Textures of Print: Matrimonials

A quick scan of the classifieds section of the Sunday edition of the Hindustan Times throws up a dizzying proliferation of caste-based advertisements. There are Agarwals, Rajputs, Khatris, Yadavs and SC/STs; but there are also regionally-based distinctions – Bengalis, Punjabis, NRIs; and occupational and other categories – defence only, handicapped/disabled. There is, in other words, no single logic according to which a certain ad will be placed under one heading or another. Which characteristic wins out? It all varies and depends.
Furthermore, ads grouped under a caste heading do not necessarily imply restrictions. The “caste no bar” disclaimer recurs with remarkable frequency, particularly in the case of NRIs or Indians working abroad. Some even specifically seek “intercast alliances.” In other cases, it is occupational requirements that are most stringent: “from only AISs Officers, well placed professionals & business family.” Disquietingly, “fair” is the most common descriptor of physical features for both girls and boys, along with the usual professions of attractiveness, slimness and smartness. Caste is one piece of a complex and shifting puzzle of factors that families desirous to secure a match must put together while conceiving a successful advertisement.

The most astonishing category of all is the existence of a separate heading, “cosmopolitan.” This is a step beyond merely proclaiming “caste no bar” within a caste-based ad. The potential brides or grooms advertised may themselves be of mixed background, or choose not to reveal their caste. One ad proclaims the family is simply “broadminded.” Another does reveal the caste background of the girl: the father is Punjabi Aggarwal and the mother is Keralite Nair. She herself works as an assistant professor in Delhi and is an “independent minded person with broad outlook” seeking the same. The ad goes on to explicitly reject “horoscope matching believers” and “dowry seekers.” This family’s views, in other words, represent the kind of progressive politics that wishes to do away with caste restrictions and the whole cultural baggage of signification under which marriages in contemporary India are undertaken. But such a programme is restricted within its own tiny special section; it cannot colonise the rest of the matrimonials page. “Cosmopolitan” is not the blurring and mixing of identities – it has, in fact, become just another micro-identity and niche within the larger system of caste-based recognition.

This system, taken as a whole, is itself quite dynamic and evolving. Perhaps the real cosmopolitan project lies in the changing boundaries and contents of the ads. New categories are established and become acceptable, new openings and restrictions emerge. This week, the government is considering changes to the 1955 Marriage Act to make divorce easier for Hindus and Sikhs. Specialised matrimonial services for second marriages are already in business, advertising colourfully on the right side of the page.