Caste no longer sacred. 29 is the new 27. How India is rewriting the marriage rulebook

Feb 16, 2026 | 20:12 IST

In 2016, an overwhelming 91% of users on a leading matrimonial site marked caste as a non-negotiable partner criterion. By 2025, that figure had fallen to 54%

For decades, caste sat at the top of matrimonial checklists — quietly decisive, rarely questioned. Today, it is still present, but no longer dominant.

A decade-long behavioural analysis titled “The Big Shift: How India Is Rewriting the Rules of Partner Search and Marriage" by matrimony platform Jeevansathi, tracking user trends between 2016 and 2025 and supplemented by a 2026 survey of over 30,000 singles, suggests India’s partner-search landscape is undergoing a steady but measurable recalibration.

TOI

TOI

Caste no longer sacred. 29 is the new 27. How India is rewriting the marriage rulebook

In 2016, an overwhelming 91% of users on a leading matrimonial site marked caste as a non-negotiable partner criterion. By 2025, that figure had fallen to 54%

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TOI

Caste no longer sacred. 29 is the new 27. How India is rewriting the marriage rulebook

In 2016, an overwhelming 91% of users on a leading matrimonial site marked caste as a non-negotiable partner criterion. By 2025, that figure had fallen to 54%

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