Love all: Indians game for cross-border spouses: Survey reveals

New Delhi: Love knows no boundaries and marriage is more about compatibility, feel many Indians who wouldn’t mind going the Sania Mirza way. Just like the tennis star, they are game for a spouse in Pakistan,Nepal or Sri Lanka, and fundamentalists who oppose such marriages be damned.

According to a survey, “Love Across Boundaries”, by matrimony site Shaadi.com, 61.2 per cent people don’t mind looking for their spouses in Pakistan followed by 28.9 per cent and 26.4 per cent people voting for Nepaland Sri Lankarespectively.

Gourav Rakshit, business head of shaadi.com, says the findings of the survey were “surprising” as well as “pleasant”.

“It truly was a revelation to us that people are genuinely open to having cross-border marriages and we were pleasantly surprised to learn how broadminded South Asians have become,” Rakshit told IANS.

“At the same time, compatibility is still the primary focus. So while cross-border interaction is on the rise, success in finding a compatible partner across borders is still restricted only to a small percentage of candidates,” he added.

Though it may seem hunky-dory on the outside, getting married to a Pakistani national has its share of problems. Due to the political tensions between the two countries, couples prefer to migrate to a neutral country where they are not bothered by visa issues.

In this cross-border marriage, one of the major issues that create trouble is citizenship.

Kolkata-based lawyer Pradip K. Sen advises: “A Pakistani national who is married to an Indian can claim Indian citizenship if they both have been residing in Indiaafter marriage. The Pakistani must be here for seven years before he or she can claim Indian citizenship through his or her marriage to the Indian national.”

Pic. Caption: An unidentified man protects Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malek and his wife, Indian tennis star Sania Mirza, as they arrive at a local hotel in Lahoreyesterday. The couple married in a ceremony that took place in a hotel at Mirza’s hometown of Hyderabad, India. – (Gulf News/IANS/Pic. Courtesy AP)