The scientific argument for marrying outside your caste

Bengaluru: As India becomes more globalised, there are intense deliberations in orthodox families on the merits of getting married within their own community.

The obvious go-to-market strategy is to ask for family recommendations and visit websites tailored for the community. This is typically followed by patrika and gotra matching, and some family meetings.

But as our scientific understanding of diseases and other heritable attributes increases, we have to question whether continued insistence on community-based marriages is relevant.Endogamy is the practice of marrying within the same community, and genetic diseases arising out of a limited gene pool are a major consequence of it.There is a growing need to reflect on these practices and determine what’s the best way to choose a life partner. (Read more)