India Love Project, a social media initiative that celebrates real-life love stories outside the “shackles of faith, caste, ethnicity and gender”, has been recognised as one of the 10 finalists for the 2023 Global Pluralism Award.
It has been shortlisted from among 200 submissions from 60 countries by an independent jury, the India Love Project has been spotlighted for sharing stories of unions that “defy traditional boundaries” and for 'countering prejudice'.
The initiative was launched in 2020 by Niloufer Venkatraman, Samar Halarnkar and Priya Ramani. The initiative connects couples with pro bono lawyers and counsellors to support their unions.
“We have to remind ourselves of this pluralism…If there is anything that can address the threats to pluralism, it is the simple act of love,” Halarnkar.
“Next year is a big one for us. We hope to publish a book, and our series produced by Dharmatic Entertainment for Amazon Prime should be out in early 2024. It will have six episodes, each telling the story of a couple featured on India Love Project,” Ramani said.
“The creativity, courage, and commitment shown by this year's finalists is so important at this moment,” said Meredith Preston McGhie, Secretary General of the Global Centre for Pluralism. Each winner will receive a prize of $50,000 (Canadian dollars).