Crossing the border

Could Sania Mirza’s wedding to banned Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik be an inspiration for many others to look for a match across the border? It defies the very Indian question as to why anyone would want to marry a Pakistani, but going by a recent survey conducted by the popular matrimonial website Shaadi.com, the trend seems to be changing. Almost 61 per cent of the survey takers said they wouldn’t mind looking for their spouse in neighboring Pakistan. Nepal came in second with 28.9 per cent votes, followed by Sri Lanka at 26.4 per cent and Bangladesh at 9.9 per cent.
The survey titled Love Across Boundaries, taken by over 9,500 Shaadi.com members over three days, brought about these astonishing results. Of the total respondents who took the survey, 12.7 per cent said cross-border marriages were all hyped up and 77 per cent said, in reality it is the compatibility between the two partners that matters.
Does this mean people are opening up to finding a life partner across the border? “We have to keep in mind that the declared response is always very different from the actual behaviour or preference. Every interaction with a person from another country may not culminate in marriage. Though the levels of openness have changed, we are still not expecting the above results to take actual shape,” Gourav Rakshit, business head, shaadi.com, said.
Inspired by the furore over the Sania-Shoiab marriage, the survey also asked members their view on the hyped wedding that hit headlines. 59 per cent saw this in a positive light and thought it would help bridge the distance between India and Pakistan. Surprisingly, only 7.4 per cent said it would be a rough ride for the two of them while 33.6 per cent said it wouldn't make a difference either which way.
With 20 million members on board in its portal, 75% being from India, shaadi.com also claims that its not as if a majority of survey takers were Muslims. “It’s all about the changing value system. Though marriage decisions still depend on compatibility, people may be able to get over the border barriers in next 10 years,” said Rakshit.