<P> Similarly, in Vietnam, Clause 3, Article 10 of the 2000 Vietnamese Law on Marriage and Family forbids marriages on people related by blood up to the third degree of kinship . </P> <P> Attitudes in India on cousin marriage vary sharply by region and culture . The family law in India takes into account the religious and cultural practices and they are all equally recognized . For Muslims, governed by uncodified personal law, it is acceptable and legal to marry a first cousin, but for Hindus, it may be illegal under the 1955 Hindu Marriage Act, though the specific situation is more complex . The Hindu Marriage Act makes cousin marriage illegal for Hindus with the exception of marriages permitted by regional custom . Practices of the small Christian minority are also location - dependent: their cousin marriage rates are higher in southern states such as Karnataka with high overall rates . </P> <P> Apart from the religion - based personal laws governing marriages, the civil marriage law named Special Marriage Act, 1954 governs . Those who do not wish to marry based on the personal laws governed by religious and cultural practices may opt for a marriage under this law . It defines the first - cousin relationship, both parallel and cross, as prohibited . Conflict may arise between the prohibited degrees based on this law and personal law, but in absence of any other laws, it is still unresolved . </P> <P> Cousin marriage is proscribed and seen as incest for Hindus in North India . In fact, it may even be unacceptable to marry within one's village or for two siblings to marry partners from the same village . The northern kinship model prevails in the states of Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal . However, for some communities in South India, it is common for Hindu cross cousins to marry, with matrilateral cross-cousin (mother's brother's daughter) marriages being especially favored . In the region, "uncle - niece and first - cousin unions are preferential and jointly account for some 30% of marriages". </P>

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