Over the years, it has traditionally been the women who have to leave their native town for marriages. Census data reveals that around 98% of women migrate for matrimonial purpose. However, there has been a change in the migration pattern. Recent media reports suggest that the number of men migrating to different parts of the country for marriage has doubled in the last decade.
The number of men migrating between 2001 and 2011 censuses for marriage saw a steep rise compared to a 33% rise in the number of women doing so. The north-east and south Indian states witnessed a stupendous increase in the number of men migrating for marriages. The report highlighted that almost in all the states, men migrating for matrimony purpose have increased. However, men from Tamil Nadu, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur, Assam, Kerala, and Andhra Pradesh migrated more for marriage.
The numbers from these states were high in the 2001 census as well. The state of Karnataka saw the highest number of men leaving their native place for marriage. The figures of the state almost tripled over the last ten years.
The states which stood at the bottom of the list of men migrating for marriage were mostly north states – Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Punjab. The numbers of men in these states who migrated for marriage comprised of less than 2% of the women moving to get married. However, the number of men from Rajasthan migrating to marry their soulmate trebled over the last decade. Men migrating from the state to marry was twice to that of the national capital – Delhi.
While it was quite evident that most of the urban men migrated for matrimony purposes, rural men from the northeastern and southern states out-performed the urban men in migrating to marry their soul-mate. In the state of Tamil Nadu, around 7.9% urban male comprised of those migrating to find their better half with comparison to 10.2% in rural areas. In the state of Meghalaya, the contrast between urban and rural male was more. In Meghalaya, rural male who migrated for marriage comprised of 15.3% to that of 4.9% from urban areas.
Though the number of men migrating for marriage has steeply increased, it still comprises only 4% (5.3 million) of the total 146 million male migrants in the country. This is negligible to that of 206 million of the 309 million women migrating for marriage.
