Socio-Economic Factors Affecting Marriage Distance in Two Sikh Villages of Punjab

The spatial aspects of marriage in two Sikh villages in the Indian state of Punjab are investigated with the findings compared to earlier sudies in other parts of India. One village had experienced the Green Revolution, hut the second had not. A radius of roughly 25 miles demarcates the limit of over 80% of marriage interaction in both villages, and a “crater effect” was observed in the distance decay of marriages. An expansion of the marriage field had taken place in the village influenced by Green Revolution changes, whereas no similar change occurred in the village practicing traditional agriculture. Both the extent of the marriage field and the variations in the intensity of marriage links within the field were affected by socio-economic factors including level of education, caste and extent of land ownership.