Premi Posted September 29, 2023 Report Share Posted September 29, 2023 https://www.independent.co.uk/asia/india/lesbian-couple-in-india-sikh-wedding-bathinda-b2418680.html Same-sex couple’s wedding in India sparks backlash from highest cleric in Sikhism 1 day ago Dimple and Manisha tell Namita Singh they were fully transparent about having an LGBT+ wedding and that the priest agreed, even though India does not recognise same-sex marriage When they were planning their wedding, Dimple and Manisha always agreed that they wanted their “big day” to include a traditional Sikh religious ceremony. A same-sex couple living in India’s Punjab state, they had no idea that their wedding day would trigger such a huge controversy and draw criticism from the highest priest in Sikhism himself. Manisha, 21, said the priest was very encouraging when she approached a local gurdwara (the Sikh place of worship) with her fiance Dimple, 27, who goes by male pronouns. “We spoke to him in the presence of my parents and told him that it is not a male-female wedding, but [rather] with a person who has been assigned female sex at birth,” she told The Independent. India does not recognise same-sex marriage, but Manisha said that the priest, Hardev Singh, told her similar marriages had happened in the past. “He took my phone number, saying that he will discuss this with the gurdwara committee and call me back.” The committee approved their union and the couple got married in front of the Sikh religious scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib, on 18 September. Since then, a controversy has erupted over their wedding, prompting the priest to issue an apology for officiating the ceremony, amid criticims from the highest cleric in Sikhism, Giani Raghbir Singh. Describing same-sex marriage as “unnatural and contrary to Sikh ethics”, Mr Singh told the BBC that the marriage of two women in the presence of the Guru Granth Sahib was “a severe moral and religious violation”. The outlet reported that he has also ordered the suspension of the priest who oversaw the marriage rites and three others present during the ceremony. The priest, Hardev Singh, has since claimed in an interview with the BBC that he did not know it was an LGBT+ wedding, arguing that one of the couple was wearing a turban for the ceremony. He did not respond to The Independent’s attempts to contact him by phone for comment. Questioning his claim, Manisha said: “We told him all the details in person. In fact we submitted the documents, including biometric identity proof, [and the] Aadhaar [government-issued ID] card where it is clear that Dimple is female [assigned female sex at birth].” 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GurjantGnostic Posted September 30, 2023 Report Share Posted September 30, 2023 15 hours ago, Premi said: https://www.independent.co.uk/asia/india/lesbian-couple-in-india-sikh-wedding-bathinda-b2418680.html Same-sex couple’s wedding in India sparks backlash from highest cleric in Sikhism 1 day ago Dimple and Manisha tell Namita Singh they were fully transparent about having an LGBT+ wedding and that the priest agreed, even though India does not recognise same-sex marriage When they were planning their wedding, Dimple and Manisha always agreed that they wanted their “big day” to include a traditional Sikh religious ceremony. A same-sex couple living in India’s Punjab state, they had no idea that their wedding day would trigger such a huge controversy and draw criticism from the highest priest in Sikhism himself. Manisha, 21, said the priest was very encouraging when she approached a local gurdwara (the Sikh place of worship) with her fiance Dimple, 27, who goes by male pronouns. “We spoke to him in the presence of my parents and told him that it is not a male-female wedding, but [rather] with a person who has been assigned female sex at birth,” she told The Independent. India does not recognise same-sex marriage, but Manisha said that the priest, Hardev Singh, told her similar marriages had happened in the past. “He took my phone number, saying that he will discuss this with the gurdwara committee and call me back.” The committee approved their union and the couple got married in front of the Sikh religious scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib, on 18 September. Since then, a controversy has erupted over their wedding, prompting the priest to issue an apology for officiating the ceremony, amid criticims from the highest cleric in Sikhism, Giani Raghbir Singh. Describing same-sex marriage as “unnatural and contrary to Sikh ethics”, Mr Singh told the BBC that the marriage of two women in the presence of the Guru Granth Sahib was “a severe moral and religious violation”. The outlet reported that he has also ordered the suspension of the priest who oversaw the marriage rites and three others present during the ceremony. The priest, Hardev Singh, has since claimed in an interview with the BBC that he did not know it was an LGBT+ wedding, arguing that one of the couple was wearing a turban for the ceremony. He did not respond to The Independent’s attempts to contact him by phone for comment. Questioning his claim, Manisha said: “We told him all the details in person. In fact we submitted the documents, including biometric identity proof, [and the] Aadhaar [government-issued ID] card where it is clear that Dimple is female [assigned female sex at birth].” ..had no idea... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premi Posted September 30, 2023 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2023 4 hours ago, GurjantGnostic said: ..had no idea... Priest/Granthi took a bribe maybe and kept it on the low-down probably... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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