Traveling to India

Myself and another teacher friend of mine are planning on going to India in summer 2009. Is it going to be a massive problem than I am a white male and she is a Pakistani female? I know how funny some people can be.

Hello Mike,

There have been many similar threads on this topic, if you run a search with key words like "mixed couples" or something like that you'll find them easily? They aren't at the bottom of the link as usual because of the title of your thread.
Honestly, I don't think you'll have a big problem, but you'll see other peoples comments on the subject.

Nothing like forward planning though!

What do you mean by "massive problems." Like being attacked and hurt by mobs of people? Or being refused service? Or being stared at?

If it's danger, I doubt it. Lot's of mixed couples travel to India. Many Indians bring home their white spouses for family holidays, some even get married there.

Pakistani meaning she has a Pakistani passport? That's probably only a visa issue. Pakistani's don't really look different (hey, it all used to be India 60 years ago).

If you are not a couple but plan on sharing a room, I would strongly suggest you pretend to be married. No one will refuse you a room, in any case, but you will get more respect and less creepy questions. This is NOT because you are white & she is Pakistani but rather, the Indian style of being inquisitive.

If that seems extreme, it is, but sometimes to have a better time it's worth a bit of a lie. After several trips to India with my boyfriend (we eventually got married) and tons of hassles I started to say we were married and then, because of endless questions about "our children" which we didn't have, I started bringing a photo of my nephew and said my son was home with my sister. Solved all sorts of friendly inquisition annoyances.

It felt very strange to lie about such things, I would NEVER do that at home, but when dozens of people I meet just in passing want all kinds of personal information, I realized I don't actually owe them the truth! Of course, I always told the truth to anyone we spent any time with.

Bottom line. I don't think you would have any problem connected to your different ethnic backgrounds.

Interesting observation about the 'personal' questions from Camelgirl ..... I reckon that it's just a genuine healthy interest in other people who are a bit different. Most people I've met seem to want some detail to tell their friends about the strange people they met today.

We always get the 'only one daughter??' question.

You may also be asked to pose for photos with complete strangers .... my daughter must be in hundreds of Indian family snaps!

Best bet - as you are from Halifax - would be to steer the conversation around to cricket! That will keep things away from politics.

People might be understandably jumpy in Jaipur - so I'd not broadcast the origin of your friend too loudly.

Even if she has not got a Pakistani passport, her origin is still a visa issue. It is unlikely to be granted over the counter, so give plenty of time for them to process it. She may not be given the full 180 days.

I wouldn't worry about the mixed-race thing at all. You can meet bigots, of course, anywhere in the world, and you might run into one in India.

From talking with another member who I met here recently, who is a Londoner (British) of Pakistani origin who was travelling extensively in India and Asia --- her take on being Pakistani was not to shout about it, just be an Indian-subcontinent-origin woman. She wouldn't lie about it, just found it more comfortable to keep to herself.

Mike,

I don't think you have to worry much about you two as a couple.. Of course you'll come across few stares, but that can also happen back in the UK, specially from Asian society. A friend of mine travels to India often with his Muslim gf, he is white, she is Indian origin Muslim. The only thing they always mention often is that it's easier for them to get by if they travel as "husband and wife". As many said, if she is Pakistani origin Muslim, she may have harder time getting a visa, so apply early.

Our teachers don't know English grammar, Kaliyug..

Just picking hairs, but... the muslim bit does not matter; the Pakistani bit does.