The number of divorces appears large in a nation where courts tend to be conservative in granting legal separation, but they may be a fraction of failing or failed marriages because many Indian women stay married despite abuse, as we later explain.



The data – in this March 2015 government reply to the Lok Sabha– is compiled from family courts in the 12 states and are inadequate to compare India’s divorce rates accurately with other countries or across states.

It is hard to estimate the divorce rate – calculated against the number of married people, not the general population, as is done with, say, crime and accident rates –because India does not maintain any divorce data. Most use the term “divorce rate” loosely in India, since the data does not reveal divorces, only cases before the courts.

What is clear is that divorce cases before family courts are steadily growing.