So let’s say your daughter gets a proposal from a very close family friend for their son, but you don’t like that guy for your daughter for some reason, not a character issue, but since you know them so well, you’ve seen many weaknesses of that boy. How do you reject it without offending your friend?
Re: An awkward situation
Daughter ka naam laga do…she don’t agree…hum ne bohat samjhaaya…lekin wo nahi maan rahi…rola khatam thread lock karo 
Re: An awkward situation
^ LOL.
It's a tough one. You obviously don't want to offend them so going about it openly won't be an option I suppose. Perhaps, you could say something like that as much you're flattered but since you're such good friends you don't want to complicate the taluqaat or 'khatai daalna' [if that's an actual phrase]. Or that the girl is interested in someone else.
Re: An awkward situation
Sometimes they might get the hint if you tell them that you're not looking right now...or that you're daugther isn't ready/interested in marriage now. Or that my daughter sees him more as a "brother" since they grew up together and we're such close family friends.
Or as Ujala said, you can give the reason that you don't want to complicate the friendship/relationship, which is sometimes why some parents are not keen on cousin marriages as they don't want rishtay to turn sour. ***The only thing with this reason is that the guy's family might try to "push" the rishta by saying that relations won't be spoiled. SO, I think it's better to say that my daugther respects your son as a brother...and then wish the family well.
Re: An awkward situation
"meri beti aap kay betay kay qabil nahi hai"???
Re: An awkward situation
^The guy's family....if they're really keen on this girl....will just insist that their daugther IS very qabil/laaik. You could switch it around and say "Aaap ka beta....meri beti...k qaabil nahin." But that would just spoil the friendship :D
Re: An awkward situation
Same thing happened with someone i know but the guy was a year younger from the girl and wasn't really earning much at that time and the girl had an awesome career. Also the girl was somewhat more mature than the guy so they made it a base and told them that it would be a problem for the boy as he's still not as mature as the girl is and they might not get along. Fortunately the guy's parents understood and it all went well. The families are still best friends after years.
But i still think its kind of awkward to break the news to someone you've known so well.. but oh well
Re: An awkward situation
All other tacticts will fail......only mine will work...
Re: An awkward situation
I think telling them that your daughter isnt ready to get married yet is a good way but then they can say.. oh we can wait or ask why she isnt ready and if you choose someone for ur daughter soon... then they will be angry tht u lied to them
Re: An awkward situation
All other tacticts will fail......only mine will work...
It might...it might not. There's a possibility that the guy's family can even develop a grudge and think that the girl thinks too highly of herself...that she thinks their son is not good enough...and some parents (with warped thinking) might even let that resentment carry over to her parents.
I think the "bhai" approach is better because hopefully the parents will think (if they're smart)....that seeing your spouse as a brother is not conducive to a marriage. You could argue that in our culture every guy is like a bhai....but if the point is made clearly that she absolutely can't see him as anything more than her bhai...that should get the message across. Now if the guy was interested in her....that would hurt. But if the guy is not that involved and it's his parents that are pushing the rishta........then at least it can even be seen as a positive thing that one respects/considers you close enough to be almost like a family member (brother, sister, etc) even if they can't see you as a life partner.
Re: An awkward situation
Bhai approach is best. :k:
Re: An awkward situation
Re: An awkward situation
how long have the families been together?
how well the boy and girl been friends?
Do the families live nearby?
Have there been previous problems between the families?
How important is the relationship with the family?
what
how
where
when
.
.
.
.
.
.
????
Re: An awkward situation
All other tacticts will fail......only mine will work...
I hate to agree with Nomica :D but only his answer is what I might go for if it happens with me :
Re: An awkward situation
^ like TLK said, the not-so-wise man said it right this time :P
It's worked numerous times for me and my sisters. My mom always blames it on us and it has put us in an awkward position with them for a while because the families have turned to us and asked why we are rejecting it... so make sure the daughter knows about it beforehand. Once it happened while i was exchanging emails with the guy I got a proposal from (family friend) during which my mom said no to the people using me as an excuse when I didn't even know about it.
It wasn't fun when his family came around and asked why I said no when I hadn't even talked to the guy properly about the proposal. And I pretended I knew about the rejection. Nonetheless... awkward and the guy's sister hates me I think.
Re: An awkward situation
Not-so-wise man being NomiCA of course :P
Re: An awkward situation
Most parents tend to go with the daughter is not ready / we are not currently looking tactic I think
Re: An awkward situation
Great suggestion! :k: 
Re: An awkward situation
Just make sure the daughter knows about it so she's prepared for it incase they come asking her. Daughter say pooch kar lagana uska naam. Otherwise, this excuse works perfectly fine because they won't make a bigger fuss about it and hold it against your parents and if the daughter isn't interested either she will be more than happy to go with it.
Re: An awkward situation
Ok so let's say you do what NomiCA says and tell them that your daughter isn't ready...but I'm talking about the initial approach.
Suppose one fine evening, you're having chai and these good friends of yours ring the doorbell and come in with a big smile. You welcome them and have chai together, and just when you're about to take a bite into that crispy samosa, your friend says: "Today we're here with a proposal. We've been thinking about this for a while and we've known your family for years. Nothing will give us greater pleasure than having your daughter as our bahu."
Will the aloo fall out of the samosa and drop on your floor, or will you take the bite, swallow and smile? What would you say if you really can't imagine this happening...chances are that you too have thought about this situation before and have secretly hoped that it would never come up?