There can be several reasons behind this enduring practice. Men and women feel that if parents have chosen someone for them, they would also support them through hard times. We understand that all marriages go through rough patches and some more than others. In these trying times, parents and other family members normally intervene to resolve problems. This is a common practice in India and all countries where arranged marriages are still in practice. However if a person chose to marry someone of their choice, it is very likely that during hard times, others would distance themselves saying; "didn't we already warn you." The fear of being left alone to ride out the tide might actually push some people in favor of arranged marriages.
The second reason is the ease and convenience that comes with having a partner chosen for you. In the western world, getting married doesn't come easy. It comes with a long list of rejections, dates, break-ups and finally the right person. Young people may not always have the time to go through the trouble and hence they leave the job to their parents while they can concentrate on their careers and life. In Nanda's article, one woman names Sita actually said something to this effect:
"One hears that in America the girls are spending all their time worrying about whether they will meet a man and get married. Here we have the chance to enjoy our life and let our parents do this work and worrying for us." (p. 196)
A third possible reason can be lack of true self-awareness and inability to take responsibility. With greater self-awareness, people like to make decisions for themselves and also take responsibility for their actions. It appears to me that people in these parts of the world and India specifically may not yet have achieved that level of self-awareness and self-reliance where they can allow themselves to make major decisiosn for themselves and take complete responsibility for their actions even if something goes wrong.
A fourth reason and...
Some Indian men feel that women from back home are more modest and hence make better wives. They have not dated men, they have no maintained relationships with members of the opposite sex and are thus more likely to love and cherish their husbands. They also feel that their women from India understand cultural values better and would thus understand their mental makeup and beliefs.
A study on this subject would enable us to see why some practices have not been influenced by western values and traditions. We generally tend to believe that west has a stronger culture or a more inferential one and that is why wherever west has gone, its values have permeated the local cultures and consequently altered them to some extent. But why is it that some customs remain- Customs that could have been easily debated away. Isn't it simply more logical to choose your own partner, wouldn't I know more about myself and what I like than someone else? There are so many ways to refute any arguments in favor of arranged marriages and still this practice doesn't seem to disappear or even fade a little.
Even the most modern, most educated and most influenced by the west individuals would make a compromise when it comes to the question of marriage. Many Indian men and women have gone back to their country to find the right person. The question is why? Why would they still choose to follow this system when apparently they have studied in the west, have western friends, watch western shows, and generally accept western values? This would be a very interesting question to ponder and scientifically explore through a comprehensive study.
References
Serena Nanda. Arranging a Marriage in India. From Stumbling Toward Truth: Anthropologists at Work, edited by Philip R. Devita, 2000, pp. 196 -- 204. Published by Waveland Press.
Jodi O'Brien in Robert Kupla edition. "Arranged marriages." Encyclopedia of Gender and Society. Volume 1, 2008
