9h30-10h00 | Opening Note: Mary E. John (Independent scholar, Bangalore) |
SESSION I 10h00-11h30 Place of Marriage in Educational and Professional Trajectories of Women | |
“Education, Labour Force Participation and Marriage Timing Among Women in India: The Role of Cultural Context”
“Rising Schooling, Bounded Aspirations, and the Weight of Marriage among Rural Young Women”
“Balancing Family Care with a Career Without (Too Much) Sacrifice? The Dilemma Facing Female Physicians” 11h30-11h45 Break (Tea/Coffee) | |
SESSION II 11h45-13h15 The Social Construction of Experience of Marriage | |
“Revisiting the Sociology of (Men’s) Bachelorhood: Insights from Vidarbha, Maharashtra”
“Dalit Women between Singlehood and Marriage: Envisioning Freedom, Respect and Equality”
“Early Marriages: The Dichotomy of Compulsion and Freedom in its Occurrence” 13h15-14h15 Lunch | |
14h15-16h15 Papers Discussion and General Discussion with: | |
Christophe Z Guilmoto (Online) (Centre population et développement, Paris) Mary E. John (Independent scholar, Bangalore) Ravinder Kaur (Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi) Divya Vaid (Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi) 16h15-18h00 Drinks and Refreshments | |
To attend at the venue: Please note the room capacity is limited. Seats will be reserved on a first-come first-served basis. Kindly bring ID proof to be granted access to the venue.
![[CSH Workshop] Compulsory Marriage in India: The Enduring Nature and Changing Face of an Institution](https://csh-delhi.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Marrgphoto2-1024x576.jpg)
![[CSH Workshop] Compulsory Marriage in India: The Enduring Nature and Changing Face of an Institution](https://csh-delhi.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/MarriagePhoto1-1024x576.jpg)
