From UK, Saudi, US and more: India's first gay ad received more than 70 proposals

After being denied permission by many newspapers on legal grounds, India’s first gay matrimonial ad was finally posted on a daily newspaper a couple of days ago by the mother of gay rights activist Harrish Iyer. “Seeking 25-40, Well Placed, Animal-Loving Vegetarian GROOM for my SON (36 5'11”) who works with an NGO. Caste No Bar (Though IYER preferred)" [caption id=“attachment_1745167” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Image: IBNLive[/caption] The ad got mixed reactions on Twitter. While some supported Iyer, others  criticised it and termed it as ‘casteist’. Delhi-based activist Monish Kabir Malhotra told the BBC, “He placed an advert for a partner and it’s perfectly normal. I understand that same-sex marriages are illegal in India, but then it’s also a reality that thousands of LGBT people live in India. Are we going to pretend that gay people don’t exist or kill them all?” Despite the debate over whether the ad is legal or not, Harrish Iyer has already got over seventy responses to the ad, reports Hindustan Times. “Between Wednesday and Thursday, when it was circulated widely on social media and picked up by the media, I received 73 proposals in my email,” Padma Iyer, Harrish’s mother who placed the ad in the newspaper told Hindustan Times. The responses have come from all over the world and most of them seem to be, infact, Iyers, the HT report added. But surprisingly, Gujaratis, Muslims and people from Saudi Arabia and the Abu Dhabi have also replied to the ad with interest. The “Iyer preferred” bit in the ad has received a lot of flak . Both mother and son have clarified on Facebook that it was meant in jest, and should not be taken serious. Times of India reports her as saying, “Iyer pref was meant to be a tease. Though I should admit that is typical that mothers wish their children should be married to families whose culture we know of.”