By IETeam Do you know? India’s divorce rate remains among the lowest globally, at around 1%, reflecting deep-rooted cultural stigmas. However, urban areas are seeing a rise in divorce cases due to changing societal attitudes, increased financial independence, and legal awareness.
Marriage is a social and legal bond between two individuals. It brings two people with two unique identities, mindsets, personalities and cultures together. Marriage is a unique bond that brings about emotional and financial stability for individuals and families. The expectations from marriages also vary widely and can be influenced by cultural norms and personal beliefs. When the couple fails to realize these expectations, then it ends up in divorce. In India, we can find a noticeable increase in the rate of divorces, and here are the top ten reasons for divorce in India.
1. Financial Incompetence:
Talking about money with the spouse can be tense in an unhealthy relationship, especially when a partner is not transparent about her financial situation. In a healthy marriage, money problems will be discussed openly. If it is not done, then there are chances for marriages to fail. Couples handling debt, spending, student loans, and bills will stand the test of relationship. It is important to have a serious conversation with the spouse about financial issues and if the talks are not healthy and transparent, then it might result in divorces.
2. Extramarital affairs:
This is one of the most important reasons for divorces. When one of the spouses goes outside of the marital relationship to fulfill their physical or sexual needs, then it can be considered as extramarital affairs. Lack of emotional intimacy is the ultimate reason for extramarital affairs. When trust is lost between the couples, then there is no point in living together, and the couples go for divorce. This is because it becomes difficult for the spouse to gain trust back once he or she feels cheated. Extramarital affairs can lead to about 20 to 40% breakdown of most marriages, ultimately resulting in legal separation.
3. Lack of communication:
Lack of communication is also one of the prominent reasons for divorces in India. About 65% of the divorces in India are due to poor communication. Communicating with each other is an important aspect of marriage and is, in fact, the foundation of a healthy marital relationship. When a couple lives together, they should have healthy communication and conversation among them. They should respect each other’s thoughts and views and understand their partner. Not having proper communication or not having communication at all can lead to disputes between the parties. The partner can start feeling lonely, which might result in the breakdown of marriage.
4. Constant arguing:
Constant arguing is also an important aspect of divorces. In a marriage, it is mandatory to respect each other’s views in order to maintain a healthy relationship. It is often seen that couples who have arguments repeatedly will be in a failing marriage, and reports have suggested that about 57.7% of divorce cases are because of constant arguing. A different personality trait is also a reason for argument and makes the relationship unbearable. Being too different from each other can hurt a relationship and might lead to a lot of fighting.
5. Toxic spouse:
Abuses from a toxic spouse are also a major problem in marriages that might lead to divorces. Abuses of any kind, be it verbal, physical, or sexual, can result in a failed marriage. In a healthy relationship, a partner will never ridicule, belittle, or mistreat the spouse. Abuses of all kinds can be detrimental for the individual and the marriage, and it is important that the victim gather support systems to help them in such situations. The situations could get very hard and challenging when children are involved.
6. Addiction to drugs and alcohol:
Abuse of drugs, alcohol, and gambling of any one of the partners is a major reason for divorces in India. A spouse, in addition to drugs, will find it difficult to maintain a typical marriage. Addictions are also reasons for money problems and might harm the couple’s marriage. It is also the reason for many fights that might arise in the family. There may or may not be verbal or physical abuse, but a spouse addicted to drugs and alcohol can cause a strain on the marriage.
7. Lack of physical and emotional intimacy:
In a marriage, there needs to be both emotional and physical bonding between the couple. The lack of consensual consummation can cause issues in their sexual life and could be a major reason behind infidelity. If this problem is not addressed immediately, there are chances for the marriage to fail. Partners should understand each other’s love language and have a healthy sexual life for the marriage to last.
8. High or unrealistic expectations:
The expectations that the couple have on one another and on their marriage will determine how they adapt to the married life. When the rational expectations of the couples are not met then it might result in differences of opinion and in the long term, will lead to divorces. It is important that couples discuss their expectations for their married life openly, to avoid dissatisfaction over time.
9. Infertility:
This is one of the major issues of divorce in couples. When one of the partners is infertile and will not be able to contribute to pregnancy and childbirth, then the couple is said to be infertile. Such couples will try for alternate methods such as in-vitro fertilization or intra-uterine insemination. Even such measures fail; some couple prefers to get divorced and separate from the marriage.
10. Mental disorders:
Mental disorders have become a common ground for filing divorces. If one of the partners suffers from incurable mental disorders or insanity, then the healthy partner can file for divorce on health grounds. The law will not expect the couple to stay together and will give them divorce easily.
Marriage is a part of everyone’s lives, and each partner has a lot of expectations and dreams. When these expectations are not met, then it will result in divorces. The Indian judicial system offers divorces on the grounds of adultery, mental disorder, abuse, cruelty, not being heard or seen alive for a period of seven years or more, etc.