The vulnerability of live-in couples
Though live-in relationships are not illegal, they do not offer the rights and social acceptance possible with marriages.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
In 2022, investigations began into the disappearance of a 26-year-old woman, Shraddha Walkar. Her murder, allegedly committed by by her live-in partner, ignited a media trial. Sections of the media obtained her social media conversations, and financial and travel details, from the police and her friends to retrace her key life decisions. The case, framed as violence within an inter-faith live-in relationship, failed to provoke debates on violations of personal data as a breach of the individual’s privacy. The trial made the crime a precautionary tale against deviating from conventional social norms.Recent surveys show that arranged marriages ar...