SALONI*, who is in her mid-20s, could never imagine that the shadow of her caste identity would follow her in the world of dating apps until she started dating a ‘Tam-Bram’ (a short form for Tamil Brahmin) boy whom she ‘right-swiped’ seeing his ‘woke’ bio.
“In the bio, the guy wrote everything ‘progressive’—that he does not believe in caste, he is an atheist, politically moderate, and so on,” says Saloni. But gradually, as she started dating him, she saw different shades of him. “I belong to the OBC community. Whenever he got angry, he used casteist slurs to humiliate me,” she adds.
They continued dating for almost a year, and by the time the façade of his ‘wokeness’ vanished, Saloni managed to get rid of him. While the caste discrimination that she faced on the dating app OKCupid is quite prevalent and mirrors the everyday reality of society, what is confounding is that most of the apps promise a caste/class-less experience.
Most of these apps, including the recent favorite Hinge, leave the inclusion of surnames in the profile entirely to users. The help centre of Hinge notes: “If you create an account with Facebook, your last name will be added to your profile but it will only be visible when you match with someone, not when someone views your profile in Discover.”
While such efforts—of not letting caste take over one’s choice of ‘right-swiping’—are considered a step in the right direction, users feel that those who prioritise caste identity have ways to figure it out.
Denne historien er fra February 21, 2024-utgaven av Outlook.
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Denne historien er fra February 21, 2024-utgaven av Outlook.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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The 'Invisible' Dalits
The debate over sub-categorisation of castes is likely to shape the political discourse in the upcoming state elections
Caste Census: To Conquer Or Conserve?
The caste census is generating heated debate, but even its most ardent proponents are not able to articulate a plan about how to use the resulting data
THE FATEFUL COMEDY
Actor-director Rajat Kapoor talks about adapting Fyodor Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov into a Hindi play
Mad Hatter
When a leader takes off his topi and holds it in his hands while appealing for votes, it signals something extraordinary
Circle Within Circles
The caste question in Muslims.
Backward March
The Maratha reservation question may continue to mire the next government in the state
The 69% Exception
Quota within quota: lessons to be learned from Tamil Nadu
United Indifference
The perils of tweaking tribal identities
Two Nations, Two Destinies
The widely differing balance of power between the military and civilian leadership in India and Pakistan has significantly impacted democracy in the two countries
Crème de la Crème
The mainstream society thinks reservations are against right to equality. It’s high time they are seen in the context of right to justice.
