Paper short abstract:

Based on fieldwork in Calcutta middle-class families the paper discusses the assumption that under processes of globalisation 'coupledom' and modern subjectivities expressed in the form of 'freely chosen' love marriages substitute the more contractual arranged marriages.

Paper long abstract:

The paper discusses the emergence of new discourses on love, sexual relations and marriage in Calcutta middle-class families and critically debates the claim of globalisation theory that postcolonial societies are marked by the rise of identity politics and the demise of the institution of marriage. Based on data drawn from long-term fieldwork the paper argues that whereas idioms of romantic love and courtship before marriage are embraced by young women in Calcutta, the structural constraints of patrilocality and the ideological commitment to the joint family prevent make self-chosen marriages an uncertain choice and prevent 'love marriage' from becoming the norm. Instead, arranged marriages are increasingly seen as the perfect modern solution to solve the tension between middle-class anxieties about the reproduction of class whilst parenting rather than coupledom becomes the site for the fulfilment of individual desires and modern subjectivities.