Website shows urban India shedding divorce stigma
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - A decade ago, getting a divorce in India often made you feel like a social misfit, the odd-one-out at family gatherings, the one with something "wrong".
But the popularity of a new Indian matrimonial Web site dedicated to divorcees reflects how more urbanites are opting for divorce in a country which has traditionally found it unacceptable, experts say.
In the two months since it was launched, 6,000 people have registered for a second shot at marriage on SecondShaadi.com, a new Web site catering exclusively for divorcees.
"Whether good or bad, the fact is that divorce rates are increasing in India and even amongst matrimonial sites this segment of profiles has seen maximum amount of growth," said Vivek Pahwa, owner of the Web site Pahwa KBS.
According to a recent report in the Times of India newspaper, more and more Indians are shunning traditional conservative societal views where the institution of marriage -- "shaadi" in Hindi -- is revered and divorce is frowned upon.
Quoting data from the courts and crime records bureau, the leading daily said in the capital New Delhi, about 9,000 divorce cases are filed every year compared to 1,000 in the 1990s.
The eastern city of Kolkata and southern city of Chennai have both seen a 200 percent rise in divorce rates, the report added.
LIBERAL LIFESTYLES
"It's not that the procedure has become easier, but divorce has become far more acceptable today than say a decade ago," said Geeta Luthra, a Supreme Court lawyer who deals with around five divorce cases every day.
Courts also have dropped the traditional view of marriages being sacred, granting divorce more easily if they feel there is no hope of reconciliation, she added.
While experts say divorce rates are still insignificant compared to Western countries, the rising trend is reflective of India's changing socio-economic conditions where more exposure -- through television, the Internet and travel -- has influenced middle-class Indians to adopt more liberal lifestyles.
"The fact is that there are newer values emerging where the notion of sanctity associated with marriage may not be as applicable," said Nilika Mehrotra, professor of sociology at New Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University.
"Moreover, being financially independent, women are no longer ready to follow the traditional role expected of Indian wives. If she is financially independent, she might think about divorce as an option."
Businessman Inderbir Singh, 32, who has his profile on SecondShaadi.com, said even though urban attitudes are changing, there is a stigma attached to divorcees who are still sometimes treated like social outcasts.
"It's like you have some kind of disease," said Singh. "At my age most of my peers are married and ... if they are having a family get together, I am a misfit there."
