Marriage announcements in India are notorious for their strict specifications, their apparent favoritism of caste endogamy, and sometimes a bizarre list of demands. A similar ad went viral on social media.
In addition to the standard list of preferences such as height, age, and location, the ad looks for a person from “top tier institutions (Tier 1)”. Educational institutions such as IIT Delhi, BITS Pilani, NIT Calicut, IIM Ahemdabad, IIM Bangalore and other popular colleges are preferred.
A screenshot of this courtship was posted by a Twitter user Raj Kunkolienkar (@kunksed) on Oct. 17 and has since sparked discussion about the absurdity of courtship in India.
Real institute rankings take place on matrimonial sites. pic.twitter.com/Pp3EZfdan5
— Raj Kunkolienkar (@kunksed) October 17, 2022
Unfortunately in India you only live your life to enhance your CV. We’re trained to be the best 1-pagers in the crowd and that’s it
— 123_123_123 (@R__A2317) October 17, 2022
*Accountants have left the chat*
— Himansu 👋🏽 (@varghesehimansu) October 17, 2022
All these distortions in the Indian marriage markets only work because the baby boomers force their sons into bad trades through incessant gaslighting. As in this case, the only reason this dand is not corrected by the market is because some boomer wants Agarwal bahu coz muh samaj and his ijjat. https://t.co/BC8nRWcZ8Z
— Kairos Fateweaver (@Mocking_Watcher) October 17, 2022
Will be helpful for the public if they can also list what all colleges fall under tier 2 and tier 3 😀
— Giri (@_giridharan_) October 17, 2022
Just a humble request, please also show applicants credentials like education, height and such… just to see what is the reason for being so specific and having requirements that are so difficult to meet!
— Rachit (@Rachit47901553) October 17, 2022
I am NIT Kurukshetra alumni. People used to submit RTI to know the specific caste and stream students for their ward’s marriage proposal.
— Shashi Raj ششی راج शशि राज (@shashirajjj) October 18, 2022
HAHAHAHAHA 😂 Seems more like a job posting https://t.co/xmmnTuhcj2
— Noman Khalid Ch (@nomankhalidch) October 18, 2022
One Twitter user mocked the ad for listing colleges as “Tier 1” and wrote: “Will be helpful to the public if they can list what all colleges are also under Tier 2 and Tier 3 😀”. Netizens also commented that the marriage ad looks more like a job ad.
Another person wrote: “Just a humble request, please also show applicants credentials like education, height and such… just to see what is the reason for being so specific and having requirements that are so difficult are to be fulfilled!”.
In early September, a similar marriage ad went viral seeking a groom for a 24-year-old “beautiful MBA girl with a wealthy family business background.” Among the preferences, the ad mentions that they are not interested in accepting suggestions from software developers. The ad boldly says “Software engineers please do not call“.
