logophobic

Hi there,

I'll be traveling from the US to Mumbai and some smaller villages a few hours south of there in September with my wife. Her entire extended family is in India, and they are Muslim. My wife technically is but doesn't practice. As the subject says, I'm a white Christian.

I'm wondering if you could give me any information on how we might be received, especially in the smaller communities. I'm less concerned about Mumbai as its an international city, but I'm wondering if we'll have any issues given our obvious Western appearances and the fact that she is (technically) Muslim and I am not.

Thank you.

MmePerdu

India is a Hindu majority country, I'm sure you know, and given what you describe as "our obvious Western appearances", meaning, I presume, no indicators of religion for either of you, I can't see that it'll be an issue beyond overt curiosity, which we all get in India.

Maybe you should ask both Hindu and Muslim acquaintances for a more definitive answer.

Fra_Diavolo

I'd ask your wife and her relatives.

CaliNurse

There have been some information about this on Indiamike. The site has probably a million threads, but a search should turn up some which are relevant.

Azooki

Hello,

In India, they are practicing Secularism, which means equal treatment of all religions by the state (refer: Wikipedia). So there is a good possibility that people will not treat you differently because of your religion, but might just get curious.

annhig

We have friends where there is a similar mix - he is white english from rural Kent, she is indian from a village/town in southern India.

My impression is that she has had to deal with far more racism in Britain than he has ever experienced in India.

indianapearl

Most Indians are extraordinarily curious about westerners. They want to have their photos taken with us, ask us our names, where we're from.

The Muslim call to prayer each day is haunting and beautiful. I'm sure you'll be fine.

jobin

Suggest earplugs of good quality.