New Delhi, October 1, 2025 — In this sacred land, which has long been esteemed and celebrated for its deep reverence toward the institution of marriage, recognized as a divine covenant that binds souls together for all eternity, a deeply disturbing and troubling reality has recently emerged. This new and concerning development poses a serious threat to the very foundation upon which our civilization and society stand firmly. Presently, India finds itself regrettably at the unfortunate forefront of a statistic that no nation can justifiably take pride in or celebrate: a staggering 53% of Indians openly admit to engaging in infidelity. This troubling and alarming revelation transforms our country, which was once regarded as the birthplace of everlasting matrimonial vows and commitments, into the global epicenter of marital betrayal and infidelity. It is crucial to understand that this situation is not merely a collection of individual moral failures and shortcomings. Rather, it represents a systemic collapse of the social institutions that have provided stability, structure, and guidance to Indian society for over three thousand years. From the ancient and sacred Vedic hymns that celebrated the profound and meaningful union of Surya and Soma to the rise of contemporary dating platforms that have been specifically designed and developed to facilitate extramarital relationships among married individuals, we have observed a transformation so profound and pervasive that it necessitates urgent national attention and decisive action.
The extent and characterization of the crisis we endure now.
The numbers reveal a narrative that should be a cause for concern and alarm for every family in India, evoking deep contemplation about the state of relationships in the country. Recent statistics indicate that Kanchipuram, a city that has been historically celebrated for its exquisite temples and renowned silk sarees, has shockingly climbed to the first position when it comes to extramarital affairs, marking an astonishing leap from its 17th place just a year ago. This troubling trend is not simply an urban issue that is limited to metropolitan areas; rather, it represents a widespread societal epidemic that has infiltrated even those towns that are regarded as our most culturally conservative and traditional. Among the top 20 hotspots for infidelity across India, a striking nine are situated within the Delhi-NCR region, with Central Delhi impressively coming in at the second position, followed closely by Gurgaon and Noida. Furthermore, cities throughout India—spanning from Chandigarh to Jaipur, and from Bangalore to Dehradun—are increasingly reporting unprecedented surges in extramarital relationships, indicating a significant nationwide shift in matrimonial values that transcends both regional distinctions and cultural boundaries.
From Sacred Vows of Commitment to the Painful Reality of Digital Betrayal
In order to fully understand and appreciate the gravity and importance of this ongoing crisis, it is absolutely vital that we first take a moment to recognize and thoughtfully reflect upon what we have irrevocably lost as time has progressed. The ancient texts of India, and particularly the well-known Marriage Hymn from the Rigveda, clearly established that the institution of marriage was considered to be much deeper and more profound than merely existing as a social contract between two individuals; instead, it was fundamentally understood to represent a significant spiritual covenant that existed between their very souls in a deeply interconnected manner. The concept of pativrata, coupled with the corresponding expectations of male fidelity, formed the foundational bedrock upon which our understanding of matrimonial philosophy was built, where even the mere act of harboring inappropriate thoughts about another person’s spouse was viewed as a serious moral transgression against the sanctity of the marital bond. Moreover, the Saptapadi ceremony, which consists of seven sacred steps that collectively symbolize an eternal commitment to one another, served as a powerful representation of a divine mandate advocating for lifelong fidelity within the bonds of marriage. These practices were not merely rituals performed out of a sense of tradition; they constituted the essential moral infrastructure that upheld families, and by extension, they ensured the stability and cohesion of society as a whole. In stark contrast to those cherished values of the past, we now find ourselves in a situation where this once-sacred foundation has been replaced by modern platforms such as Ashley Madison, which are specifically marketed towards married individuals who are actively seeking extramarital relationships. The unprecedented ease with which digital betrayal can occur in today’s world has fundamentally altered the ways in which infidelity manifests itself within Indian society, effectively dismantling the traditional barriers and social controls that once played a critical role in protecting the sanctity of marriage and the integrity of marital bonds.
The Catastrophe Involving Four Families
When illicit relationships are found out and publicized, the destruction that follows extends far beyond the immediate pair caught up within the crisis. It actually pulls everyone connected to them into a truly cataclysmic situation that can truly only be referred to as a disaster that occurs among four separate families. The specific tragic situation only serves to involve two families that are connected to the girl and two families connected to the boy and draws all of them into a very complicated set of circumstances involving shame, social embarrassment, and emotional stress. The destabilization that results from such exposure is not only a short-term phenomenon but actually causes lasting waves of pain and trouble that can truly exist through various generations and ultimately affect extended relatives and loved ones significantly and permanently.
The families of the wife and husband alike find themselves confronted with a massive and substantial amount of adverse social scrutiny by their families. This attention is not only due to the general and rampant assumptions about their style of child-rearing and their overall morality among people but also the second layer of difficulty that arises by virtue of their families including cousins, uncles, and aunts, who suddenly andunexpectedly find themselves having to defend and justify situations and circumstances that they were not a part of planning or arranging. This can cause an enormous amount of stress and strain within the dynamics of families, and this frequently leads to relationships irrevocably disintegrating with scarring that cannot totally be repaired or made whole again.
Marital families will often come to face the harsh and enormous reality of having to endure considerable public humiliation within the context of their social life, a circumstance that will oftentimes place them in a very difficult position. Within this precarious circumstance, they will have to make a tough and hard choice between standing by and supporting their family through the crisis that they face, or withdrawing to protect and preserve their own reputation and standing within the community about them. The consequences of such public humiliation will not be confined to the immediate crisis that faces them; instead, this will extend far beyond that to create lasting repercussions on marriage prospects to other individuals within the family, and to change relationships of business and affect overall standing and reputation of the family within the wider community. By and large, this creates a chain of repercussions that can extend many years and echo through generations, creating a lasting imprint on the social life of the family that can endure for decades.
The Child: The Silent Victim of Circumstances
Perhaps most sorrowfully and painfully of all, youngsters become invisible victims caught between the crosshairs of adult conflicts, with their bright futures held hostage and their sensitive lives significantly harmed as a direct result of these continuing conflicts. A comprehensive study revealed that youngsters who live in broken homes have dramatically riskier patterns of behavior than their counterparts who live within intact households with both parents living together, and this negative situation translates into a very significantly increased chance of developing serious problems with substance abuse, educational failure, and behavioral disorders. These innocent children suffer many forms of trauma that can greatly affect their overall development: they regularly suffer emotional disruption, manifesting in many ways including anxiety and depression, and they can also manifest behavioral symptoms that can run the gamut from behaviors that demonstrate a regression to earlier, less mature forms of behavioral development, to actual instances of violent behaviors. Moreover, they can suffer long-range irreversible damage that drastically interferes with their ability to forge and maintain healthy and stable relationships later on down the line. In a world where respect within the integrity and honor of the family is held to be among the supreme moral standards, these children can typically find themselves facing social stigma and dislocation with respect to their sense of their own identity, problems that can continue to chase and to affect their lives throughout their lives. The educational and social dislocation occasioned by these negative conditions is similarly extreme, with many of these children suffering markedly below average academic achievement and facing behavioral issues within the context of their educational surroundings. Additionally, they suffer and endure social isolation, with many other parents naturally not allowing their youngster to mix with individuals whom they deem to come from what they deem to be a “broken home.”
When Romantic Affairs Go South
The connection that exists between extramarital relationships and violent crime is an especially alarming and concerning aspect of this escalating crisis that negatively impacts numerous individuals and their families. Research has consistently shown that extramarital relationships rank among the top causes of domestic violence cases, with various studies indicating that a husband’s engagement in extramarital relationships often serves as a significant catalyst for occurrences of domestic abuse. Honor killings, despite official statistics suggesting that only between 24 to 33 of these tragic events are recorded each year, are widely believed to be grossly underreported; hence, the actual number of such horrific occurrences is likely to be much greater than what is officially documented. In reality, the genuine instances may approach nearly 1,000 honor deaths annually, with a considerable portion of these senseless tragedies frequently stemming from extramarital relationships or unions that deviate from societal norms and expectations. These statistics represent far more than mere numbers—they embody the true loss of lives that have fallen victim to a crisis that has expanded from private violations into public acts of violence, causing suffering that reverberates through entire communities. Alarmingly, domestic violence affects a shocking 27.67% of married women, with extramarital affairs initiated by husbands being primary contributors to such violence. The circumstances all too often take a drastic turn for the worse when these relationships come to light, and the resulting patterns of mistreatment profoundly impact not only those who are directly harmed but also entire families and their surrounding local communities.
The Collapse of Traditional Safeguards
The customary joint family system that traditionally acted as an important structure that included effective checks and balances necessary to prevent potential marital conflict and strife has unfortunately disintegrated to a large extent within the Indian urban areas. The significant shift that this transformation within the life of the family has generated has made ideal ground that enables extramarital relationships to thrive and gain increased traction within societal circles. Joint families earlier included innate mechanisms of oversight and effective support structures that significantly contributed to redressing and resolving conflicts of marriage before they were able to gain traction and turn into potentially graver and harmful conflicts. The elders of these families took key roles within the reconciliation process, including dispensing valuable wisdom and playing the mediators during particularly rocky and turbulent times.
In stark contrast to previous family structures, nuclear families, although they do provide a certain level of privacy and autonomy for couples involved, unfortunately, lack the essential support networks that were once widely considered commonplace and beneficial. This notable absence often leaves couples to grapple with complex emotional challenges and various difficulties on their own, without the invaluable benefit of adequate guidance and support that could have been provided by a broader community. Furthermore, in urban environments, there is a strong emphasis placed on individualism and anonymity, which in turn creates conditions where community oversight—historically recognized as a deterrent to extramarital behavior—has weakened dramatically over the course of time. The breakdown of community surveillance, when coupled with the increased opportunities for interaction outside of marriage that arise in both workplace settings and various social contexts, has culminated in a significant and concerning rise in infidelity rates. Various economic and social drivers continue to play a crucial role in contributing to this ongoing trend that is observed today.
The increased economic empowerment of females actually brought with it a whole revolution within the power dynamics that characterize the institution of marriage. The historical shift not only represents a crucial milestone within the journey to effect effective gender equality but represents a significant contributor to the enormous decline of economic dependency that once sustained the continuation of numerous unhappy or disappointed marriages. Present-day society, with the varying office settings that populate it, together with pressures that attend longer hours of work, has engendered new points of contact of emotional and physical intimacy that too frequently occur outside the bounds of traditional marriage. Cities such as Gurgaon, with their frantic office environments, have very high numbers of extramarital relationships that forcefully confirm an interconnection between stress within office settings and cases of extramarital relationships. Additionally, the phenomenal gains that technology itself has achieved, together with the swift proliferation of social media formats, have actually revolutionized the points of contact of extramarital relationships. The ease with which individuals can now link with potential partners outside their marriages, together with the sense of anonymity that digital formats of communication provide, lessened greatly previously applicable boundaries that surrounded the act of having extramarital relationships. Such new configurations represent broader regional practice and hold important cultural significance that necessitates a broader and more percipient analysis.
The vast and intricate geographic landscape that is home to a multitude of diverse phenomena reveals and provides a wealth of valuable insights into the complex process of cultural evolution over time. The remarkable and significant predominance of the Delhi-NCR region serves as an excellent and illustrative example of this dynamic, showcasing a rich and vibrant coalescence as well as a harmonious co-existence of deeply ingrained traditional principles alongside the swiftly changing modern urban ways of life that distinctly characterize this particular locale. Furthermore, the substantial population of younger professionals residing within this area, in conjunction with considerable social mobility and an extremely diverse and eclectic pool of cultural influences, creates a fertile and receptive ground that is conducive to the existence, acceptance, and tolerance of extramarital liaisons among individuals.
Of considerable surprise to many is that the meteoric growth of Kanchipuram contrasts utterly with the long-held perceptions and assumptions about the conservatism that pervades much of southern India. This very phenomenon stands to clearly indicate that there is a multifaceted set of causes that manifest far wider than the slender bounds of simple traditional cultural precepts that have been historically tied to the area. There is a multiplicity of causes that contribute to this shift, ranging from the significant rise of internet penetration to the expansion of the economy to sustainable levels and the slow evolution of social attitudes over generations, all of which combine to push the higher numbers of extramarital activity among these chosen segments. Beyond this, the rise of Tier-2 cities—like Dehradun, Chandigarh, and Jaipur—currently ranking among the very highest serves to clearly herald that this very phenomenon transcends even the older rural-urban dichotomies that have long typified and defined the societal boundaries within India.
The interpretations that can be gleaned of this particular trend would appear to indicate a much broader evolution that is occurring within Indian societal outlooks, one that runs well beyond the confines and strictures of large urban populations. This amounts therefore to a rewriting of significant attitudes within relationships and of the societal demands that run across the entirety of the country. By this understanding, this makes ever increasingly crucial the comprehension of the evolution of the legal landscape and the associated social consequences, particularly within the context of comprehending these important developments.
The Supreme Court’s landmark decision in the year 2018, which effectively removed adultery from the category of crimes, represented a significant and momentous transition within the landscape of the legal system. This historic ruling not only served as an important advancement toward greater gender equality and the enhancement of individual autonomy, but it also ushered in a noteworthy creation of a normative vacuum. This vacuum emerged as existing legal norms and ethical standards began to diverge in a manner that was quite pronounced. Such a divergence has the potential to cultivate a greater societal acceptance and tolerance for extramarital activity than what has been observed in the past. While adultery continues to be recognized as a legal basis for divorce under civil law, the elimination of criminal penalties associated with the act may have inadvertently diminished the social stigma that traditionally accompanied infidelity. Consequently, this transformation may make it considerably easier for individuals to justify and rationalize engaging in extramarital relationships without facing any legal repercussions. Moving Forward: It is essential to recognize that there exists an urgent need to implement immediate interventions that can effectively address these emerging challenges in a proactive manner.
This new crisis demands a rapid and comprehensive response that considers the circumstances on the ground through multiple channels and engages with multiple intervention levels:
Strengthening Family Support Network: It is of supreme importance that we not only adopt but continue to have effective pre-marital counseling programs that explicitly detail key areas of effective strategies of communication, strategies to solve conflicts, and cultivating realistic expectations about life after entering into marriage. By providing comprehensive relationship education within our colleges and educational centers, we can encourage young people to have healthier and constructive perceptions about the concepts of long-term commitments and the institution of marriage itself. Access to Improved Mental Health: The necessity of enhancing and making accessible and comprehensive family counseling services, coupled with mental health facilities, cannot be overemphasized, especially among already strained couples that have various issues within their marriage relationships. The institution of early intervention measures can effectively reduce the rate of infidelity by taking care of relationship issues proactively before escalating into bigger problems.
Legal and Institutional Reforms: The concerted initiative to streamline divorce cases, while further enhancing the overall effectiveness of family courts, can go a long way to drastically reducing the prolonged legal conflicts that frequently turn into harrowing experiences both for the child and their families. Establishing specialized family courts that are staffed with professionally trained counselors with the aptitude to deal with delicate issues can go a long way to facilitating a much better process of mediation among the disputes that exist between parties. Community Rebuilding: Community initiatives that remain oriented to urban planning with the specific goal of establishing vibrant community living centers, and building strong social infrastructure, can play an important role to help rebuild the social cohesion that has been drastically damaged by virtue of the implications of urbanization. Taking the initiative to actively involve religious and community leaders to help play a role in developing contemporary models of marriage counseling can go a long way to actually bridge the existing divide between accepted traditional norms and constantly changing dynamics of life that exist today and therefore help to better understand and provide a support system to individuals and families.
National State of Emergency has been declared.
Make absolutely no mistake about it: there is no room for error in understanding this situation, as it represents a national crisis of enormous depth and complexity that poses a serious threat to the very stability and coherence of Indian society as a whole. When over half of our population openly admits to engaging in acts of adultery, and when innocent children are left to grapple with the trauma and deep emotional scars inflicted by the infidelity of their parents, it becomes increasingly clear just how dire the situation is. Moreover, when entire families experience devastating breakdowns and are ultimately destroyed by the far-reaching waves of consequences that are set in motion by extramarital relationships, and when violence erupts from the turmoil that often occurs within marriages, we find ourselves confronted with a crisis of such magnitude that it demands our very immediate and singular focus at the national level.
The statistics that are emerging from a diverse array of cities scattered throughout India, with Kanchipuram located in the southern part of the country and extending all the way to the bustling metropolis of Delhi in the north, serve as urgent wake-up calls that starkly highlight the alarming and concerning reality that this particular phenomenon has indeed managed to transcend not only the geographical boundaries that usually separate different regions but also the cultural divisions that are deeply rooted within the social fabric of the nation. This troubling situation represents a significant and multifaceted challenge that necessitates, rather than mere superficial moral condemnation or hasty judgment, a series of comprehensive, well-informed, and evidence-based interventions that are thoughtfully designed to address the complexities at hand. These essential interventions should focus on strengthening family units while simultaneously upholding, honoring, and respecting the inherent dignity of each individual who is involved in the process, ensuring that their worth is recognized and valued throughout.
The choice that stands before us is extremely clear and unambiguous: we face a decision between two separate routes. On the one hand, we can opt to allow this disturbing trend to proceed its unrestricted way, to exist without any kind of regulation or control, which will have of necessity a variety of disastrous outcomes with respect to our children, our families, and the general health of our civilization overall. Alternatively, we can opt to act boldly and decisively, to forge new models of conjugal care that not only respect the eternal wisdom we have inherited over the centuries but that actually handle the new needs that have arisen within our contemporary epoch.
The future of millions of families nationwide, and the moral fiber that is the very basis of our nation itself, now sits perilously within the balance, hovering perilously close to a realm of uncertainty. Now, absolutely critically, we must take meaningful and determined action this very instant, before the sacred institution of marriage—an institution that itself can be found to have supported as a cornerstone of the rich fabric of Indian civilization for many thousands of millennia—falls apart totally and irretrievably beneath the sheer strain of pressures of our times, coupled with centuries of dereliction of our ancient traditional values by which we have been heretofore guided. We owe a profound debt to our children, to the various communities with which we identify and to the rich and dynamic cultural heritage that surrounds and sustains us. The debt is a sacred one and one that calls to us with a sense of urgency to act to respond to this crisis with a sense of urgency and with the comprehensive, broad-based solutions that this situation so obviously demands and requires. The alternative outcome—living within a world of brittle marriages that disintegrate with frightening ease, of families that dissolve into nothing with alacrity—is too cataclysmic and profoundly disturbing to any of us to even commence to contemplate or envision.
— Avantika(Sociologist)
