AP Photo

“I’d like to be a sales manager one day,” muses the young lady with whom I’m having coffee in one of Chennai’s upscale hotels. “But my parents have arranged a marriage for me, and it will be finalized next year.” Her disappointment is palpable, yet muted by the odd formality with which she describes her upcoming nuptials, a mood matching the sober-if-stylish sari she is wearing. Like many of India’s young urban women, Sita is educated and holds a professional position, yet her skills and dreams come second to respecting her parents’ wishes. As the country continues its torrid growth and its middle class expands, the evidence is mixed at best that traditional social bonds will loosen for many, perhaps most, Indian women. That may help maintain social ...