AFTER I wrote about my experience online, a friend contacted me and said that she had gone out for dinner and after the wine was ordered, her date [ whom she was meeting for the first time] announced his political leanings. He was a supporter of the current government and she, a liberal. She said she had to suffer an entire meal. And added that I, at least, was lucky that I found out that a potential partner was a right- wing supporter long before meeting her,u201d says a 34- year- old mediaperson, who moonlights as a stand- up comic.
Karan Johar says it right in the introduction of his latest web show, What the Love. Finding love has never been this easy, thanks to all the apps now willing to match you with even the person you saw fleetingly on a different platform at the station.
Yet, love arrives complicated.
And, as if, age, sex and location werenu2019t difficult enough to navigate, it now matters whom you voted for in the last elections.
F or a 26- year- old writer and entrepreneur, his partner- of- a- yearu2019s views on government policies brought an end to the relationship. u201c We had known each other since college
and political had views never come up. But, these days, politics is the only thing one talks about; how can it not come up?u201d The cracks that their differences could cause, he says, showed up when in August 2019, the newly elected government abrogated Article 370, which gave the state of Jammu and Kashmir special status, and converted them into separate union territories, implementing a communication ban that continues in some form to this date. u201c The woman I was dating said, u2018 these people deserve this, they are terroristsu2019. We argued, with me asking how she could judge all Kashmiris? She retorted saying, u2018 donu2019t you see things? Thereu2019s stone pelting happeningu2019.u201d While that conversation ended soon, it came up again a few days later when his girlfriend remarked: u201c You donu2019t have any bad news coming in from Kashmir now.u201d u201c To this I argued, that there is no news coming in from Kashmir at all.u201d It proved to be the major reason why the couple broke up.
u201c When you are dating a person, you invariably think about the future. Will s/ he make a good parent? And all I would think of is what kind of upbringing will my children get? I continue to see what she posts on Facebook and I am glad I took the decision I did,u201d he adds.
For the moonlighting standup comic, itu2019s the fights that the opposing political views would have caused that made him put up the u201c no dealu201d sign. u201c The thing is, I get a lot of snarky u2018 Go to Pakistanu2019 comments from family members who support the establishment. Itu2019s constant arguments. And the one place I donu2019t wish to face this in is my romantic life,u201d he adds.
W hen and where does the question of who you support even come up when one is navigating the treacherous alleys of attraction? While apps do allow for you to state your political views and religious affiliations, some people choose to let the world know less subtly. One profile on a popular dating site announces that those who use words like u2018 sickularu2019, u2018 libtardu2019, should swipe left. Another announces that their most irrational fear is that the current government will return to power.
Chennai resident Aishwarya Sampath, 38, a former HR professional and writer, says her parents, now married for 35 years, have never voted for the same party. While one goes with the DMK, the other prefers the AIADMK ( before they joined hands with the BJP). u201c But right
