An Indian mother has placed what may be the country’s first gay matrimonial ad on behalf of her LGBTI activist son Harish Iyer.

The ad, which was published in Tuesday’s (19 May) edition of the Mid-Day newspaper, read:

‘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).’

Thousands of ads are posted in the weekly matrimonial sections of Indian newspapers.

But the Times of India, the Hindustan Times and the dna website all rejected Iyer’s ad.

The Times of India told him that their ‘legal department said that it was illegal’ – India recriminalized gay sex in 2013.

‘My mom worries about me too much,’ he told the paper.

‘She is constantly thinking that I am getting old, will be alone, and all those concerns a mother has. So, she and I had a discussion last week and decided to go ahead with placing a matrimonial ad looking for a gay person.’

‘My mum called me this morning saying three people have responded so far,’ Iyer continued.

‘She asked me what to do next, how to proceed, so I told her, "proceed like you would have if you were looking for a girl for me."’