India's First Gay Matrimonial Ad Outraged A Lot Of People For Having A Caste Requirement

Harish Iyer's mother Padma Iyer, who wrote the ad, later clarified on Facebook that she is "not bothered about the caste or religion of his partner".

Yesterday, Mumbai-based gay rights activist Harish Iyer posted India’s first gay matrimonial” ad in Mid Day.

Harish Iyer

The Times of India, DNA, and The Hindustan Times all refused to publish the ad.

Amongst the outpouring of positive reactions, several people questioned the need for an "IYER preferred" requirement in the otherwise progressive ad.

Via buzzfeed.com

Via buzzfeed.com

Dhanya Rajendran @dhanyarajendran

BUT- the Indian gay matrimonial ad, though it was path-breaking, also said 'Iyer preferred' http://t.co/Tej7ohRjcb

03:30 PM - 19 May 2015

And others defended Padma Iyer's choice of words, explaining that it was probably tongue-in-cheek.

Via buzzfeed.com

smits @MeSmit9

@hiyer Exactly wt i thot ! i assumed it was meant to be a joke. U know like, "Caste no bar. Iyer Preffered *wink* *wink*" Great going aunty

06:51 AM - 20 May 2015

Chenthil @chenthil_nathan

When almost everyone here has married within their caste, why so much outrage about "Iyer preferred" in that gay matrimonial?

05:24 AM - 20 May 2015

Via buzzfeed.com

In the wake of this heated discussion, Padma Iyer took to Facebook to clarify her stance.

Facebook: iyerpadma

And Harish himself posted a status pointing out the double-standard at play here, when comparing his ad to the standard fair for heterosexual matrimonial classifieds.

Facebook: harishiyer