... part. Among some groups there may be a tradition of marriage at fourteen or fifteen. Child marriage in the traditional Indian sense has always been repudiated by Sikhs and a 14-year-old in India can be shouldering considerable adult responsibilities. The legal limit in India now is eighteen for women and twenty-one for men, and Sikhs accept the law of the country in which they live. The decision to seek marriage may be influenced by a number of considerations. Normally the older daughter should marry before her sisters. If the young person is undergoing higher education marriage will be deferred till after graduation. An older brother whose father has died waits until his younger brothers and sisters have received an education or training and the girls have been married. The emphasis upon family life as that which God has ordained is such that few Sikhs wish to remain single. The family ...

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