When your mother tells you it’s time to get married in India, you know the pressure is on.
Harish Iyer’s very proactive mother approached The Times of India, DNA, and The Hindustan Times to place an ad as is the custom.
Both newspapers refused to publish the ads. Accortding to Iyer, DNA rejected the idea on legal grounds.
The Times Initially processed the order but retracted the offer after ‘advice from their legal team.’
The Times Initially processed the order but retracted the offer after ‘advice from their legal team.’
This fuelled the fiance-seeking Gay rights activist, to persevere until he found a newspaper willing to print the ad.
Eventually the hard work paid off, as the Mid-day publication agreed to help Iyer’s quest for love while also highlighting the discrimination gay people face in India.
Sachin Kalbag, the editor of Mid-Day told Buzzfeed India,“A marriage is a meeting of minds, of souls. At mid-day, we believe that human rights should be applicable to all, regardless of religion, caste, colour, sexual orientation, etc. Therefore, a mother seeking a union for her gay son is perfectly normal. Why should it be any different? In fact, why should we even be talking about it? In an equal society, which we all strive for, this should be routine.
Mid-day stands for equal rights for the LGBT community and we campaign vociferously for it, regardless of whether there is a trial going on in any of the major courts. Our coverage is not “newsworthiness dependent”. Our official stand is that India should not discriminate against any community, including the LGBT community, in any aspect of life.
Marriage is all about love, compassion, and companionship. If Harish Iyer, through this ad, is able to find an ideal partner who would be able to give him all of this, that would be one heck of a union. Because marriage can never be only about sex, it is also about partnership. I understand that this particular marriage will face opposition from some quarters, but as a society we must never discourage any community member from finding an ideal life partner.”
We look forward to the wedding pics!
