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Dimple and Manisha’s wedding sparked controversy in the Sikh community in India. Photo/BBC
NEW DELHI – Couple’s wedding LGBT which recently occurred in the northern state of Punjab India , sparked controversy in the country. The reason is, the incident occurred when India was waiting for the Supreme Court’s decision regarding the legalization of same-sex marriage.
Dimple (27) and Manisha (21) married in the city of Bathinda on September 18 with the blessings of their families, something very unusual in a conservative country like India.
But what was even more unusual was that their wedding took place in a gurdwara – a Sikh temple – with the bride and groom performing all the traditional rituals.
The marriage faced criticism from several religious leaders, including Sikhism’s supreme priest Giani Raghbir Singh who stated that same-sex marriage was unnatural and against Sikh ethics.
He said the marriage of two women before the Guru Granth Sahib – the Sikh holy book – was a grave moral and religious violation. He also instructed the Bathinda gurdwara committee to suspend priest Hardev Singh, who officiated at the wedding, and three others until further notice.
Hardev Singh has been removed from his post. In his defense, he said that he did not know that the bride and groom were women because one of the women was wearing a turban.
Dimple questioned the claim, saying that they had provided a copy of their identity proof to the gurdwara so there was no reason to cause confusion.
Dimple is from Mansa district while Manisha is from Bathinda – both remote areas where LGBTQ+ rights are rarely discussed in public.
Dimple, an upper-caste Jatt Sikh, and Manisha, a Hindu Dalit, met in a garment factory in Zirakpur, a town near Punjab’s capital Chandigarh, where they both worked.
