Not necessarily. Especially in the big cities and among the wealthier or more educated (i.e. Indians you're likely to encounter on HN). I don't have statistics on hand but "love" marriages constitute a non-trivial percentage of marriages in those areas and social circles.
Even in arranged marriages in the big cities both parties usually have some veto power; parents don't (usually) just unilaterally say "You're marrying him/her and that's that" because that's not a happy start to any marriage. The guy or girl is shown pictures and basic info (height, education, job etc.) about potential candidates from a shortlist (which parents get from a marriage bureau) and they pick out a few they might be interested in. It's pretty much a stale joke by now that any unmarried Indian engineer working abroad is going to be bombarded with pictures of girls by his parents when he visits India.
The guy or girl might meet a few different potential partners before making a decision. It often runs like parental-supervised dating (think of the scene in The Godfather, with the grandmothers following a few paces behind Michael Corleone and the Sicilian woman he's courting). The couple can get to know each other reasonably well before the wedding if the engagement is a few months long.
In the rural areas (i.e. most of the country) traditional arranged marriages probably still dominate though. Even there, the winds of change are a-blowin'.
Even in arranged marriages in the big cities both parties usually have some veto power; parents don't (usually) just unilaterally say "You're marrying him/her and that's that" because that's not a happy start to any marriage. The guy or girl is shown pictures and basic info (height, education, job etc.) about potential candidates from a shortlist (which parents get from a marriage bureau) and they pick out a few they might be interested in. It's pretty much a stale joke by now that any unmarried Indian engineer working abroad is going to be bombarded with pictures of girls by his parents when he visits India.
The guy or girl might meet a few different potential partners before making a decision. It often runs like parental-supervised dating (think of the scene in The Godfather, with the grandmothers following a few paces behind Michael Corleone and the Sicilian woman he's courting). The couple can get to know each other reasonably well before the wedding if the engagement is a few months long.
In the rural areas (i.e. most of the country) traditional arranged marriages probably still dominate though. Even there, the winds of change are a-blowin'.