Is it fair marrying or dating someone from another culture?

A person marries or dates the other person when he or she likes the other person. Liking or love has no bounds. Putting conditions on whom one can love or date fails the whole concept of love. Like it is rightly said - "love knows no bounds."

However, many people wonder if it is fair to marry or date a person from a different culture. It is a wrong question to ask. If you like a person and want to spend the rest of your life with him or her, then nothing can stop you. Culture and castes are categorizations that have been done by humans. The individuality of a person is determined by how he or she behaves. The treatment one gives to the other person, the perspective, opinion about matters, etc. should be the criteria to judge a person. They are the characteristics that make up a person. They are acquired through life experiences. On the other hand, one has no control on the type of culture one belongs to. Thus, it should not be a reason to avoid a person whom you otherwise like. 

Coming to the societal norms that have prevailed since time immemorial, fighting against them or taking the easy way out is again an individual choice to make. Neither every bond of love strong enough to stand the tough times nor everyone's beliefs. The reason that I call it a tough decision to make has two phases: pre-marital and post-marital. While the former is considerably harder since there's a lot of social pressure which includes one's family and loved ones, the post-marital scenario is mostly about the maturity and emotional stability of the two people in question.

After all, a marriage needs a lot of adjustments, understanding and most importantly, faith in each other. Choosing to be with someone for life isn't only about love or desire, but also an emotional responsibility of being there for one another through thick and thin. The institution of marriage is based on two individuals who mutually, socially and emotionally agree to stand by each other against all odds. Hence, cultural or communal boundaries may not be the right yardstick to foresee the future. 

Although there could be a lot of differences between people coming from two different communities in terms of their beliefs and way of living, they can surely be dealt with mutual respect and love for each other's culture and thus strike a balance in the long run. After all, we belong to a secular nation and have always been united by each other's festivities.