Mother Placed A Newspaper Ad Seeking 'Groom' For Her Son
A mother from New Delhi, India placed a newspaper advertisement, which aims to find his son a partner. According to the ad, the she is looking for a well-placed, animal-loving, vegetarian “groom”.
Her son’s name is Harish Iyer. He is a 36-year-old man based in Mumbai. He is a notable gay rights activist who was hailed as part of Guardian’s 100 most influential LGBT people in 2013. According to him, his other is just like any other mother who would want to help her child find a partner to settle down with. The ad was only sensationalised because a man, instead of a woman was sought. The entire ad read: "Seeking 25-40, well-placed, animal-loving, vegetarian, for my son (36, 5'11") who works with an NGO. Caste no bar."
The sole newspaper that agreed to publish the ad was Mid-Day. The organisation did not have any different views on the LGBT community, said Sachin Kalbag, executive editor of Mid-Day. "A lot of credit goes to the advertising department because they treated this as any other ad," added Kalbag. He hoped that other newspapers would also have the same perception. Three other national Indian newspapers, on the other hand, refused to publish the said ad, the CNN reported. According to Iyer, the newspapers refused the ad due to “legal reasons”.
Gay marriage remains illegal in India. Furthemore, “carnal intercourse” or gay sex is punishable by law under India’s Supreme Court order in 2013. Offenders may be sentenced with anything up to life imprisonment if found guilty.
According to the gay dating-app Planet Romeo, India ranked as the 81st country in the world to have “gay happiness”, which pertains to how gay men are treated in the community. Although, transgender individuals have been recognised by the country as the “third gender,” Iyer still thinks the LGBT group is still being bullied. The views of the society are slowly taking a shift, but there is still a long way to go, Iyer told the CNN.
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