How far we as a nation has travelled the journey of homosexuality and How much journey is still to cover?

- Saptak Chakraborty

"Heterosexuality is not normal, it's just common." Dorothy Parker.

India has progressed a lot lately in terms of accepting the LGBTQ community but there still exists a prevalent section who hold homosexuality as an abomination.  There still exist people who pass facetious remarks because they fail to understand the gravity of the situation, the weight of the topic that is being discussed. Without any further ado let's embark on this journey to eradicate stereotypes.

What does the acronym stand for?

LGBTQIA+ is an acronym pertaining collectively to people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual,transgender, queer,intersex, and asexual (or their allies). 

L for lesbian-term for women sexually and affectionately oriented toward other women.

G for gay- homosexual person or those attracted to same gender.

B for bisexual- those that are sexually and affectionately attracted both to men and women.

T for trans- an inclusive term for transgender, non-conforming, and non-binary individuals).

Q for Queer- an inclusive term or as a unique celebration of not molding to social norms.

I or Intersex- it’s used for individuals that don’t fit into specific gender norms of woman or man; it can also be used for those with reproductive anatomy that isn’t typical.

Asexual - use for those that don’t feel sexual attraction to either sex. An asexual is one who doesn't feel sexual desire towards anyone. It varies from person to person as each person's sexuality is unique but one should note that asexuals can have romantic attraction or emotional attraction, can have a sex drive or sexual desire, and aren't necessarily celibates. They just have no sexual desire.

Pride month

On June 28, 1969, the Stonewall Uprising took place in New York City in the USA. At the time, the NY police would frequently raid queer bars and harass the queer community. On 28th June, all hell broke loose when the queer community fought back and protested hard for several days. This changed the world forever, for the better. The following year, the first official Pride parade was carried out on the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. Every year in June the world celebrates Pride month dedicated to the LGBTQ community and their right to live a dignified life.Pride is about people coming together, to show and celebrate how far gay rights have come and how much is still left to achieve.

LGBT pride walk is the promotion of the self-affirmation, dignity, equality, and increased visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people as a social group. Pride, as opposed to shame and social stigma, is the predominant outlook that bolsters most LGBT rights movements.

India has always been known for its rich culture and it's medieval history says no otherwise.

Rigveda is one of the four canonical sacred texts of Hinduism. It says Vikriti Evam Prakriti (something which apparently might seem unnatural is also natural), which some scholars believe recogniseshomosexual dimensions of human life, like all forms of universal diversities. 

Urdu poetry of the late medieval era used the term "chapti" to refer to copulation between people of same genders. It’s near about impossible to talk about homosexuality in ancient India without referring to one of its most affirmative and visual proofs. The sculptures and effigies in the Khajuraho temple of Madhya Pradesh are known for their overt homosexual imagery. The temple was built in 12th century. These are three of the abundantly available examples which prove the existence of homosexuality in India's rich history.

The firsts of many for India.

Row Kavi is the first man in India to publicly come out as gay way back in 1984. He says “When I came out in ’84, they used to laugh at me, saying why are you people asking for rights. There has always been a hierarchy of rights, and gay rights is always at the end,” he recalls. He was the founder of the first LGBT magazine in India, Bombay Dost.

In 1999, Kolkata hosted India’s first Gay Pride Parade. The parade, with only 15 attendees, was named Calcutta Rainbow Pride.

6th of September, 2018.

6th of September 2018 was a day to rejoice, was a day as significant as no other. On that very day a part of section 377 of the penal code which criminalised same sex relations between two consensual adults was struck down by a five judge bench. In her fifty page verdict, Justice Indu Malhotra said "History owes an apology to the members of this community and their families, for the delay in providing redressal for the ignominy and ostracism that they have suffered through the centuries. The members of this community were compelled to live a life full of fear of reprisal and persecution." 

While the LGBT rights activists were wrapped in colours and jubilance celebrated in the lawn of the court there were some prominent organisations which condemned this decision. All India Muslim Personal Law Board,(AIMPLB),Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) were harshly critical about it. Eminent personalities like Sashi Tharoor, Farhan Akhtar, Swara Bhaskar and many more took it up on twitter to congratulate the nation for winning this battle.The United Nation congratulated saying the verdict is the first step to "fundamental rights".

Spartacus Travel Index and hotspots for the gay community in India.

Spartacus Gay travel index is measure of how gay friendly a country is based on the LGBT laws that are in existence, the life that LGBT community leads, whether they have events or separate places to hangout and overall comfort that a same sex couple might feel when they visit that country.According to it India ranks 57th. The metropolitan cities in India show the most significant amount of development in terms LGBTQ acceptance. There are gay bars and hotels which have come up in recent years. There's Mr Gay India Pageant which is usually held in the month of January every year. Groups like Gay Bombay and Salvation Star organises frequent meetups. Pink Tuesdays at Depot 48, Rainbow Thursday at PDA. Martini Bar and Kitty-Su on Thursday evenings at The Lalit have turned the gay nightlife in Delhi into quite a shindig.  Bangalore houses well known places like Pink Sky Bar, Chin Lung and Gaylord.

How Madras HC took a step ahead.

Justice N Anand Venkatesh of Madras high court on 7th of June 2021 barred the dubious practice of “conversion therapy” that claims to change the sexual orientation of queer people.  Anand said how he is yet to comprehend homosexuality and belongs to the group of commoners but ignorance is no justification for normalising any form of discrimination. This marked an important day for the whole community.

Addressing the significant.

A total of 17% of India fall under the LGBTQ community with 3% of the whole population being homosexual. That is a huge number considering India's mammoth population. As homophobia still prevails people fear coming out to their families, due to the stigma that exists. Parents often try to make their children visit psychologists once the come out, make them go through conversion therapy, both of which are equally dreadful.  In rural parts of India it naturally becomes more dangerous. The people who have already been through this phase say, it's best to come out at the earliest because living with it, itself, is a huge burden. If your family is very conservative and you are well aware that they might despise you trying to be self sustainable before breaking out of the cocoon.  

The country has scraped off a part of 377 of IPC but it is yet to grant same sex marriage. Though limited cohabitation right exists  adoption by same sex couples are not permitted. A single person can however adopt irrespective of their sexual orientation. The bill which allows LGBTQ community people to serve openly in the military is yet to get passed.

How New Zealand became one of the most suited places for the LGBTQ community.

 People belonging to LGBT community have the exact same rights as the general population of NZ. New Zealand is one of the most liberal countries and it was the thirteenth country around the globe to enact same sex marriage. Everyone irrespective of their sexual orientation can serve in the military, samesex couples have had the provision to adopt since 2013. These are some provisions which many Asian countries lack, including India. According to an opinion poll in NZ, majority of the population is infavour of same sex marriage.

The plausible solutions.

You cannot emphasise more on the fact that everything begins at home. For the ones who are well aware, they should voluntarily educate the ignorant. It is imperative to start at the grassroot level. The education board should compulsorily include content in their subject matter about the LGBTcommunity which would then instill a sense of acceptance in the students. On a much more personal level, we can start by not engaging in bad humour against the community,the apparent humour which belittles an entire section of our society. Stopping this would normalise homosexuality and go a long way in breaking prevailing social stigma. This will make a safe space for the whole LGBTQ community.

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