A surge in the number of arranged weddings brokered online has given rise to India’s first web-based “premarital detective” service — a supplier of private eyes who will snoop on prospective in-laws.
A multitude of matrimonial websites have sprung up in recent years, catering to every niche of Indian society from the obese to lovelorn eunuchs.
The sites are populated by an estimated 40 million singletons, whose online profiles specify everything from their regional roots and caste to their academic achievements, skin tones and professions. In a country where 95 per cent of marriages are arranged by parents such tools have proven hugely popular.
With online matrimony, however, nothing can be taken at face value. The number of internet-enabled marriages — many of which involve the payment of a large dowry by a bride’s family — has paved the way for misrepresentation on a massive scale, experts say.
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