Arranged marriages are somewhat common in South Asian cultures and India’s Arranged Gay Marriage Bureau is a popular choice for finding an appropriate match. But Vice reporter Reeta Loi’s yearlong investigation into the business reveals the truth behind the “service.”
In a shocking expose, Loi details what happens when she joins the service. She didn’t join as a reporter though; she was an actual client.
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The company’s founder, Urvi Shah, claims to “fulfill people’s dreams and help find them a partner” for a substantial fee. With over 3,700 clients, Shah has turned matchmaking into a lucrative business.
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Loi alleges that Shah scams clients with fake profiles, reviews, and testimonies from former clients.
“South Asian LGBT+ people are some of the most vulnerable and at risk people in the world,” Koi told LGBTQ Nation. “It has been devastating to find that anyone would choose to lie to us and steal from us, all under the guise of helping us find love. With so many of us lacking the support of family, to claim to be acting as such in the tradition of Arranged Marriage that is culturally so familiar to us, is also an unacceptable blow.”
“Love is surely a basic human right that should not be criminalized between consenting adults. That this bureau was set up while criminal legislation was still in place in India is telling of a person keen to prey on people that have no other support or any safe way to find love. I hope that this documentary brings about the end of this shocking and horrific scam.”
