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Posted: 2016-04-13 05:05:00

Dalvinder and Sam had just six months to plan their massive Indian wedding.

LIKE most young Aussies, Dalvinder Gill-Minhas knows only too well the pressure to study hard, find a job, get a house and eventually settle down.

But when her father Gill began asking her when she was getting married she had only one answer for him.

“I told him I didn’t want to marry an Indian boy,” the Melbourne customer service assistant told news.com.au

“I just wanted to be with a human being — I really didn’t care where they were from”

But her traditional Sikh father kept pressuring her to find a nice Indian boy so in a bid to “get him off her back” she went on Indian dating site Shaadi.com and even went on a date.

Her rules were simple, she would try it for 30 days and if she didn’t find someone she liked her traditional father would agree to lay off her case.

Dalvinder Gill-Minhas told her father she didn’t plan on marrying an Indian boy. Picture: Dianna Snape.

Dalvinder Gill-Minhas told her father she didn’t plan on marrying an Indian boy. Picture: Dianna Snape.Source:SBS

And as much as she enjoyed the thrill of it, the man she met wasn’t for her.

So she turned to Tinder and soon found a guy who caught her eye — his name was Sam (Shamsher) Minhas and in an ironic twist of fate he also happened to be of Indian descent.

She was hooked.

When they became engaged just six months after they started dating, her relieved father was over the moon.

However, the happy couple then faced the biggest race of their lives to get married within six months.

Her story, which appears on Indian Wedding Race, tonight on SBS, provides a colourful insight into the pressures young Indian-Australians face to get married by 30.

Ms Gill-Minhas said she agreed to take part in the documentary as she figured she had nothing to lose and wanted to give people a greater insight into the Indian culture.

Dalvinder and Sam, pictured on their wedding day with their family.

Dalvinder and Sam, pictured on their wedding day with their family.Source:SBS

She said planning any wedding was stressful enough, but planning an Indian one was even more so due to the huge amount of guests and family.

“When you get married it’s not just you getting married, it’s your parents, your sister and your whole family,” she said.

Ms Gill-Minhas said the pressure to settle down was massive among Australians but for those of Indian decent it was far more extreme as after 30 you’re considered “damaged goods”.

“Culturally it’s expected that you go to uni, get a good job and then you get married,” she said.

“And the pressure isn’t just from your family, it’s from the whole community.

“So after uni a lot of people will keep studying just to avoid that pressure.”

However she does believe this is slowly changing particularly for Indians who are born and raised in Australia.

Like Ms Gill — Minhas, Melbourne finance worker Tarun Bajaj knows the pressure young Indians face in settling down.

As Tarun Bajaj approached 30 he said the pressure to get married and settle down only worsened.

As Tarun Bajaj approached 30 he said the pressure to get married and settle down only worsened.Source:SBS

Despite moving to Australia more than 10 years ago to study, it hasn’t stopped his family from pressuring him to marry — and fast.

Mr Bajaj said he tried meeting a girl the traditional way but even turned to online dating and astrologers in a quest to fulfil his parents’ greatest wish.

“The pressure is super enormous,” he told news.com.au.

“As an Indian child there’s the pressure to go to uni, then to get a good job and every parent expects their child to get married.”

“I did escape the pressure for a long time moving here, but now I’m 30 it’s there more than ever.”

His mother’s greatest wish is to see her son marry a lovely Indian girl in a big traditional ceremony back in his native country.

And he said it went without saying any girl would have to get mum’s approval.

So does he find love?

Tune into Indian Wedding Race, part of the Untold Australia series, tonight to find out.

Indian Wedding Race is the premiere documentary in new three-part SBS series, Untold Australia which premieres at 8.30pm on Wednesday 13 April 13.

The pressure young Indian people face to get married is enormous.

The pressure young Indian people face to get married is enormous.Source:SBS

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