Tamil Nadu ranks first in the country in blood relations. Karnataka is in second place. Such information was given by the National Ministry of Family Welfare in a nationwide survey. According to the survey conducted in the financial year 2019-20, 2% of marriages in Tamil Nadu are between blood relations. Karnataka, another southern state, is only 1% away.
According to the survey, 11% of marriages in the country are between families. However, as a state, this trend is more prevalent in the southern states.
Doctors say that there are various problems in marriage due to blood relationships. It includes health issues. Inter-caste marriages increase the risk of thalassemia in children. There are two main reasons for such a trend.
One is the issue of caste and the other is the issue of inheritance. For example, Karnataka is still a state of agrarian economy. Therefore, there is a tendency to marry in a blood relationship by giving priority to property sharing, experts say.
Studies have shown that most of the blood relationships are between Muslims. In the Muslim community, 15.8% of marriages take place within the family. It is followed by Buddhists (14.5%), Christians (11.9%), and Hindus (10.1%). Inter-caste marriages are highest among the middle class (13%).
It is followed by the upper-middle class (12.6%), lower-middle-class (10.8%), poor (7.5%), and rich (9.6%). That is, such marriages are most common between the rich and middle class. According to survey data, blood relationship marriages are most common with cousins. After that, there is a marriage relationship with uncles.