Rainbow Rays

No scandal, only malaise

2011-01-31T10:36:00.000-08:00

The sensationalism of tabloid journalism, the scandal of sexual assault and the desperation of a struggling actor cumulated into an ugly episode spilling out of Bollywood. I was personally shocked to read the Mumbai Mirror story where actor Yuvraj Parashar (yes, the same guy who acted terribly in that disastrous movie Dunno Y..) accused acclaimed filmmaker Onir of sexual assault. I was shocked because of two reasons. The first one is obvious- It’s impossible to imagine Onir sexually assaulting a man much bigger and stronger than him. Secondly, from the limited interaction I’ve had with him, he came across as a man of sound integrity and passionate idealism.

In homophobic Bollywood, Onir is the one man who has been honest about his sexuality, and has dared to move into realms of cinema that others have maintained a safe distance from. “Someone has to make a beginning”, he told me when I first interviewed him for Pink Pages magazine. And therefore I was proud of him when he accepted bravely that indeed a sexual encounter had taken place between the two in an inebriated state. The fact that Yuvraj, a struggling actor, took this story with his own version to a tabloid newspaper instead of to the authorities, if indeed something offensive had happened, is not a surprise in this industry, but is highly damaging particularly to Onir’s reputation as one of India’s most innovative and courageous filmmakers, and in general to the gay community, that is as such only beginning to come to terms with its existence. His actions are egregious, foolish and morally wrong.

When I asked Onir how this whole episode had affected him, this is what he had to say, and I need to add nothing more-

“This episode has made be for the first time realize the significance of Tagores poem ‘Where the mind is without fear and the head is head high..... into that heaven of freedom, my father let my country awake’

This incident has made me stronger and more conscious of my identity. It has also gifted me the fact that there are many people that love me and trust me and I never felt so loved and cared for. I found my strength in their unconditional support.
I am going to fight this legally, not through media gimmick.

For a while I thought that it would change me as a person, and I would have to be careful about how and where I meet people. Then I thought 15 years I have met and interacted with people and made friends all because I was always open. One lousy person can’t make me change my life. I cannot build walls around myself because someone broke my trust.

My parents have taught me to love and love fearlessly. And I will continue to do so because I have their support. When they heard about this , they called me and said ‘We know you, we love you.... fight for your rights’. And today I am stronger and want to be a part of a movement that wants rights to be treated as any other citizen of this country.”

You can do your bit by signing this petition against Mumbai Mirror’s frivolous journalism.

Tell me a story, Read me a poem!

2011-01-04T07:29:00.000-08:00

All of us love a good story. And when it’s a genre that appeals to us personally, we live the moments vicariously through the words of the writer. Gay literature is not a new phenomenon. From Forster’s Maurice to Hollinghurst’s Line of Beauty, they’ve touched our lives more than once. Indian gay fiction has also started making its own mark now. Rahul Mehta’s Quarantine was a fine collection of expatriate stories, while the recently released Pink Sheep is more ethnic in its content.

The appeal of such literature is universal and it wasn’t a surprise that the idea of a Literature special issue of Pink Pages came out of the suggestions that we received from our readers themselves. Going through the numerous contributions we got, one could get an idea of the immense creative potential that remains to be tapped from within our community.

Poetry too, along with fiction is such a compelling beauty, that a good verse never fails to touch our inner cords. I still remember this poem called ‘The Ballad of the sad young men’ by Fran Landesman that I’d first read years ago, that describes with amazing finesse and pain the irony of the homosexual man and the agony of his female lover.

All the sad young men
Sitting in the bars
Knowing neon lights
Missing all the stars

All the sad young men
Drifting through the town
Drinking up the night
Trying not to drown

Sing a song of sad young men
Glasses full of rye
All the news is bad again
Kiss your dreams goodbye

All the sad young men
Seek a certain smile
Someone they can hold
For a little while

Tired little girl
Does the best she can
Trying to be gay
For a sad young man

Autumn turns the leaves to gold
Slowly dies the heart
Sad young men are growing old
That's the cruellest part

While a grimy moon
Watches from above
All the sad young men
Play at making love

Misbegotten moon
Shine for sad young men
Let your gentle light
Guide them home again
All the sad young men

This poem was written during the pre-Gay Liberation Movement of the 1950s, when gay life was synonymous with a melancholy and lonesome life. No matter how many times I read it, I never fail to capture the inherent grace of it.

The idea of a Literature special issue, plus my personal love for literature itself inspired me enough to pick up the pen and start writing- my very own first short story! So do go ahead and give it a read, and let me know through your comments what you made of it!

My short story: The Other Man (Jan 2011 issue, Pink Pages magazine)

Sanitize our Campuses of homophobia!

2010-10-11T10:59:00.000-07:00

Today, university campuses across the US are celebrating National Coming Out day. But this year, the celebrations were marked by an undercurrent of simmering grief and resentment following a string of student suicides.

However, bullying and antigay slurs on campus is not just limited to the US. With growing visibility of the LGBT community in India, our campuses too are getting more vitriolic and our gay, lesbian and transsexual teens in schools and colleges are beginning to feel the heat. Since most of them are not out, they have to bear in silence the constant barrage of homophobic jibes and SMSes doing the rounds. Effeminate boys and tomboyish girls are special targets of bullies on campuses and hostels. As evident in the US, such teens are prone to severe depression, and even suicidal tendencies. We have no data on just how bad the scene in India is, but the figures that we have from the US are disturbing enough to warrant action.

• Suicide is the leading cause of death among gay and lesbian youth.
• Gay and lesbian youth are 2 to 6 times more likely to attempt suicide than heterosexual youth.
• Over 30% of all reported teen suicides each year are committed by gay and lesbian youth.

So what exactly should be done here by our community groups and leaders? Here are a few points that deserve serious consideration-

• On-campus initiatives are desperately needed. The first step might come from the students themselves, but they need the active support and participation of bigger groups for funding, training and guidance.
• The bigger organizations should be more open and student friendly. As of now, they seem to be limited to a closed circle of activists who’re in fact detached from the grassroots.
• A 24-hour helpline should come up to help students in distress- who’re facing bullying, physical, verbal abuse. Make available professional counsellors for this.
• Support of straight friends is very important. We have to make sure our initiatives on campuses are more of gay-straight alliances.
• The onus of the success lies to a great extent on the students themselves. They must be encouraged to come out, however not without ensuring that a proper support structure of friends and campus-initiatives are in place. They must be encouraged to actively engage with their straight colleagues, reach out to other LGBT students in their respective campuses, and start organizing small events like film screenings, art exhibitions, etc to increase visibility and acceptance of the LGBT student community.

QueerCampus India: A first step in the right direction:

When Ananya and her group of friends started QueerCampus a few months back, they took a first step that perhaps should’ve been taken long back. Talking to her about QCI, I felt a sense of urgency as well as disappointment at how our gay “leadership” in this country has totally failed us. Here are a group of enthusiastic LGBT students in the national capital trying to reach out to thousands of other queer youth like themselves, who are being harassed, bullied and forced into depression on a regular basis, and they have absolutely no organizational backing from any well established LGBT group. Infact does one even exist in Delhi? Isn’t it a shame that a city that boasts of several gay party groups doesn’t have a single stable LGBT organization? Is it not surprising that even more than one year after Section 377 there’s no sign of a national gay rights group? Why are there no helplines that these boys and girls can access in times of need? I believe that the well established LGBT groups in this country have displayed an abysmal failure at grabbing an opportunity that the Delhi High Court Verdict brought about. Honestly, I’m disgusted at the media sensationalism and politics surrounding whatever “work” they do.

Not to be disappointed by how things have turned out till now, I think we all have to make sure that as a community we do not allow a repetition of what’s happening in the US today. Out or not, we have all gone through some pretty tough times during our schooling and college days because of our sexual orientation. We owe it to them that they don’t have to go through the same.

(To know more about QueerCampus, look forward to the next issue of Pink Pages magazine, due to be out in a few days' time. You can also visit the QueerCampus website for regular updates on their public meetings.)

Lessons in democracy from Prop 8

2010-08-05T11:51:00.000-07:00

Proposition 8 was overthrown by a Federal Court in California today, which termed the anti-gay marriage ballot initiative unconstitutional. This doesn’t mean gay marriages will start once again in the state, since we’ll have to await a Supreme Court ruling on it. However this ruling does mean a lot of other things.

Firstly, since this is a Federal Court ruling, it’ll have a major impact on similar lawsuits in other states. Also, now that the issue will be taken up in the US Supreme Court, a favourable ruling will outlaw all anti- gay marriage laws in other states as well. Supporters of Proposition 8 could’ve never imagined that their ballot initiative against same-sex marriage in California could one day lead to it being legalised all over the country. The international impact of USA legalising gay marriage would be unimaginable. It’ll fundamentally alter the course of the world-wide gay rights movement.

However, the whole controversy throws up a much bigger question- of how a democracy should and shouldn’t work. Democracy does mean rule of the majority, but it should never mean tyranny of the majority. A democracy that fails to protect its minorities is a sham. This most definitely includes putting minority rights under a popular vote, which is defeating the very purpose of a liberal freedom-loving democracy. Such a situation is no different from autocracies or theocracies, where brute force is so often used to suppress dissent or an alternative way of life.

Polls show that a larger number of Americans today support same-sex marriage than ever before, but even if they do not, this does not necessarily mean that gay marriage shouldn’t be legal. Argentina and Spain are two deeply Catholic nations that have demonstrated to the world how majority opinion should not be used to trample upon the rights of a minority community.

In the whole quagmire, what really amazes me is that how can some people be filled with such intense hatred in their hearts that they can spend such massive amounts of time, money and energy into taking away other people’s rights. Just imagine only if all this effort could’ve gone into something more productive like health care and shelter for those in need. The Proposition 8 ruling has definitely left a lot of Americans bitter and devastated. That, I think is the real tragedy.

Related Articles:

My Nov '08 article on the passing of Prop 8

Long road to the Supreme Court - from CNN.com

Tackling Queer radicalism: What gays can learn from straight families

2010-07-07T09:47:00.000-07:00

In 1971, the Gay Liberation Front of London published an extreme manifesto. The document stated:

“The oppression of gay people starts in the most basic unit of society, the family. Consisting of the man in charge, a slave as his wife, and their children on whom they force themselves as the ideal models. The very form of the family works against homosexuality... We question as an ideal, the finding and settling down eternally with one 'right' partner. This is the blueprint of the straight world which gay people have taken over. It is inevitably a parody, since they haven't even the justification of straight couples-the need to provide a stable environment for their children (though in any case we believe that the suffocating small family unit is by no means the best atmosphere for bringing up children.)”

Now, also consider these pieces which appeared recently in the Indian media by some writers within our community-

“Nothing would be more divisive and undesirable for the gay and lesbian community at this point than the claim for gay marriage... New sexual arrangements that evade definitions will compel a rethinking of possible sexual relations. Let us not make ourselves more legible to the State by asking for gay marriage or even civil unions centred around property relations.”

-Gayatri G. , Indian Express

“I think every monogamous person is actually a rapist and a criminal who kills, pillages and plunders under the guise of ‘love.’ You need to ask yourself – intellectually – why you feel this guzzling – emotional – desire to drink someone’s life blood, restrict their movements, their desires, their imagination and who knows what else and call it your “bad need” for emotional security or some s*** like that. And why you need to f*** them over and call it love... I think sex is best because there is the least bit of dissembling involved in it. Whether it is good or bad sex, sex does not lie. Love , in its hegemonic form, is about lies and subterfuge and mind-f****** and psychic games and role-playing; a whole armoury that f***** up heterosexuals have devised over centuries.”

- Ashley Tellis, in an interview to a JNU blogger

What gives me some condolence is the fact that the GLF’s manifesto appeared just a few years after homosexuality was legalized in the UK, just as these pieces have appeared within a year of India doing the same. Today the UK recognizes same-sex partnerships, and such radical anti-family opinions are rarely expressed. But what really bothers me is that should Indian gays also take 30 long years to reach that point?

Firstly, a heterosexual family does not necessarily have to be oppressive to the woman. At the end of the day, it’s all about choice. I remember how Julia Roberts, who played a radical feminist teacher in ‘Mona Lisa Smile’ who encourages her students to exercise their choice to be something other than a wife or a mother, was silenced by one of her own students who told her how it was her own “choice” to marry the man she loved that made her feel empowered like no commercial job could’ve done. So when the radical queers question why it should always be the mother in heterosexual families who should stay at home to look after the child, have they ever considered what the woman would’ve chosen even if she were not forced to do such a thing (assuming of course she was “forced” as it is so often claimed). The love of a mother for her child is something that can not and should not be seen through the tainted lens of radical politics.

Secondly, why oppose committed gay relationships just because “partners end up playing the masculine/feminine role in the relationship, and it’s oppressive for the person playing the female role”? Not just because this is a stereotype which is not true, but also because even if it were true, it’s a choice that people exercise. Plus, by saying such a thing, one assumes that being a female in a committed heterosexual relationship is a terrible thing. Moreover, what is a “female” role anyway? Isn’t that an extreme form of putting labels on people- to declare two individuals in a same-sex relationship as a “man” and “woman”?

Thirdly, coming to the question of same-sex marriage, I think it’s egregious of certain individuals in the LGBT community to publish statements opposing same-sex marriage just because it doesn’t fit their idea of bashing straight people enough. They must realize that there are many within the gay community who’d like the state to recognize their loving and committed relationships. No one’s forcing all gay people to marry, but to take away that choice from others is an example of wanton and destructive radicalism.

Finally, a few words on “family”. As much as some of our intellectuals would like us to believe that family is an oppressive institution, I’d request them not to extrapolate their negative personal experiences on the rest of the community members. Today, what I am, as an individual- is a collective of many identities- an engineer, a writer, a son, a boyfriend, gay, Indian, Bengali- and it is a result of the unconditional love and support that my allegedly “oppressive” heterosexual family has extended to me for years. The radical queers can deride monogamy as something primitive, but I have no idea how messed up my life would’ve been if my parents were not so. They can snide at women who choose to give up their careers to raise a family, but I know for a fact that my mother wouldn’t have traded the world for the days she spent with me at home. They have to realize that a small family unit need not always be “suffocating”. They have to realize that there’s so much that gay families can learn from traditional straight ones.

Of course this does mean that the term “family” needs to be more inclusive in order to include gay couples and their children. It’s already happening in the west, and will soon happen in India. It also means that straight parents have to be more sensitive towards their children who do not “fit in” to conventional gender roles. All of this needs education, and living examples from within our community so that our families get the same respect and recognition that straight families have, instead of anti-family/anti-marriage rhetoric from fringe elements.

What such vitriolic statements bare is a deep-rooted discomfort of being something different, perceived as negative by society, and thus finding solace in spewing venom on that same society, which somehow makes us feel good. In the process we fail to realize the countless positive aspects that we’re throwing away by rejecting an institution altogether- in this case the timeless institution of family- the basic building block of our society.

***

P.S. : The organizers of the ‘Queer Azadi’ march in Mumbai had not included legal recognition to same-sex couples on their list of demands. When I posted a query on their website asking if it was a deliberate omission, I got no reply.

Getting it left, right and center!

2010-04-01T05:21:00.000-07:00

One of the not-so-gay things about being gay is that you are left with little options to choose from while casting your vote on the voting machine (or the good ol’ ballot box, depending on which country you’re in). The right wing is just too rabidly anti-gay to be voted for and the leftists have too many other albatrosses round their necks to be considered votable. All we’re left with are the centrists, who if you’re lucky enough may be a good option to vote for, but more often than not, are just not the ideal lot themselves.

Take the world’s oldest democracy- the United States. Voting Republican is the biggest sin a fag or a dyke can commit in that country (unless you happen to be a registered Log Cabin member- that awefully pitiable lot who have it from both sides of the divide- ignored by the bigshots in the Republican Party for being gay and lamblasted by gay rights groups for voting Republican). But then who’s the better option- the Democrats? With a poor track record on the economy, what’s worse is that they’ve been dragging their feet on the issue of gay rights too.

Back home in India- the world’s largest democracy, no self respecting gay or lesbian would ever vote for the BJP- with its baggage of Singhals who go about announcing on prime time television that gays are mentally sick people who need treatment, not equal rights, and fringe groups like the Bajrang Dal or Shri Ram Sene who find sadistic pleasure in beating up even heterosexual couples on Valentine’s Day. (Please don’t throw on my face the lame arument that the Bajrang Dal is not a part of the BJP. Right from Madhya Pradesh to Karnataka, whether church attacks or pub attacks- it all happened while local BJP governments looked on as mute spectators). Plus, no BJP leader has yet come out openly in support of the Section 377 verdict, like some Congress and Communist leaders have done.

Yes, the Communists. They were indeed the only Indian political party to officially endorse the decriminalization of homosexuality, and they must be lauded for that- because in doing so, they took a principled stand and did not bother about losing their massive Muslim constituencies in Bengal and Kerala. But the ideological horror that the party is (revealed in full face in their opposition to practically everything that’s good for the country- right from econmic reforms to better ties with the United States) is just too much to go along with.

That leaves us with the Grand Old Party of India- the Congress. And while we can be thankful to the fact that senior leaders in the UPA like Veerappa Moily and Milind Deora have come out in support of the gay community, voting for the Congress will mean a lot of compromising with those very principles that drive us away from the BJP in the first place. If the shameless sychophancy regarding the Gandhi clan isn't enough to disgust you, the Congress’ track record on secularism is indeed the hallmark of hypocrisy (While it rails and rants against Modi, it has left no trick untried to save its own leaders from indictment over the massacare of Sikhs in 1984. While it accuses the BJP of supporting Hindutva, does the Congress itself not support Muslim fundamentalism when it overturns the Shah Bano judgement or gives massive funds to "modernise" madarsas?). Plus, what has the Congress to show for its more than six years in power? Economic reforms have grinded to a halt while jehadist elements continue to bleed an alarmingly impotent India. Plus, the Congress, in order to please Muslims, is now doling out religion based quotas at state levels (which for sure is a travesty of our Constitution and our secular values), and once again cozying up to despotic Arab regimes at the cost of relations with free, democratic Israel.

In a situation like this who do I- a gay Atheist techie working for a multinational firm- vote for? Voting for the BJP will go against my ‘gay’ and ‘Atheist’ identities. Voting Communist will spell doom for my ‘multinational firm techie’ identity and voting Congress will be like casting a vote for hypocrisy. Well, I’ll definitely keep wondering until the next polls are due…

How I became a gay rights activist

2010-01-30T02:51:00.000-08:00

When I finally decided it’s high time that I should stop using my pseudonym, many of my friends were a worried lot. The closet however, is just not for me. But, this hasn’t always been the case.

I have never been a gender conformist(In school, you could always spot me at an art club during off-periods instead of the soccer field). And my parents have never forced me to conform. My mother, a psychology-cum-philosophy graduate knew better than that. Gender non-conformity is known to psychologists to be perhaps the only childhood indicator of adulthood- the possibility of an alternative sexual orientation. That perhaps explains why my engineer father was surprised when I came out to him, but my mother only got a confirmation of what she knew all along.

There was this classmate in my all-boys school- who was effeminate, and known to be gay. Every day he had to bear the brunt of cruel homophobic taunts and jibes. I was strictly closeted throughout my school years, never dared to think about coming out, let alone plunge into the act for real. And so, despite myself I never raised my voice against such blatant harassment.

Things changed for me when I moved out of my hometown to college. I nervously stepped into the underground internet-propelled gay scene of conservative Indore, and it gave me an unprecedented feeling of liberation. The possibility that I could spend my life with a man that I loved- and not be trapped in a loveless heterosexual marriage nudged me to go further. At a book fair in the city, I came across a book called ‘Coming Home to America’ by Torie Osborn, a leading American lesbian activist. In it she recounted her own story of rebellion against the heterocentrist society we’re all born into, and the personal struggles of several of her activist friends. Those were stories of hurt, pain and loneliness, but also of love, friendship, and an ultimate triumph. Reading that book was perhaps the turning point in my life. I knew now that living life on my own terms was no longer just a possibility, but the only way forward. I still have that book in my bookshelf, and I read it like a Catholic would read his Bible.

Gay activism was not something I got into, it was something that got me. When I started my online groups and blogs about three years back, I got a tremendous response from young gay men and women from all over India. And when my anonymous article was published in the Times of India, I received dozens of mails from different parts of the country. Many of them were men and women in their teens or early twenties, struggling to cope with their sexuality. I almost became a counselor to many. While a few others became very close friends. Among all minorities gay people are the most vulnerable. Dalit children grow up with Dalit parents and friends, Muslim children grow up with Muslim parents and friends, but we are born and are forced to grow up in enemy territory, left to fend for ourselves, often ending up severely depressed and lonely. And that’s why I found succor in my close and extended circle of gay friends and co-activists.

However, clearing out of the closet was still a job left undone. I started coming out to my college friends somewhere by the end of my second year in college, and found out that they not only accepted me, but also supported me throughout. The support of both my gay and straight friends ensured my smooth coming out to my parents by the time my graduation was over.

The gay community in India lacks open mediums of expression, an out and about cultural life, and most importantly public gay icons. While the cultural life is slowly developing post-Section 377, I and my friends came up with Pink Pages with the sole purpose of giving a voice to gay India on the national stage. That within a few months, Pink Pages has developed a dedicated readership of thousands and that it has been covered by major news groups like the Indian Express and TimeOut magazine, shows that Pink Pages was dearly needed. The magazine is dedicated to our energetic group of young men and women from all across India who’ve volunteered their time and talent for it. As far as gay icons are concerned, I must admit it is still a concern. We are yet to have an Adam Lambert in Indian Idol or a Hurling in our national cricket team.

I realize that adversities are many and absolute equality for our community-both politically and socially- is a long way to come. But I have hope in my heart. Hope that comes from the enormously talented and dedicated gay men and women that I know around me, hope comes from the pride I feel in working for an Indian multi-national company that prohibits discrimination against its gay and lesbian employees, and hope that comes from belonging to a country that is at its heart staunchly freedom loving and inclusive. And as they say, hope is a good thing- perhaps the best of things.

Why the docs need a lesson in homosexuality

2009-10-21T23:09:00.000-07:00

Ashok Row Kavi, in a recent newspaper interview ahead of a mammoth conference on sexuality in Mumbai, criticised medical professionals in India on their absolute lack of knowledge about human sexuality, especially homosexuality. No wonder really. A gay friend of mine, studying medicine at the Osmania university in Hyderabad says that textbooks and course materials in Indian universities are completely bare of any discussion whatsoever on homosexuality. Only in gynaecology is the subject mentioned. And if the student is referring to an Indian author, he'll be told in a fleeting sentence that homosexuality is a sickness that can be cured.

This lack of education in Indian medical institutes, which indeed is in sharp contrast to their western counterparts has caused a situation to develop, wherein harassed gay people, who are forced to see these professionals, instead of getting any real relief, are thrown into the abyss of what is called "aversion therapy", now completely discredited in the west.

In August this year, The American Psychological Association declared that mental health professionals should not tell gay clients they can become straight through therapy or other treatments. In a resolution adopted on a 125-to-4 vote by the APA’s governing council, and in a comprehensive report based on two years of research, the 150,000-member association put itself firmly on record in opposition of so-called “reparative therapy” which seeks to change sexual orientation. No solid evidence exists that such change is likely, says the report, and some research suggests that efforts to produce change could be harmful, inducing depression and suicidal tendencies. The APA had criticized reparative therapy in the past, but a six-member task force added weight to this position by examining 83 studies on sexual orientation change conducted since 1960.

Most prominent among them was the Masters and Johnson research. In April 2009, Thomas Maier reported in Scientific American that Virginia Johnson had serious reservations about the program, and that the results of the study were fabricated by William Masters. The same story goes for every other such aversion therapy 'researches'. Mainstream medical bodies have consistently rejected them because of several fundamental flaws in them- These include the fact that the results are not published in peer-reviewed journals, but tend to be released to the mass media and the Internet, that random samples of subjects are not used and results are reliant upon the subjects' own self-reported outcomes or on evaluations by therapists which may be subject to social desirability bias, that the evidence is gathered over short periods of time and there is little follow-up data to determine whether the therapy was effective over the long-term, that the evidence does not demonstrate a change in sexual orientation but merely a reduction in same-sex behavior, that the interpreters of the evidence do not take into consideration that subjects may be bisexual and have simply been convinced to restrict their sexual activity to the opposite sex, that conversion therapists falsely assume that homosexuality is a mental disorder, and that their research focuses almost exclusively on gay men and rarely includes lesbians.

Row Kavi specifically pointed out Dr. Rajan Bhonsle, Head of Department of sexual medicine at KEM hospital. "Sexologist Dr Rajan Bhonsle, for instance, is homophobic. He claims homosexuality is a "choice" when it is a sexual orientation. Bhonsle wrongly equates same sex with anal sex. A large number of gay men I know do NOT have anal sex. Bhonsle induces many homosexuals to go in for aversion therapy. His writings and lectures come in the way of creating a more tolerant and healthy society.", Kavi says. Dr. Bhonsle in his defence claimed that, "Only if an individual, who approaches me, has the right reasons, and a willingness to develop orientation towards the opposite sex, do I help him. I have hundreds of patients who have developed heterosexual orientation following therapy and are now happily married."

I have two things to say to that. Firstly, even if a gay person comes to a doctor wanting to 'change' his sexual orientation, he should be advised not to do so, just as medicos in the west now do. These psychiatrists should be instructed not to exploit the fears and gullibility of those struggling with their homosexuality, and instead should be helped so that they can come to terms with it. As for the claim of turning gays straight, it's nothing new. Dr. Bhonsle's claims hold no more water than those several 'researches' in the west that have been sysytematically discredited by mainstream medical organizations. Such claims of "therapy" would be quite a joke had they not been so tragically damaging to the spirit and happiness of gay people and their families. So, as medical professionals from all over India converge in Mumbai for the conference, let's hope it'll set some wrongs straight.

Bruno dear, it's not your fault!

2009-10-06T10:47:00.000-07:00

So what’s the fuss all about? What’s so outrageous about Bruno that even the liberal Times of India supports a ban on it? 82 minutes long, but devoid of a single second of boredom, Bruno is definitely the most offensive of all movies ever made. Unparalleled in its dark humor, this film is surely not for everybody to see.

The film chronicles the life of a flamboyant Austrian fashion journalist who moves to the United States to gain stardom. What follows is a hilarious and shocking journey to fame. But does it deserve the kind of condemnation it received? The mainstream media has dubbed it pornographic, while the gay media has castigated it for reinforcing stereotypes about gay people.

Bruno reveals a facet of gay life that straight people, indeed most gay people themselves, are uncomfortable acknowledging, let alone discussing. The graphic visuals of kinky sex are meant to shock the audience, not turn them on. Calling the film pornographic is therefore the easiest way out for those in the audience who are just not comfortable watching it on screen. The sex scenes, or scenes showing male genitalia are the exact anti-thesis of what real pornography is. Jug Suraiya, in his Times article argues that what is not erotica is pornography. Someone please tell him that the world is not all black and white.

As for the argument that Bruno reinforces gay stereotypes, one must keep in mind that the film has been intentioned as a mockumentary rather than a documentary. It tries to tell the audience that what they are seeing on the screen is the epitome of the stereotyped gay, and not all gay people are like that. Ofcourse many people have not understood the point, and from this stems the criticism.

Mercifully, there have been several commentators, both gay and straight, who’ve seen the breathtaking hilarity of this film, most notably Out magazine, whose endorsement of the film in the form of a brilliantly written mock interview is a welcome breath of fresh air!

A call for equality

2009-09-05T07:33:00.001-07:00

The English media has delivered a flurry of celebratory editorials ever since the Delhi High Court’s historic judgment decriminalizing homosexuality. But for reasons more than one, what stood out from the rest was Milind Deora’s article in today’s Times of India. And if you still haven’t read it, I suggest you skip the rest of this post, and read that first. Really!

For starters, Milind Deora is the first Member of Parliament in this country who has had the courage to speak out so lucidly and so forcefully for gay rights. While his own Congress party has been too shy to publicly endorse the judgment, this MP from South Bombay has shown the sort of moral uprightness that somehow seems to be missing in his fellow politicians of today- speaking out freely for what you believe in.

But that’s not all. His article is special for many more reasons. Firstly, he moves beyond the traditional “us versus them” paradigms. Quoting Cesaire he says, "...the work of man is only just beginning...and no race holds the monopoly of beauty, intelligence and strength and there is place for all at the rendezvous of victory.'' By saying that he not only includes LGBT people within the gambit of those who deserve absolute equality in modern India, but also calls upon straight Indians to be a part of the struggle. “Ask yourself if you can step out of your comfort zone to advocate for the rights of all, regardless of gender, caste, sexuality, ability, or religion, to pursue your freedom and happiness. After all, our convictions mean the most when they include those beyond ourselves.” And that’s an important message. Both for straight and gay Indians. It’s great that straight people support gay rights, but what about our own responsibilities towards other minorities. How many times have we heard our gay friends abusing the Muslim on the street, or ramble about what a disgrace the transgenders are on our community. Indeed, how many of us really care about our own gay and lesbian brothers and sisters in small towns and villages, or those battling with HIV, as long as we’re happy with our partners and our parties.

And that brings us to the second point. He speaks about the “poor and less privileged sections of the gay community in both urban and rural India who have neither the financial nor political clout to counter the persecution, blackmail and incarceration they are constantly subjected to.” Let’s accept it, despite being gay, life’s rosy for those of us with an English education, internet access and cash rich jobs. But we’re a small part of the Indian gay community. And it’s time we reached out to the other lot.

And thirdly, he gives us hope. He says that there will always be a “blinkered few” who will oppose our movement for equality, but goes on to say that “this is where rational argument and nuanced analysis can and should take centre stage in mainstream Indian politics… Self-appointed custodians of Indian culture and the extreme right will always harbor archaic prejudices about anyone not like them but they never did merit serious attention in a free-thinking democracy like ours.” And as rightly pointed out by Milind, the greatest beacon of hope is India’s youth- “If my campaign experience across the socio-economic divide has taught me anything, it is that young India is not just a barometer of social change but a determining factor in shaping it. Indians of my generation are not afraid to speak the truth to power.” And so let us not cry ourselves hoarse over the lunatic fringe of Baba Ramdev and others like him. They’re entitled to their views in a democracy, and what we must ensure is that we reach out with our love to the society at large. That’s our democratic right.

A Thumbs Up to Justice

2009-09-02T00:51:00.000-07:00

So the word’s finally out- the Government has decided its stand on the historic July verdict of the Delhi High Court- that it will not oppose the decriminalization of homosexuality. This is what a senior law ministry official said to the media- “There is nothing wrong, legally, with the judgment. It is a well-reasoned judgment. There is no purpose in opposing it.”

The fact that the High Court had only amended Section 377 (as was demanded by the Naz Foundation), and not struck it down completely, has made it impossible for the Government to oppose the judgement without invoking the sort of primitive arguments that the previous Home ministry under Shivraj Patil had done.

However, there has been no dearth of petitioners knocking the doors of the Supreme Court- eight in all. Quite a motley group one has to admit- ranging from astrologers to yoga gurus and a conglomerate of churches and even a political party called the Panthers Party from Jammu. All of them with their nasty and predictable arguments, on which I wouldn’t waste either my time or yours. But there’s one that deserves a mention- not just for its anecdotal value, but also to point out just how ignorant a homophobic society can be, where our community itself is next to invisible.

Astrologer S K Kaushal suggests that since jawans live away from their families, they could be tempted to gratify themselves using their colleagues. If this happens, "the whole defense system of the nation will collapse''. I’m sure this venerable astrologer is hardly aware of the fact that one of the best defense forces of the world- the Israeli army was the first in the world to allow openly gay men and women to serve in their ranks. In any case, if gays can do such a wonderful job at “collapsing a whole defense system”, why not suggest the government to hire them for use against unfriendly neighboring armies?

Jokes apart, I’m pretty sure with the Government’s bold and principled stand, India’s gay community can be hopeful for a better future. Now that a favorable Supreme Court ruling seems all the more likely, we should prepare for battles ahead. The next step obviously is anti-discrimination laws. The Delhi High Court has mentioned in its ruling-

"We hold that sexual orientation is a ground analogous to sex and that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is not permitted by Article 15." (Pg85 point 104)

However, the law still does not explicitly mention sexual orientation as a prohibitive ground for discrimination. That needs to be changed. Also, protection from hate-speeches and hate-crimes. And therefore it’s time to be more pro-active. Time to come out of our silent closets. Time to move beyond networks to a community.

Closeted homosexuals = Ignorant heterosexuals

2009-08-11T09:40:00.000-07:00

A shocking survey result

The recently concluded CNN-IBN-Hindustan Times ‘State of the Nation’ poll was conducted by GfK Mode in street corners and homes in 16 cities (metros, large towns and small towns) spread across the four zones of the country. 3,506 people were interviewed between July 19 and 23 for the survey.

The purpose of the survey was to find out how Indians feel about various social issues. And one of the topics was gay rights, and it was found (not surprisingly) that most Indians are still deeply homophobic.

Here are some of the results-

Should same sex relations be considered illegal?

73% feel homosexuality should be considered illegal
17% want homosexuality to be legalized
10% have no opinion on the issue

Is the attraction towards a member of the same sex unnatural?

77% or 3/4ths of the respondents consider attraction towards the same sex unnatural
23% are of the view that it is natural to be attracted to the same sex

Do you have a gay or lesbian friend?

94% or 9 out 10 do not have a homosexual friend
Only 6% said they have a homosexual friend

Would you give your house on rent to a gay or lesbian couple?

10% said yes they would
90% or 9 out of 10 people said no they would not

The powerful closet: Homophobia’s greatest weapon

What strikes out in this particular survey, more than the fact that Indians are alarmingly homophobic is that Indian gays are still firmly in their closets. Just 6% of respondents claim to know someone personally who is gay or lesbian. Assuming that 2% of the respondents were gay themselves (the Times of India reported that 2-5% of Indians are gay) leaves only 4% of heterosexuals in India knowing someone gay- which is synonymous with a near total invisibility of gays in this country.

A survey in the US few years back revealed that straight people who happen to personally know someone gay/lesbian are twice as likely to be positively disposed towards gay rights compared to those who don’t. The reason is obvious- for most heterosexuals homosexuality is just a concept, something to which they can not attach a face. An alien phenomenon despised and abhorred by tradition and religion. But once they can attach a face to it- that of a close family member, a dear friend, or a likable office colleague, perspectives change. The fear of the unknown changes into respect and admiration for someone they love and adore otherwise too.

On the discussion panel of CNN-IBN, Saleem Kidwai, a prominent gay writer stressed the need for the gay community to reach out to straight people. And the first step for that is coming out. Through my own personal experiences, I’ve realized how powerful coming out can be. Straight friends, who sweared by their homophobia eventually turned into staunch supporters of gay rights. Point is this- for straight individuals, homophobia is something that comes naturally while growing up in a heterocentrist society. All they need is a little exposure, a little sensitization. And that can be provided only by you and me.

Obliterate the closet!

Coming out has rightly been called the first giant step for gay liberation. Torie Osborn, noted American lesbian activist writes in her book ‘Coming Home to America’-

“…the closet stands for prison, not privacy, nor protection. For this reason, the single most important goal is the obliteration of the institution of the closet.

We are crippled when we live a lie. No matter what the closet’s pervasiveness and control, its lure, its cunning changeability, it is ultimately a destructive force in our lives- psychologically, spiritually, politically.”

Every time we come out to someone, we are changing their long held prejudices and ignorance. And as we come out to more and more friends, family members and colleagues around us, we are leading a revolution- every single one of us. Every time we come out to someone, we are taking our movement one step further.

The 'T' of LGBT

2009-07-31T02:05:00.000-07:00

Since Pink Pages was launched, I've been recieving e-mails from readers all over India. One serious complaint that some of them had was this- why is it just a 'Gay and Lesbian' magazine, and not an 'LGBT' one. Why has the transsexual community been totally ignored? Many of my readers have asked me- why is this blog just about gay and lesbian issues? Why don't you ever write about transsexuals?

Well, to be honest, I've never thought much about them in order to write about them. Infact, many of my gay friends think why should transsexuals be clubbed with gays and bisexuals at all? Afterall aren't sexual orientation and gender identification two completely different things? Also, isn't it easier for straight people to accept gays, rather than transsexuals? So why jeopardise our movement by having them on board?

Both points are true. But firstly, what about the similarities? Both groups face discrimination, hatred and societal disapproval because of who they are. Is there much difference between society telling a boy- "You were born male, so you should grow up to be a man" and "You were born male, so you should love a woman"? Doesn't that similarity far outweigh the differences we have?

Now the question of transsexuals damaging the gay rights movement. According to studies, transsexual individuals are ten times more likely to commit suicide as compared to the average individual. Being unable to identify in any way to their biological sex is an immense psychological trauma for which no non-surgical cure has been found effective. In other words, counselling, psychotherapy, etc. or other medical procedures (like castration and therapy) have little or no effect. And that is why a discussion on this issue is so vital. Transsexuals need to come out and open a dialogue. And the rest of the LGBT community needs to support their cause, even at the risk of making the gay rights movement a little more difficult.

Homophobia : Out of the closet too!

2009-07-16T23:57:00.000-07:00

On 11 July, a young gay man was brutally assaulted, allegedly by a bunch of religious zealots at a gay party in Delhi. His partner, in Kolkata at the time of the incident gave a chilling account of what happened. Make no mistake. This is homophobia out of its closet- loud and clear.

During one online discussion after the Section 377 verdict, one straight guy bluntly retorted- "There is no anti-gay lobby in India! There are no gay bashers! Homophobia is just a word used by the activists to shut all dissenting voices!"

Nothing can be further from the truth.

Indian democracy's latest forum: The anti-gay lobby

Days within the High Court judgement decriminalizing homosexuality, a motley group of religious leaders held a press conference in Delhi criticizing the decision. “It is an undeniable fact that unnatural sex undermines the family system, corrupts the social atmosphere, leads to moral degradation and is injurious to health. The attempt to popularise unnatural inclination in the name of democratic rights is totally misguided,” said a statement signed by Maulana Syed Jalaluddin Umari, president of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind; Shankaracharya Onkaranand; Father Dominic Emmanuel, spokesperson and Director Delhi Catholic Archdiocese; Acharya Lokesh Muni of Ahimsa Vishwa Bharati and Daljeet Singh of the Dharma Pracharak Committee of the Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee.

Among them, Father Emmanuel had just the previous day on NDTV stated (upon being tongue-lashed by Barkha Dutt for his medieval views) that he doesn't support criminalizing homosexuality but opposes same-sex marriages. Apparently for the Father, honesty isn't as important a Christian virtue as heterosexuality. The Sikh cleric said that homosexuality is against the Gurugranthsahib (Don't bother about the fact that the holy book doesn't even mention homosexuality). The Shankaracharya gleefully ignored the vast amount of homosexual literature in his own religious scriptures where alternative sexuality has never been frowned upon. (Two wonderful articles by Devdutt can definitely change his views, provided he reads them with an open mind.)

Particularly egrigious was Baba Ramdev, the popular "yoga-guru" who claimed on prime time television that gay people and those who support them are characterless, and that he can cure the sickness of homosexuality. (Just as the moron had claimed he can cure AIDS through pranayam.)

My point is this- these homophobes can not be ignored. They spread hatred against our people and this hatred in turn leads to the sort of violence and gay-bashing that we witnessed in Delhi. They need to be tackled- on every public forum possible- television, newspapers, websites, blogs, and on the streets. Their lies and hypocrisy needs to be exposed, and their hateful souls bared for the world to see.

Fighting back the gay-bashers

Harish Iyer, a prominent gay activist from Mumbai gives an unequivocal message to the gay community-

"We need to hold our horses, be alert and train our minds for quick reflexes. We will be attacked more."

And he can not be more correct. Here's a check list if you are either attending or organizing a gay event-

* There's no substitute for alertness. Always be on the lookout for suspicious individuals.

* Never, I repeat never, walk away anywhere with a stranger. Even if you need some privacy with someone you're not familiar with, don't move away from the premises where help will be at hand.

* Notify a friend/relative before leaving for such a gathering. Keep emergency numbers at hand.

* Try to be together in groups while entering/leaving a venue.

* Organizers should not be blinded by motives of profit. Provisions for first aid should compulsorily be made.

* In the event of an attack, organizers should apprehend the attackers and report them to the police immediately. Reporting should be done even if the attackers have not been caught.

We may not be criminals any more because of who we love, but we definitely are easy targets- for the clerics as well as for the goons motivated by them. All the more reason to come together as a community.

Launching 'Pink Pages'

2009-07-07T11:06:00.000-07:00

Several months of brainstorming, writing, editing, designing and technical hiccups later, the first issue of Pink Pages has been finally launched.

And as India became the world's largest democracy to legalize homosexuality early this month, what else can be a better time to launch India's first National gay and lesbian magazine! This also meant that while the magazine was ready for launch, we had to do a last moment near-complete overhaul of the first issue in order to accomodate this momentous change in the national scenario and thus alter the whole theme of the magazine. But no one really minded that!

I must really thank and congratulate every single of our team members who showed remarkable enthusiasm, equanimity and perseverance in getting this first issue released successfully. From all the columnists and the editors to the guys who designed the website and e-magazine- they really deserve kudos for the work they've put up! More so, because Pink Pages is a non-profitable community venture. Almost the entire team consists of students or young professionals from various fields- humanities, engineering, medicine, arts- who pooled in money and talent to successfully bring out this landmark first issue.

India's gay and lesbian community has slowly started coming out of its closet and are coming together as a community like never before. And that is why the idea of a national magazine for the community is so important. India was waiting for it. And so, we should all celebrate its coming out! Let this magazine be the voice of the now unstoppable and unbeatable Indian gay and lesbian community.

Official website of Pink Pages: www.pink-pages.co.in

A day to celebrate!

2009-07-02T02:22:00.000-07:00

Today I'm proud to be both Indian and gay. The Delhi High Court judgement has made one thing clear- that India was founded, and countinues to be based, on the long-cherished values of freedom and equality. With this historical ruling, India has now become the largest democracy in the world to decriminalize homosexuality.

Although technically speaking, the judgement applies only to Delhi, but this is the first time a court as senior as this, with such respected judges, has given a decision on homosexuality. Because of that it sends a powerful signal to the legal establishment across the country. We can say with confidence that judges, lawyers and police officers across the country will understand and follow the Delhi High Court's lead.

The wording of the 105-page ruling is astonishing. It demolishes every single argument presented in the court by the anti-gay lobby- especially the one which said that disapproval of homosexuality is strong enough to ask for a ban.

This is what the bench said,

"In our view Indian Constitutional law does not permit the statutory criminal law to be held captive by the popular misconception of who the LGBTs (lesbian gay bisexual transgender) are...

It cannot be forgotten that discrimination is antithesis of equality and that it is the recognition of equality which will foster dignity of every individual,"

A turning point in our movement

Today is the biggest turning point in the Indian gay liberation movement. Religious groups like the Muslim Personal Law Board have already threatened to move to the Supreme Court. But this time we are are more confident and united than ever before. We shall continue with our struggle until full equality is achieved. Trust me, this is not the end, it's only a new beginning!

Link: Full Text of Delhi High Court Judgement

Picture: Anahita Sarabhai

The latest homophobe on the block

2009-06-29T23:26:00.000-07:00

With both the Home and Law ministries on board, all that was needed for Section 377 to go was the nod of the new Health Minister- Ghulam Nabi Azad. And he blew it.

Hindustan Times reported-

Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad asked for a wider consensus including a Parliament debate, because of the religious sensitivities involved. “There should be a general debate where our heritage as well as diseases are considered,” Azad said.

Mr. Azad, what will it take to remind you that you are the Health Minister, and not the “Religious Sensitivities” Minister! That’s for the Home Minister to consider and is none of your business. And therefore it’s all the more egregious when you blabber about “diseases”. Why don’t you have the brains to listen to your own Ministry’s National AIDS Control Authority, like your infinitely more competent predecessor Ambumani Ramadoss did?

Islamists at it again

Anyone remembers the Shah Bano case, in which Shah Bano, a 62 year old Muslim woman and mother of five was divorced by her husband in 1978 and was subsequently denied alimony, thanks to the then Congress Government’s disgraceful reluctance to stand up to the Islamic fundamentalists for whom women’s rights was, and still is anathema to Islam?

No wonder then, that after making a big noise about legalizing homosexuality, the Government backtracked immediately after influential Muslim seminaries blasted the Government. Islamic seminary Deoband called the efforts to repeal Section 377 the wish of an “ungodly few”. Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Darul-Uloom, Mufti Mohammad Abdul Khalik Madrasi, warned, “Homosexuality is an offence under Shariat law and haram (prohibited) in Islam.”

Mufti sahib, it might be haram in Islam for all I care. But what I know is that I’m a non-Muslim living in a secular state. So you can preach your crap to all your Muslim folks out there, but you have no right to preach to the Indian Government.

But of course, for the Congress Party (that great beacon of secular hope in this land of the ‘communal’ BJP) and especially for Ghulam Nabi Azad, pampering to the Muslim vote is so much more important than trivialities like ensuring basic human rights to your citizens, or preventing deadly epidemics like AIDS. What else can it be? Just another Shah Bano like feather in the Congress’ cap! And as for Ghulam Nabi Azad, I hope that when the Parliamentary debate on this issue does take place, he speaks as a responsible Health Minister of a secular Government and not as the custodian of faith for homophobic Muslim bigots.

Setting Straight the Gay Agenda

2009-06-28T11:17:00.000-07:00

For a second year in row, the Indian LGBT community came out on to the streets (of Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai and Bhubaneshwar), defying social stigma and archaic laws, in a colourful celebration of sexual diversity and pride. My heartfelt congratulations to all those who participated- for each one of them are now part of a revolution sweeping across this country!

The Media and Gay Pride

The English media- both print and electronic gave significant media coverage to the parades as well as the recent indications from the Government that Section 377 may finally be amended. News channels like Times Now and NDTV as well as prominent news papers like Hindustan Times and the Times of India made it their top news story. Notably, the parades were ignored by the vernacular press. (Please correct me if I'm wrong)

The winds of change

The Law minister, Mr. Veerappa Moily in a recent interview to NDTV showed his willingness to amend Section 377 IPC. Followed soon after was the Home Minister's comments that he is to convene a meeting of the Law and Health ministers to take a final decision. The position of the new ministers is in stark contrast to those of the previous ones- Shivraj Patil and Bharadvaj- who were doggedly opposed to any change in the anti-gay law.

The ball is therefore now in the court of the new health minister- Ghulam Nabi Azad. One can just be hopeful that he possesses the same sense as his predecessor- Mr. Ramadoss did.

Reactions- from Left, Right and Centre

The BJP, apparently subdued by the recent election battering has given a measured reaction. Party leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said that the government should not take hasty decisions.

"We are living in India, not in a European country. These issues are very important and sensitive. A thorough discussion is needed on this issue,"

Communist Party of India(Marxist) (CPI(M)) Polit Bureau member M.K. Pandhe said:

"Generally we don't support homosexuality but I cannot say further on the issue because our party has not discussed the matter."

Also, after the Home Minister’s comments came under attack from religious organizations, Moily said-

"The Cabinet has mandated to have a re-look at the provision. But we are not going to rush to any conclusion. We will certainly take into account concerns of all sections, including religious groups like Christian church."

(A wonderful display of your secular credentials Mr. Moily. Laws dealing with basic human rights of the citizens of this country are now to be held at ransom by the Church!)

A tribute

But amidst all this political wrangling, let us also not forget those brave men and women, who exactly 40 years ago, at the Stonewall Inn in New York defied police raids and fought back in very first public display of gay resistance. The Pride parades are nothing less than a living testimony to their courage and hope.

A vote for hope...

2009-05-16T09:48:00.000-07:00

A vote against extremism

Historian Ramachandra Guha has rightly pointed out that the verdict of this Lok Sabha election is "a vote against ideological, language, caste and class extremism. It is the victory of the middle vote."

Virtually not talked about is a highly prevalent form of ideological extremism- homophobia. However, these election results, I believe, finally give something for the Indian gay and lesbian community to be hopeful about.

“Relatively gay-friendly”

A recent IANS news report, which was the first attempt by the mainstream Indian media to gauge the mood of gays during a Lok Sabha election made it clear that the community trusts the centrist Congress more than any other political party. For instance when gay activists in Mumbai approached political parties ahead of the Queer Azadi March, Congress leaders did give out positive signals.

While the officially stated position of the Congress remains that it’ll accept the verdict of the High Court on Section 377, opinions expressed do matter. Congress leaders like Oscar Fernandes have, in the past spoken out in favor of decriminalizing homosexuality and Manmohan Singh has called for “more tolerance towards homosexuals”.

The BJP on the other hand, has a stated anti-gay agenda, and would’ve definitely derailed any liberal judicial initiative on this issue. Gays should be relieved that the BJP will be out of power for the next five years atleast.

The roadblocks

What is of primary concern is the fact that Mr. A. Ramadoss, the former health minister, who’d been the most vocal supporter of decriminalizing homosexuality is no more part of the coalition. This may change in the coming days as the Congress will need a few more allies. Also, the former Home Minister Shivraj Patil had been positively unfriendly. Now that P Chidambaram has lost his Lok Sabha seat, we can only hope for a less bigoted home minister.

The road ahead

The Section 377 case is obviously the main thrust. The judgement is expected anytime now. If the results are in our favor, we need to ensure that it has a nationwide impact. Otherwise we’ll need to prepare for a final showdown at the Supreme Court.

Also, the campaign for gay rights needs to be made more open and vocal, so that political parties can no longer ignore the voices of millions of LGBT Indians.

A new voting bloc

In a country where seats are won or lost by margins of less than one percent, a community that constitutes atleast 2-3% of the population can make a huge difference. With increasing awareness and solidarity amongst India’s gay and lesbian people, it’s obvious that political parties will no longer be able to ignore us. I’m hopeful that five years down the line, gay rights will definitely be an election issue. And that is why this election gives me hope. Hope that very soon, we shall have equal rights as citizens of this great democratic nation.

Food for thought- Bisexuality

2009-05-08T01:30:00.000-07:00

“Gay, Straight or Lying?”

A 2005 New York Times report on bisexuality ruffled quite a few feathers. It quoted a research that seemed to validate the long held beliefs of many gay people that bisexuality is, after all a myth. In the new study, a team of psychologists directly measured genital arousal patterns in response to images of men and women.

The psychologists found that men who identified themselves as bisexual were in fact exclusively aroused by either one sex or the other, usually by other men.

“About three-quarters of the group had arousal patterns identical to those of gay men; the rest were indistinguishable from heterosexuals.”

The report further states-

“A 1979 study of 30 men found that those who identified themselves as bisexuals were indistinguishable from homosexuals on measures of arousal. Studies of gay and bisexual men in the 1990's showed that the two groups reported similar numbers of male sexual partners and risky sexual encounters.”

"I'm not denying that bisexual behavior exists," said Dr. Bailey (one of the research team members), "but I am saying that in men there's no hint that true bisexual arousal exists, and that for men arousal is orientation."

Fundamental flaws

Now there are several fundamental flaws in the way the research was conducted. First of all, the techniques of measuring “genital arousal” were, as rightly pointed out “too crude to capture the richness - erotic sensations, affection, admiration - that constitutes sexual attraction.”

Now attraction towards an individual is sum total of sexual, emotional and social bonding. So, while a person may be sexually more attracted to someone from the same sex, he/she may have a greater emotional bonding with members of the opposite sex.

Also, the report says,

"Regardless of whether the men were gay, straight or bisexual, they showed about four times more arousal" to one sex or the other, said Gerulf Rieger, a graduate psychology student at Northwestern and the study's lead author.

Now that means even among the subjects they had studied, there was some attraction towards the other sex also. Note that bisexuality may not necessarily mean a 50-50 sexual attraction towards both sexes. It may even be something like, say, 70-30.

Moreover, a study published in November 2004 by the same team of Canadian and American researchers, for example, found that most women who said they were bisexual showed arousal to men and to women. It’s obvious that the study on bisexual men needs to conducted again, in a more scientific manner.

Bisexuality is real!

It can not be denied that the actual number of truly bisexual people is far less than the numbers claimed. That’s the direct result of a society that is stringently homophobic. Most gay men in India are forced to enter heterosexual marriages and hence a bisexual lifestyle is imposed upon them. Even others, may claim to be bisexual in order to hide their real identity. In fact, a 1994 survey by The Advocate, the gay-oriented newsmagazine in USA, found that, before identifying themselves as gay, 40 percent of gay men had described themselves as bisexual. Much the same is the case here in India too.

However despite the abundance of gay men trying to act bisexual or straight men trying to get “bi-curious” just in order to be cool, we do have a tiny minority who are genuinely bisexual.

In trying to find out more about bisexuality, I talked to some of my bisexual friends and these are my conclusions-

• Bisexuality is real! All the books, plays, films with bisexual themes- it’s not a collective imagination! Had it been, it couldn’t have gone on for so long.

• Bisexuality doesn’t necessarily mean an equal attraction towards both sexes, preferences may always be there.

• Bisexuals are as likely to have a monogamous partner or be promiscuous as any gay or straight individual. And that’s because true bisexuality is an orientation, and not the actual act of being bisexual.

• To say bisexuality doesn’t exist is to act exactly like the homophobe who says that homosexuality is un-natural. I consider bi-phobes as bad as homophobes. Extra shame on you if you are a biphobic gay, because if you can not accept the minorities within your own community, there’s no point in expecting acceptance from straight people.

I'll wrap this up with one of my favourite Vikram Seth poems-

Some men like Jack and some like Jill
I'm glad I like them both but still
I wonder if this freewheeling
Really is an enlightened thing,
Or is its greater scope a sign
Of deviance from some party line?
In the strict ranks of Gay and Straight
What is my status: Stray? Or Great?

The way forward in Pakistan

2009-04-27T05:04:00.000-07:00

Although something like gay rights in Pakistan may seem light years away, we need to make a beginning nonetheless. There are two viewpoints in this regard- one says that gay rights need to be negotiated within the Islamic framework of Pakistan, while the other opts for a more secular approach.

The Islamic approach

Even a cursory perusal of websites for gay Muslims like gaymuslims.wordpress.com makes it clear that religious dogma runs so deep in Muslim society that even gay people find homosexuality as an “abomination of Allah” and something that can be cured. In fact this was the dominant view until a new and humanistic approach started developing in Pakistan as is reflected by Pakistani blogs like Pakistani Humanist's World.

The secular approach

Pakistani law is a combination of British-era Penal codes and Islamic Hudood laws, both of which severely curb homosexual acts. Amending the secular Pakistan Penal Code is impossible until Hudood laws are in place. Therefore it’s imperative to first secularize Pakistani law. Now, that’s anything but simple. It can be achieved only through a consistent campaign by the media, civil society and human rights groups.

Once this approach it taken up, and once it is established that religious codes may no longer dictate the lives of ordinary people, it’ll definitely be easier to counter the Islamists.

No one’s suggesting that Islamic reformation be abandoned. Even in religious societies like USA and Israel, LGBT religious groups are consistently trying to change age old attitudes towards homosexuality. But that’s not the central theme of the LGBT Rights movement there. It’s only a small part of it. So, when the traditionalists in Pakistan talk about gay rights through the “Islamic way”, it’s giving religion too much importance.

The solution

The biggest argument in favour of the “Islamic approach” is that it’s more practical in a conservative Muslim society like Pakistan. I’ll tell you why it’s the most impractical approach to think of.

In the west, freedom for gays has not been achieved by trying to negotiate human rights with the Vatican. Had that been the case, there would still have been no gay rights there.

And therefore lies the irony in trying to find the "Islamic way" to gay rights in Pakistan. Because there is no such way. It's foolish to assume that these Koran-thumping mullahs will, at any time in the foreseeable future support the human rights of LGBT people. So what are we supposed to do till then? Wait indefinitely for them to have mercy upon us, or bare their hypocrisy and lies to the world?

In an increasingly globalizing and secular world, Pakistan should look at countries like Turkey, which despite having a large Muslim population, and that too quite a religious one, have ensured democracy and human rights to all its citizens irrespective of sexual orientation. The Islamic debate even there is still not resolved, perhaps may never be. Simlarly in the USA, the Christian debate is unresolved, and in Israel, the Jewish one. But all these unresolved religious debates have not blocked the gay rights movement in these countries. And that’s because these countries are secular. Therefore lies the importance of secularizing Pakistan as a first step towards gay rights. Just imagine if gay activists in the USA or Europe would’ve waited for the Pope’s sanction for gay rights! Why then have such a silly approach in Pakistan?

Moreover, the “Islamic way” has another fundamental fallacy apart from its nearly absolute impracticability. I strongly believe in a liberal worldview. Religion has its importance, but not as an instrument of state policy, rather as a bridge between men and spiritual world. Religions, as they have evolved, have always subjugated women, minorities and gays. So, whatever progress the world has seen in scientific and social terms, has been established by rebelling against the established norms- be it the European Renaissance or the British-inspired reform movements in India.

Therefore to take an “Islamic route” to gay rights would be to legitimize an institution that has since its very inception been detrimental to the values of freedom and humanism that we stand for.

I hope that the expatriate Pakistani LGBT community, along with the free press and Human Rights groups in Pakistan would make the beginning of a journey that’ll ensure equality, liberty and fraternity in one of the most populous Muslim countries of the world.

Milk-ing Success!

2009-03-09T03:15:00.000-07:00

Milk- A story of Hope

"I know you can not live on hope alone, but without hope, life is not worth living." Thus spoke Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected public officer of the United States. This beautifully made film chronicles the life of Milk from being a hippie on the streets of San Fransisco to becoming the face of the gay liberation movement of America. Stirring speeches, touching moments of love and friendship and crushing politics, combined with some spectacular performanes, excellent cinematography and screenplay has made this movie a must watch!

And the Oscar goes to...

While Sean Penn won the best actor award for his masterly portrayal of Harvey Milk, Dustin Lance Black won the award for best screenwriter.

A movie on Harvey Milk, and it's hard to imagine a political statement missing from the Oscars! Both Penn and Black made passionate appeals for gay rights during their acceptance speeches.

“I think it’s a good time for those who voted for the ban against gay marriage to sit and reflect on their great shame and their shame in their grandchildren’s eyes if they continue that support. We’ve got to have equal rights for everyone.” Penn said.

Black , gay himself talked about his own childhood, recieving a warm applause from the audience.

“When I was 13 years old my beautiful mother and my father moved me from a conservative Mormon home in San Antonio, Texas, to California, and I heard the story of Harvey Milk and it gave me hope... to live my life, it gave me the hope to one day I could live my life openly as who I am and that maybe even I could fall in love and one day get married."
Addressing "gay and lesbian kids" watching the ceremony, Black said,

"No matter what everyone tells you, God does love you ... very soon, I promise you, you will have equal rights federally across this great nation of ours,"

And the Indian TV censors!

Star TV, that broadcasted the Oscar show in India edited the speech of Black, and removed those portions where he talked of equality for gay people. Ofcourse, no explanation given. Apparently, Indian audiences are so sensitive that they can not watch an Oscar winner talk of equality, while it's fine to see a skin and bones Mumbai slumdog jump into a pit of shit. And yes, the folks at Zee Cafe are not Indian enough when they telecast uncensored episodes of Will & Grace to our Desi audiences!

Give Milk a helping hand!

Milk has been released in Indian metros, and whether it'll move on to smaller cities will depend on its commercial success in the bigger ones. So, all you folks in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore, this is one movie you shouldn't think twice about going to your nearest Multiplex for!

Think Pink!

2009-02-20T03:58:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I couldn't put off the increasingly annoyed questions any more... a sincere apology for being practically invisible from this blog for so long! A lot's been going on since I last posted and so here I am trying to share with you the tits and bits of some of the stuff...

"Why Pink Pages?"

So the TimeOut magazine interviewed me about the upcoming Pink Pages project. Good publicity. Free of cost. Afterall, we're running low on cash! (A bunch of students trying to bring out a national magazine can be excused for that I guess)

Coming back to the interview, Why Pink Pages? was one of the first questions that came along. Especially, given the fact that there are already some queer magazines being published. Published, okay. But how accessible are they? What is their scope and reach? Is it not a fact that all these publications are limited both geographically and in content? Does India's thirty million gay and lesbian community not deserve something better? Therefore Pink Pages.

Many readers have been asking me the logic behind the name- Pink Pages. Well, for those who are not aware, the Nazis branded homosexual men with Pink badges, just as they'd branded Jews with yellow ones. Pre-1933 Germany was called the gay heaven of Europe for its flamboyant gay culture. Not only was that destroyed by the Nazis, but at least 15,000 homosexuals were brutally killed in their concentration camps. Pink Pages will be released as a tribute to these men who lost their lives to the most virulent hatred the world has ever witnessed.

Our website went online on 1st January 2009, with the dawn of the new year. Since then the response has been overwhelming- not just from India, but from at least twenty other countries. I'd love to see more of these visits turning into contributions. Pink Pages does not belong just to the Editorial Board members, but to the entire LGBT community of India. So, pick up your pens and scribble your thoughts! Pink Pages might have been waiting just for you!

Of Pink Chaddis!

Poor St. Valentine! Could he have ever imagined that a day to his name could've motivated such acrimony? So here we have 'The Consortium of Pubgoing, Loose and Forward Women' sending thousands of pink chaddis to the chief of the Sri Ram Sene- Pramod Muthalik. (Hopefully giving him better business ideas than to hire thugs who beat up hapless women in pubs!). The officially stated reason for the act- "The chaddi is slang for right-wing hardliners and the saffron agenda, while pink stands for things that are frivolous. The combination is offensive."

Now now! The chaddi part is acceptable, but pink being a frivolous colour? Where do we get that from? Jug Suraiya, a prominent Times of India columnist rightfully took exception to that in an amazingly gay friendly article-

But perhaps the most eloquent use of pink in the articulation of social and sexual freedom has been in the domain of gay liberation. All over the world, including India, gays and lesbians are coming out of the mothballed closet of obscurantist morality into the unabashed light of day in public shows of solidarity often referred to as pink parades. One doesn't necessarily have to belong to the gay persuasion to march in a pink parade. Anyone who believes that in a true democracy the right to choose one's sexual identity is as much a fundamental right as the right to choose one's political candidate in an election, or the right to choose one's spiritual belief in the form of a religion (which includes that most passionate and vocal of all religions, atheism), is free to participate in a parade where people can wear their pink hearts on their sleeves without guilt or the fear of social censure, and worse.

On a lighter note, here's an interesting observation on Twitter by a particular reader-

"Gay couples should hang out on V Day before Muthalik’s house. Let him marry them off & do something good for a change."

Now, that's something Muthalik can look forward to! As for dear ol' Jug, it's only Jai Ho from my side!

Wassup with 377?

Hey, anyone still remembers there's a Delhi High Court case whose verdict is still sealed, along with the fates of so many us? Hearings had got over on November 17 on the Section 377 case and the court had subsequently instructed both parties to submit copies their respective proceedings. So what's taking the court so long to make it's judgment public? Remember the storm the Health Minister had created by publicly supporting the case against Section 377? The Government, embarrassed by the internal spats had to issue a public statement saying that it will accept whatever decision the court comes to. So it may be understood that it will try its best to avoid a resurgence of this controversy just before the LokSabha elections. Why am I then not to assume there's something fishy that's causing the delay? (Or have I been reading too many conspiracy theories?)

Just a bit of good news here- the Delhi HC has recently dismissed criminal proceedings against a married couple charged with obscenity for allegedly kissing in public in the capital. Apparently the judge involved in this case is also one of those deciding the Section 377 one. Finally some Liberal air out there!

Musings of a gay Hindu…

2008-12-13T02:00:00.000-08:00

What pegged me, a self-confessed Agnostic to dwell upon this issue? The mystical lure of this ancient religion is not the least among them- even as a 21 year old, I continue to enjoy with equal gusto as any other faithful Bengali Hindu the sounds of dhak and the swirls of dhuno during the Durga Poojo aartis. But more important is the fact that despite our trend towards Agnosticism or Atheism, Hinduism holds immense sway over the lives of millions of Indians. And the fact that modern day Hinduism is deeply homophobic leads us to this debate.

What sets Hinduism apart

Unlike Abrahamic faiths, Hinduism is not a monolithic religion. While these religions have a holy book that regulate the follower’s beliefs and lifestyles, Hinduism is more of a quest, where the onus is on the individual, rather than on the deity. The Hindu concept of God or Brahma is the omnipresent and omniscient being which pervades time and space, and thus is within each one of us. He does not regulate our lives, but our actions do. It is this emphasis on the individual rather than the religion, as is in the case of Abrahamic faiths that will perhaps hold the key to our questions.

How Hinduism views sexuality

Hinduism sees all forms of desire as a source of trouble. Sexuality is one of them. It traps you in the cycle of karma and rebirths. But at the same time kaam- or sexual gratification is one of the four aims of human life. How does one resolve this seemingly strange dichotomy? I talked to the president of the Hare Krishna Temple in the Hindu holy city of Ujjain and this is how he explained it- It is obviously not possible to embark on the path to God with worldly distractions agonizing the mind. And what agonizes the mind more than anything else is unfulfilled desire- that may be in the form of material comforts or sexual needs. Hence the need to fulfill our desires before we take refuge in the Lord.

But does that mean there’s no place in the spiritual world for the worldly man? Not exactly, he says. If one regulates his/her life as per the scriptures, both material and spiritual needs may be fulfilled simultaneously. Now here lies the catch- what constitutes such behaviour? Hindu scholars have interpreted it as a monogamous heterosexual married life. Some of the orthodox even saying that even within marriage, only sex for the sake of procreation is acceptable. So where does that leave gay and lesbian people? Indeed, what about the promise of allowing the believer to satisfy all desire?

Hinduism and Homosexuality

Now let’s come to the question of what our scriptures say of homosexuality. I remember tickling with mortification and at the same time feeling a chill run down my spine as I watched B. P. Singhal, the Sangh ideologue ranting against gay sex on a televised debate on the issue. Watching him, I also recollected my recent trip to the Konark Temple, where our guide had shown us, among other things, a relief showing two women in a homosexual embrace. Mr. Singhal said the Manusmriti prohibits homosexual behavior. I did some research to find out how accurate his argument was.
This is what the Manusmriti says on the issue of two Brahmin men having sex-

"A twice-born man who has intercourse with a male, or with a female in a cart drawn by oxen, in water, or in the day-time, shall bathe, dressed in his clothes."

A ritual bath as a punishment for having gay sex? I wonder if too many gay Hindus would mind that! Also the book says nothing on the issue of non-Brahmin men having gay sex.

Here’s what it says on lesbian sex-

“If two kanya (virgin girls) have sex, each must be fined two hundred (panas), pay the double of her (nuptial) fee, and receive ten (lashes with a) rod."

Ruth Vanita, a scholar on this issue points out that here the concern is not about homosexuality, but about loosing virginity, because the same punishment is meted out to a man who has intercourse with a virgin girl outside marriage.

Two conclusions may be drawn from the findings- One, punishments for homosexual behavior are very minor, especially when compared to punishments for heterosexual transgressions (A Brahmin man is to be executed for adultery). Secondly, one has the liberty to question the authority of the Manusmriti itself as it is not a scripture, but a law book, and laws should reflect the changing times. For instance, the Manusmriti says that a Shudra (a low caste Hindu) who listens to the recitation of the Vedas should be punished by pourning molten lead into his ears. Would Mr. Singhal agree to that?

On gay marriage

Revivalist Hindu movements like the Arya Samaj strictly define and regulate marriage between one man and one woman. However, the Vedas, from which the Arya Samaj draws its beliefs are much more lenient, defining marriage as a “union of two souls.” So while polygamy is ruled out, gay marriages aren’t because according to Hinduism, the soul has no sex.

Also, as per accounts in the Kamasutra, committed same-sex couples were not unknown to ancient Indians, though it can never be verified whether such unions were religiously sanctified or secular in nature-

“There are also third-sexed citizens, sometimes greatly attached to each other and with complete faith in one another, who get married together.”

Contemplation

A Vaishnava preacher I recently talked to termed homosexuality “demonic”. When I pointed out to him that none of the Hindu scriptures censure it, he replied that a silence on the issue is not necessarily an acceptance. If that’s true in this case, how would we explain the homoerotic sculptures on the walls of ancient temples or the abounding references to homosexuality in the Puranas- not sparing even the gods and goddesses? How many Hindu priests today would allow homo-erotic images to adorn their temple walls? Doesn’t the fact that priests in ancient India didn’t seem to mind say something for the tolerance of homosexual people in during those times? And here we have Hindu politicians saying that homosexuality is a western import, unknown to ancient Indians! If anything is a western import, it is without doubt the deep rooted homophobia of modern day Hindus- imposed upon India as late as the nineteenth century by patriarchal and homophobic Abrahamic values, and institutionalized through the notorious Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code.

As the Gay Rights movement establishes itself in predominantly Hindu countries like India and Nepal, and as the expatriate Hindu community gets exposed to the international LGBT Movement, Hindus will have to question their hobophobia and scrutinize their beliefs in the light of both their scriptures as well as modern-day democratic and liberal values, which afterall may not be contrary to their own faith.

The 'Dostana' Disgrace

2008-11-16T10:08:00.000-08:00

“A shamefully regressive film… sets the gay rights movement in India back at least a decade…This film is a joke; but the last thing we need is India thinking homosexuality's just another gag.”

-Raja Sen, Rediff.com

“The film doesn't plead the cause of alternate sexuality at all; instead it unspools as a relentless spoof on gays”

-Nikhat Kazmi, Times of India

"Sure it wouldn't hurt if all gays weren't made to look like flaming queens, and if there was at least one gay character that wasn't a caricature"

-Rajeev Masand, CNN-IBN

Let’s get it clear- no one was even expecting a Brokeback Mountain or Philadelphia from Karan Johar. But what we did expect from this movie was a turn in the right direction. After decades of gay-bashing by Bollywood- where gay men are portrayed as effeminate sex freaks, always having a crush on the hero, we expected a humorous, albeit sensitive portrayal of homosexuality. But what ‘Dostana’ came up with was a two and a half hour torturous drag of the Kantaben spoof of Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gum. John and Abhishek pretending to be gay is alright, but was it necessary to mould them into the stereotypical image of the gay man that is entrenched in the minds of most Indians?

Well, nothing’s wrong with that for comedy’s sake, but to make no effort to show the other, more dominant face of the gay community was particularly egregious considering the fact that India is still a virulently homophobic country, and this movie reinforces every single negative stereotype about gay people. As for the comedy question, have there not been enough western comedies with gay themes that screen out hilarious storylines without making a mockery of the gay community?

Undoubtedly this was the most insensitive portrayal of homosexuality ever in a Bollywood movie. The butt of every single joke was the gay man. Every time the audience threw itself up, it was at the expense of the gay man. “I always knew, this is how gays are!” will be the only thing that the homophobe will say after watching the film. All our efforts, all the progress on gay rights- from holding Gay Pride parades to organizing awareness campaigns- stand at danger of being undone by this single most pernicious act called ‘Dostana’. Shame on you, Karan Johar!

Yes, you can... unless you're Gay!

2008-11-07T12:06:00.000-08:00

Anger, shock and disappointment. Perhaps some of the words that aptly describe the California gay marriage ban. Californians voted on November 4th, on a ballot initiative, dubbed the “Proposition 8” that seeked to define marriage as only between a “man and a woman”, after a 4 to 3 Supreme Court Judgement ruled in favor of gay marriages.

What followed was celebration, as more than eighteen thousand gay and lesbian couples tied the knot. However, things soon ran into troubled waters as conservative Christian groups, backed by the Republican Party, introduced Proposition 8. The following ballot campaign was the most bitterly fought in American history, when it came to a social issue. While celebrities and big brands like Google pitched in their support for marriage equality, evangelical groups, especially the Mormons called upon the faithful to donate generously for the gay marriage ban initiative.

Initial opinion polls suggested a hands-down victory for the supporters of gay marriage. Also, with celebrities like Brad Pitt putting their weight behind, it was almost a foregone conclusion that Proposition 8 will be a failure. So what turned the tide around?

Many commentators say it’s Obama. It should be noted that the referendum was held along with the Presidential vote. Now, Obama’s candidacy ensured that black and Hispanic voters turned out in unprecedented numbers. These communities are known for their conservative stand on social issues like gay marriage. According to reports, 75% of blacks voted for the gay marriage ban. Ironic indeed, considering that only a couple of centuries ago, these very people were treated as slaves in the "Land of the Free". Why they failed to realize that gay discrimination has strong parallels to black discrimination can only be attributed to bigotry fuelled by religious beliefs. Same could be said for the minority Latino population that voted overwhelmingly in support of Proposition 8. It was perhaps one of the biggest paradoxes in American political history to witness one oppreseed minority voting to take away the rights of another oppreseed group. As one CNN commentator remarked-

"It's like the kid who's picked on in the third grade and only makes some headway when a punier kid comes along to take the punches instead."

Added to that was the aggressive, and deceptive campaigning by the opponents of marriage equality, that cashed upon the feeling of insecurity among straight Californians. So how has the gay community reacted? The tension was palpable as thousands of gay demonstrators shouted slogans outside the Mormon Church in San Francisco. Those who’d entered the wedlock are unsure whether their marriages now stand annulled. For them, more than anyone else, it’s crushing. “I don’t know why,” said one tearful gay man, “it’s unbelievable”.

“I’m surprised. Very surprised. Never knew there are so many conservatives.” and “I think I’m in a bubble out here. I just expected a ‘No’. It’s very very sad.” are just some more of the reactions. The very next day more than fifteen thousand gay protesters marched down the main Hollywood avenue vowing not to relent in their struggle for equal rights.

The official press release of the 'No on Prop. 8' Campaign reads-

"Victory was not ours today. But the struggle for equality is not over.
Because of the struggle fought here in California — fought so incredibly well by the people in this state who love freedom and justice — our fight for full civil rights will continue.

Activist and writer Anne Lamott writes, “Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: you don’t give up.”

We stand together, knowing… our dawn will come."

Meanwhile there has been a general backlash against the supporters of Proposition 8, with Mormon Churches being picketed, and donors for the "Yes on Prop. 8" campaign facing public boycotts after the donor list was released.

The California Supreme Court judgement was a historic one. It would have set the precedent for other American states, just like it has previously done on several other key human rights’ issues. So where does one go from here? Supporters of same-sex marriage have filed at least three lawsuits challenging the ban. The road ahead is definitely uncertain, and fraught with bigger challenges than ever before, but one thing’s clear- the fight is far from over.

It's Love versus Hate!

2008-10-03T09:15:00.000-07:00

On 27 September, the Indian Government argued against decriminalization of homosexuality while replying to the Delhi High Court’s demand to clear its stand on the issue of Naz Foundation’s PIL seeking the modification of Section 377 IPC.

"Homosexuality is a social vice and the state has the power to contain it,'' the additional solicitor general P P Malhotra contended. "It (decriminalizing homosexuality) may create breach of peace. (that is, create a law and order problem). If it is allowed then evils of AIDS and HIV would further spread and harm the people. It would lead to big health hazard. It would degrade moral values of the society,''

Apparently, the connection between what two people do privately in their bedrooms and what happens to law on the streets is too obvious to explain. As for the second argument, it contradicts the stand of the Government’s own Health ministry and National AIDS Control Authority that criminalization of same sex behavior is a serious impediment to AIDS prevention measures within the gay community.

About for the “social vice” argument, we can only recollect what RSS ideologue B P Singhal said recently in a television debate on homosexuality- “It is immoral, unnatural and against Indian culture and religion”. Does it need to be stressed repeatedly that not one of the Hindu scriptures prohibits homosexuality? In fact, the Vedas describe marriage as a union between two souls, and according to Hinduism, the soul does not have a sex. It is only the Manusmriti that offers a very light punishment for both male and female homosexuality (that of taking a cold water bath). Also, as for the credibility of the Manusmriti, the less said the better.

Ancient India had always had a very tolerant approach to all sexualities, apparent in the homo-erotic sculptures of Khajuraho and some other temples. Section 377 was introduced into the books by the British in the 19th century, and has since then been a hangover of our colonial past. So when it comes down to the morality issue, one can only ask- what is more immoral- being together with the person you love and care for, or persecuting people for who they love, just because of your prejudices. And homosexuality is unnatural? Only one who deliberately chooses to ignore all recent scientific studies in this regard can take such a stand.

As a gay person in India who is closely monitoring this case, I am aghast and deeply hurt at this medieval attitude of our Government. We would like to know why we are being treated like criminals in our own country just because of who we love? No other serious democracy in the world has retained such archaic anti-gay laws, and it’s high time that India follows suit if it wants to be accepted in the league of civilized and liberal nations. Gay men and women in India have long suffered the worst forms of homophobia, but our community is now slowly come out of its claustrophobic closet.

This said, a heartfelt gratitude needs to be expressed towards the Health Minister A Ramadoss for his open support to the struggle to repeal Section 377. This is what he had to say on the Government’s stand-

“Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil should be more progressive. I will ask for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s intervention once he returns to India. World over, people are accepting homosexuality. The home minister should be a lot more sensitive. How can we control physiological feelings of people?”

That’s encouraging because the Prime Minister has already gone on record saying that society should “show more tolerance towards homosexuals.”

As for all the B P Singhals and Shivraj Patils of this country, we can only say one thing- it’s not our love, but your hatred which is immoral.

Lok Sabha Elections- 2009 : Where do we stand?

2008-09-05T04:06:00.000-07:00

The present Government's term gets over in about six months. Which party comes to power in the next elections is for the first time ever becoming a crucial question for the Indian LGBT commmunity. The reasons are obvious-

* With the case against Sec. 377 pending in the courts, a lot depends on the Government's stand on the issue.

* The court might infact even leave the final decision upon the Government of India

* Hopefully if Sec. 377 is done away with, the very next step over the coming 2-3 years would be the issue of anti-Discrimination laws, for which we'll need a sympathetic Government

* A hostile Government on the other hand, can not only jeopardise the Sec 377 case, but will also stall further moves of the Indian Gay movement at its very nascent stage itself. Nothing can be more harmful.

So, coming down to the actual question of which party to bet for, here is a short record of the stand of Indian political parties on gay rights (Though none actually have ever mentioned it on their manifestos)-

Congress/ UPA

On June 30, 2008, Indian labour minister Oscar Fernandes backed calls for decriminalization of consensual gay sex, and the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called for greater tolerance towards homosexuals.

In August 2008, health minister Anbumani Ramadoss expressed his support for legalising homosexuality, but was opposed by the Law Ministry.

BJP/ NDA

Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, a senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party, said he opposed the gay activists' march in Delhi and called homosexuality "unnatural." "I don't think it will be accepted in our country. Most of the people are traditional people, religious people, and it will not be accepted in Indian culture," Naqvi said.

Also a petition against the Pride parade was filed at the Delhi High Court by BJP leader BP Singhal, that was later turned down.

Members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Shiv Sena, an ally of the BJP were responsible for violence against movie halls that screened "Girlfriend", a lesbian themed movie.

Communist Parties

One of the Politburo members of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), Brinda Karat, had written an open letter in 2003 to the then Minister of Law and Justice, Arun Jaitley, demanding a repeal of section 377, IPC. However she chose to remain silent on this issue for the four years her party was a close ally of the ruling UPA.

Those were the data. I do not belong to any political party, nor do I wish to make any political statement, but I sincerely believe that the upcoming elections in 2009 mean more to our community than any previous election in this country. It is therefore of great significance that we ensure that the next Government aids and not disrupts our movement that seeks equality and liberty- two fundamental rights of every citizen as enshrined in the Constitution of this great democracy.

Pride 2008 and Beyond

2008-07-11T01:53:00.000-07:00

The Pride Success

Defying all fears and anticipation, the Gay pride parades on 29th June, held simultaneously in three Indian cities- Delhi, Kolkata and Bangalore was a resonant success. Hundreds of gay, lesbian and transgendered Indians took to the streets in a colourful celebration of sexual diversity, unlike anything modern India has ever seen before.

"This is a huge change. It shows that we have grown as a community. It also shows that the attitude towards gays have changed," said Gautam Bhan, one of the key organizers of the march. "Today, I am proud to be a resident of Delhi. We never expected this kind of support. It shows that Delhi wants to be a city that is free, open and tolerant."

“This is a national coming-out party," said Alok Gupta, a lawyer from Mumbai, as he stood among several hundred activists in New Delhi. "This is a simple thing: We are seeking the right to love."

The organizers were surprised at the success of their march. They shouted and screamed with joy. They hugged each other. The cops had vanished. With songs and slogans for love and freedom ringing through the air, the police presence seemed irrelevant.

Kolkata, that has been holding Pride parades and Gay film festivals since 1999, saw hundreds of residents turning out to witness the annual march that has now become an important event in the city’s calendar.

But the party’s over, and we have to look forward. What next? That’s the question we should ponder upon.

The Hiccups

Mumbai, has been a let down. While the city can boast of a big time party scene, it has a weak activist base. Perhaps it’s time for gay celebrities in this Bollywood city to use their influence to some positive effect; after all it’s a cause that seeks equal rights for their own community. However, we may look forward to the Pride Parade in the city on August 16, 2008 with some hope.

Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, a senior leader of India's main center-Right party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, said he opposed the gay activists' march and called homosexuality "unnatural." "I don't think it will be accepted in our country. Most of the people are traditional people, religious people, and it will not be accepted in Indian culture," Naqvi said.

Also a petition against the Pride parade was filed at the Delhi High Court by RSS ideologue BP Singhal, that was later turned down.

Getting 'Bangalored'!

However, the case in point is Bangalore, where more than 800 people participated in the city’s first Pride Parade. In fact, Bangalore, in the anecdotal sense, has truly established itself as the gay-capital of India, and there are several factors that can be attributed to this phenomenon.

Perhaps the most significant among them is the settling of large number of young professionals from across India who are not staying with their families any more. They work in MNCs like IBM, HP, Microsoft and Oracle that have anti-discrimination policies in place to protect its gay and lesbian employees from harassment at their work place. This has led to the setting up of several gay and lesbian social support groups in the city. Prominent among them is Good As You Bangalore, a group of information technology (IT) professionals, lawyers, doctors, artists and others, founded by Arvind Narrain. The result has been the influx of several lesbian and gay couples from neighbouring states like Kerala and Tamil Nadu, who are escaping persecution and settling in a more gay-friendly Bangalore.

Why India is different

If things can take such a positive turn in Bangalore, it holds hope for other Indian cities as well. Perhaps, what stands out in India’s favour is its essentially Hindu-Buddhist culture. Unlike the West, there’s no religious debate hare. No Hindu group will ever hold rallies holding placards like “God hates Fags” as is common in the west. While Christianity and Islam are open about their homophobia, Hinduism has always had a much more liberal stand towards all sexuality.

Hindu texts have discussed variations in gender and sexuality for over two millennia. Like the erotic sculptures on ancient Hindu temples at Khajuraho and Konarak, sacred texts in Sanskrit constitute irrefutable evidence that the whole range of sexual behavior was known to ancient Hindus. As Saleem Kidwai and Ruth Vanita demonstrated in Same-Sex Love in India: Readings from Literature and History, traditions of representing same-sex desire in literature and art continued in medieval Hinduism as well as Indian Islam.

Hinduism sees all desire, including sexual desire, as troublesome because it causes souls to be trapped in a cycle of death and rebirth. Hindu devotional practice, philosophy and literature emphasize the eroticism of the Gods, and Kama (desire) as one of the four aims of life. In fact, the logic behind the Kamasutra was the total fulfillment of all earthly desires so that the believer, once satisfied, can then move ahead on the path of spirituality without being bothered any longer by sexual avarice. The fact that the Kamasutra contains sections on homoeroticism reveals that homosexuality was never brushed under the carpet in ancient India.

Things changed with the arrival of the Europeans, who were shocked by Hinduism, which they termed idolatrous, and by the range of sexual practices, including same-sex relations, which they labeled licentious. Modern day Indians, who are obviously unaware of their rich ancient traditions, embraced the Anglo-sponsored and essentially Semitic homophobia.

Therefore the debate in India is not religious, rather it’s cultural. What is needed is awareness. And who is to do that? The answer is we, ourselves. And therefore, the importance of coming out.

Closets are for clothes!

A survey in the USA a few years back revealed that straight people who personally know someone gay or lesbian are twice as likely to have a positive opinion on gay rights than someone who doesn’t. The reason is simple- man’s natural fear of the unknown. Homosexuality for most straight people, especially here in India, is a concept to which they can not attach a face. And therefore stems the homophobia. Once he can attach a face to this hitherto obscure concept- that perhaps of a close friend or family member, the unfamiliarity, and hence the associated fear and hatred subside.

And that is why the onus of the success of the Gay Movement in India lies on our shoulders- in our ability to come out of our closets. And believe me, it’s not as hard as you think it is. In all my discussions with gay friends in various Indian cities, one truth has emerged- and that is- The fear of coming out is worse than the process itself. And more importantly, not one of the persons that I have talked to, has ever regretted coming out.

I was personally amazed my own coming out process that started, and is still continuing in my college. Coming out to my friends, instead of cutting me off from them, as I’d feared, has instead only brought me closer to them. It’s simple- when you are honest about yourself, people appreciate.

But coming out to friends is one thing, and coming out to your parents is something totally different. Says Saurav Gupta, a 20 year old student from Hyderabad, “My father was initially shocked, but I’m sure he’ll come around soon, with my Mother being so supportive .. she's also promised me all support if I choose a gay partner for myself.”

Pranjal, 21, from Kolkata had tougher times. His parents forced him to visit a doctor to perhaps “cure” his homosexuality. Now that they’ve realized it can not be done, acceptance has followed.

Even in conservative Indore, Deepak, a 27 year old consulting manager openly shrugged off marriage by coming out to his family. “My parents and brother are absolutely cool about it” he says, “They understood once I told them that being gay is something that’s as natural as being straight.”

The AIDS monster

But coming out is not the only thing that we need to be worried about. A bigger danger is lurking very near to us. According to a recent report of the National AIDS Control Authority, almost 6% of Indian gay men are infected with HIV. The figure stands at a staggering 26% in Pune and 19% in Bangalore. A cursory look at gay networking websites in India, such as www.guys4men.com, reveals hairy-bodied men soliciting sex with strangers.

“The situation in India is worse than what happened in New York in the 1980s,” says Ashok Row Kavi, referring to the era when unprotected, promiscuous, and often anonymous, sex helped spread the AIDS virus. Row Kavi is a prominent AIDS activist, who also consults with UNAIDS, the joint United Nations programme on HIV/AIDS.

A significant number of people on these websites are married men thus, once infected, they will spread the infection to their heterosexual partner as well, Row Kavi adds.

The path ahead is long, fraught with enemies and danger. But the prize is coveted, and that is no less than our basic human right to lead a dignified, secure and discrimination-free life in a country that we call home.

(With News and Data inputs from 'The Times of India', 'Hindustan Times' and the resources of the Gay and Lesbian Vaishnava Association. Also some names have been changed to protect privacy.)

Love me for who I am

2008-03-02T06:28:00.000-08:00

On 2 March, 2008, The Sunday Times of India published an anonymous article on what it means to be gay in a homophobic country like India. I wrote that article. For those of you who missed it out, here's the full article republished. Also, my sincere thanks to the Times of India Group.

I am 21. I am an engineering student. And I am gay. I am writing this article because I am angry, frustrated and feel unbearably suffocated in my closet. I realised I was gay by the time I was 14. No, I never had any 'bad experience' in my childhood that made me 'turn gay'.

No uncle or elder cousin ever molested me. I am gay because I believe I was born gay. God or nature, whatever one believes in, made me what I am. Just as some people are blonde or left-handed, sexual orientation is also a feature that is decided biologically. Modern technology can determine the sexual orientation of a child even before he is born.

The WHO has removed homosexuality from its list of psychological disorders. Yet, some people would like to believe otherwise. They would say that if everyone were gay, there would be no society. This is a dishonest argument for the simple reason that everyone is not gay. They say it's against the Bible - an abomination of God.

But if Christians can change their views on the issues of divorce, women's rights and slavery, why not on the issue of homosexuality as well? Then there are those in India who claim that homosexuality is against Indian culture and Hinduism. Have they never been to the Khajuraho temples, embellished with homoerotic art? Do they not know that the Kamasutra is not just about straight sex? Do they not know that there is not a single scriptural missive against homosexuality in the Vedas - the ultimate authority of Hinduism?

I had my first boyfriend when I was 19. We met online in a gay-dating chat-room and when we finally met face to face, it was love at first sight. Never before in my life had I been so happy. He too was a closeted gay, but was far too petrified to ever come out. When he refused to commit to a future with me just because his family would not accept it, and he'd ultimately have to marry a girl as all Indian men are expected to do, I broke up with him. Our relationship lasted only a few months, but it left me emotionally scarred and broken in spirit. But I also realised that it was not totally his fault.

A survey has shown that 80 per cent of gay men in India are too scared to reveal their sexuality to their families and are trapped in 'normal' (read heterosexual) marriages. Few months back, a gay couple in a West Bengal village committed suicide. My heart cries for these two souls who chose death over separation.

I am writing this because I want to warn all parents of the pain that they might be causing to their children, because of their naïve assumption that they are straight. I want to appeal to the political class of India to repeal or at least tone down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code that criminalises homosexuality. I want to appeal to all readers to shed their homophobia and stop hating us for who we love. Stop committing violence against us because of the affection that exists in our lives.

I am a closeted gay and I want to come out. But that won't be possible until this highly homophobic society keeps the closet door firmly shut on the face of some 30 million gay and lesbian people of the nation. Today, I have a boyfriend whom I love with all my heart and who loves me as much. He has recently moved to another city for his job, and we miss each other a lot. But we look forward to being together very soon. Probably, that won't be possible in India without sacrificing our freedom and dignity. Probably, we'll have to leave India for a more gay-friendly country like Canada or the UK. But I love India and I do not want to leave my motherland. And that is why

I fervently appeal to all those who are reading this - please stop judging people by who they love, and start judging them by whether they love.

I wrote this poem about a couple of years back, but ironically enough, even today, it remains as relevant in my life. In it, I dream about the day I can be myself, when people would love me for what I am, and not what I pretend to be.

There will be a day
I can tell the world I'm gay
When hatred and disgust
Shall not bar my way
To come out of the closet-
So stifling today.
When "normal" men realise
I'm no less normal;
When archaic laws
Don't deem my love criminal;
When I walk hand in hand
And proudly I can stand
With my beloved beside me
And the light of freedom around me.
There will be a day
When I can tell the world
I'm gay...

Arguments against homosexuality and their rebuttal

2008-02-03T09:56:00.000-08:00

Homosexuality is not natural, it is an aberration.

Homosexuality is simply a normal variation in the human condition. It occurs in every culture, in every age, and although a majority are heterosexual, just as some people are left handed, a minority is homosexual in their orientation. Today, there exists considerable evidence that sexual orientation is biological in origin, just as a person’s gender or the colour of their skin. The international scientific community is unanimous in their view in this regard.

In 1993, Dean Hamer found the genetic marker Xq28 on the X chromosome. Hamer's study found a link between the Xq28 marker and male homosexuality.

Also further research by Bailey and Pillard (in 1991), and by Dunne and Martin (in 2000) give clinching evidence of the genetic origin of sexual orientation.

Recent studies have also found notable differences between the physiology of gay people and non-gay people. Homosexual behavior has also been identified in more than forty species of animals.

According to the Bible, homosexuality is an abomination.

The Book of Leviticus says,

““ ...If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.... ”

However, the same book of the Bible also says that a man who divorces his wife should be put to death. It also justifies the institution of slavery. Modern day Christians however have entirely different viewpoints on these issues. It may be argued that the Bible is being quoted out of context. But if it is necessary to pay importance to the context when it comes to the question of divorce or slavery, why is it also not necessary to pay importance to the context on the issue of homosexuality?

Homosexuality is one of the negative outcomes of our modern society.

Homosexuality has existed since time immemorial. From the ancient Roman and Greek civilizations to Asian and African cultures, history is full of references to homosexual relationships. Prominent historical figures ranging from Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Alexander the Great and several others were known to be gay.

Homosexuality causes AIDS.

When AIDS first raised its ugly head, it was thought of as being a ‘homosexual disease’. However, today this terrible disease has hit the heterosexual community on a much larger scale. Although the prevalence remains higher amongst gays on account of their generally having multiple partners. AIDS has nothing to do with sexual orientation. And if the risk of transmission is to be taken as the yardstick, straight women should be advised to go for lesbian sex!

Gay marriages will destroy the institution of the family.

The family is the most important social institution that needs to be preserved. Anything that tarnishes its sanctity can not be allowed to exist. But there is a basic flaw in the understanding of the concept of family among those who believe that same-gender unions will destroy it. A family is made of individuals brought together by the mutual bond of love. Sex or sexual orientation is hardly a factor. Why is it so difficult for the conservative Right to accept the fact that a loving same-gender relationship is far better than a heterosexual one that has no love?

Gay and lesbian couples can not bear children, so their unions are not justified.

Since when did giving birth to children become the only purpose for marrying? Going by this logic, even old aged and infertile straight couples should not be allowed to marry. The purpose of marriage is emotional fulfillment of one’s life through a person one loves and cares for, and not just bearing children.

Parent's homosexuality will harm the psychological development of the child. So, gays and lesbians can not be good parents.

Only someone who stays awake all night, tending to a sick child will know what parenting is all about. What has sexual orientation do with it?

The American Psychological Association has stated that:

“There is no scientific evidence that parenting effectiveness is related to parental sexual orientation: lesbian and gay parents are as likely as heterosexual parents to provide supportive and healthy environments for their children…research has shown that the adjustment, development, and psychological well-being of children is unrelated to parental sexual orientation and that the children of lesbian and gay parents are as likely as those of heterosexual parents to flourish.”

Gay parents will bring up gay children.

Do straight couples give rise to only straight children? Studies have found that an overwhelming majority of children brought up by gay and lesbian parents grow up to be straight, their percentage being the same as that of children being brought up by straight parents.

If every body were gay, there would be no society.

This is a dishonest argument for the simple reason that everybody is not gay. Several surveys have been conducted to find out exactly what proportion of the human population is gay. No study has ever revealed a percentage higher than 15%. Conservative estimates put the figure within a range of 1 to 5%.

Homosexuality is a bourgeoise fad, a lifestyle phenomenon, nothing to do with the poor.

In countries like Netherlands, where there is a high level of tolerance towards homosexuality, the percentage of openly gay people is almost the same across all sections of the society- rural and urban, rich and poor. Acceptance on part of the heterosexual community is all that is needed for gays from all sections of our population to be open about their sexuality.

Also, in 2007, several cases were reported from rural Indian villages of Punjab and West Bengal where gay and lesbian couples either fled their homes or committed suicide. This shatters the myth that homosexuality is a lifestyle fad.

Homosexuality is against Indian Culture and Hinduism.

Vedic Hinduism condemns both male and female homosexuality, but penalties are very light. Puranic Hinduism however, is abound with references to homosexual relationships.
It is a generally accepted view among historians that in pre-Islamic India, there was considerable tolerance towards alternative sexuality. When Europeans arrived in India, they were shocked by Hinduism, which they termed idolatrous, and by the range of sexual practices, including same-sex relations, which they labeled licentious. British colonial rulers wrote modern homophobia into education, law and politics.

Hinduism sees all desire, including sexual desire, as problematic because it causes beings to be trapped in a cycle of death and rebirth. Moreover several sacred Hindu texts define marriage as an union between two souls and according to Hinduism, souls do not have a gender. This in a way, paves the way for same sex marriages as well.

To wrap up, I'd like to quote, John Corvino, a writer, speaker, and philosophy professor at Wayne State University in Detroit,

"I believe there is something perverted about the fact that we hate some people because of who they love. We commit violence against some people because of the affection that exists in their lives... It's time we stopped judging people by who they love, and start judging them by whether they love."

Gay Rights - Integral part of Human Rights

2007-12-04T08:49:00.000-08:00

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a declaration completed by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in June 1948 and adopted, after a few changes, by the General Assembly at its Paris session on Dec. 10, 1948, by unanimous vote (with the six members of the Soviet bloc, Saudi Arabia, and the Union of SouthAfrica abstaining). The declaration contained general definitions not only of those principal civil and political rights recognized in democratic constitutions but also of several economic, social, and cultural rights.

The declaration serves as a universal benchmark- the requirements that are to be fulfilled by every member state of the United Nations. The United Nations Commission on Human Rights ensures the same and draws up an annual report pulling up member countries for falling short of their expectations as far as gauranteeing the basic human rights to its citizens are concerned.It therefore has gone a long way in ensuring protection to women, children and ethnic and religious minorities. The ones left out are the sexual minorities- gay men and women.

And so, when countries like Saudi Arabia or Sudan pronounce death sentences to its citizens for being homosexual, there is no mechanism through which they could be brought to task. Even democracies like India have retained archaic anti-homosexuality laws, and there is absolutely nothing that the United Nations can do about it. The realization that gays and lesbians also deserve to be treated at par with others, and that they have the right to live a dignified life has dawned only upon some western countries which have gauranteed equality to its citizens irrespective of their sexual orientation. But for the vast majority of gays and lesbians around the world, legal rights are a far cry from the discrimination that they have to face if they decide to come out of the closet.

Article 2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights says-

Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.

The only way to ensure a dignified life to the millions of gays and lesbians in third world countries is to modify Article 2 and add sexual orientation to the list. In a way making Gay Rights an integral part of the Human Rights Charter, which as of today it is not. Perhaps that will bring peace to the souls of the three homosexual men who were hanged publicly in SaudiArabia while we were engrossed in the 2007 New Year celebrations.

Was Babur Gay?

2007-12-04T08:44:00.000-08:00

May none be as I, humbled and wretched and love sick;No beloved as thou art to me, cruel and careless.

How surprised would you be to know that these words of eloquent poetry came from one the most infamous tyrants of Indian history-the first Mogul Emperor Babur- responsible for the massacare of tens of thousands of civilians and the destruction of hundreds of ancient temples.How much more surprised would you be to know that the inspiration for the above mentioned verses was no woman but a young man from Kabul.So, was Babur a closeted homosexual?

If his accounts of his adolescent life in his autobiography Baburnama are to go by,one can't help but think of him as such.Throughout his autobiography, he never mentions even a remote form of infatuation, leave alone love for any woman. Not even for his own wife. But a boy he first met at a marketplace in Kabul has his heart longing for him.In his own words,he was "maddened and afflicted" for this boy by the name of Baburi.He goes on to write-

Up till then, I had no inclination for anyone, indeed of love and desire,either by hearsay or experience,I had not heard, I had not talked.

He mentions an incident when he accidentally runs into Baburi.

One day during that time of desire and passion when I was going with my companions along a lane and met him face to face, I got into such a state of confusion that I almost went right off. To look straight at him or to put words together was impossible. With a hundred torments and shames, I went on. A Persian couplet of Mohammed Sahib's came into my mind:I am abashed with shame when I see my friend;My companions look at me, I look the other way.

Unlikely words from a man who butchered hundreds?Then read on.The passionate words of a mad lover-

In that frothing up of desire and passion, and under that stress of youthful folly, I used to wander, bare-head, bare foot, through streets and lane, orchard and vineyard.I showed civility neither to friend nor stranger, took no care for myself or others.Out of myself desire rushed me, unknowingThat this is so with the lover of a fairy-face.Sometimes like the madmen, I used to wander alone over hill and plain; sometimes I betook myself to gardens and the suburbs,lane by lane.My wandering was not of my choice, not I decided whether to go or stay.

As a member of a warrior clan, Babur was dutibound to marry and bear sons. His first marriage was at the age of sixteen to Ayisha Begum, the daughter of Babur's uncle. He recounts his unwillingness in get into close intimacy with his wife. His fears and embarrasments are evident in the following lines-

Though I was not ill-disposed towards her...I used to see her once in ten, fifteen, twenty days. Later on when even my first inclination did not last, my bashfulness increased. Then my mother Khanim used to send me, once a month, or every forty days, with driving and driving, dunnings and worryings.

Does it sound familiar to the millions of Indian gays who are languishing within their "normal"(read heterosexual) marriages?

Coming back to where we started, was one of the greatest villians of our history textbooks actually gay?Even if he was, what does it mean for us?Definitely it goes a long way in further shattering age old stereotypes of all gay men being essentially feminine and hence incapable of physical violence.But do we really need tyrant homosexuals from history like Babur or Alexander to prove our point?

World AIDS Day- What it means for Us

2007-12-04T08:41:00.000-08:00

On 1st December, as the International community marks another "World AIDS day", it's time to ponder what significance it has for us- the gay community of India. Gays in India are a highly vulnerable group for the simple reason that they generally have multiple partners. Going by the 2007 statistics, there a total 2.5 million people in India affected by HIV, which is 0.36% of the adult population. However, what is really alarming for us is the fact that HIV prevavence among gays, whom the Government prefers to call "men who have sex with men", is much higher at an astonishing 5.7%. Considering that this is even higher than the group though to be the most vulnerable- women sex-workers (at a slightly lower 5.38%), it indeed is a cause for great concern.It has been repeatedly pointed out that three groups are particularly prone to the AIDS epidemic- prostitutes, drug addicts and male homosexuals. While the Indian Government has taken the necessary steps to cover the first two groups, the third group remains almost completely ignored.Since homosexuality itself is a criminal offence in India, Government agencies can not work in co-ordination with them to bring about preventive measures to combat the epidemic.

In such a volatile scenario, where the gay community remains exposed to one of the worst epidemics the world has ever witnessed, what are we supposed to do about it? The following points may be of some help

-# Avoid, as far as possible having having sex with multiple partners. Get and remain committed to a faithful partner.

# If having multiple partners is unavoidable, always use condoms. Please note that even unprotected oral sex can transmit HIV, though the chances are relatively low.

# Educate yourself and others. Till now, no better way to avoid the disease has been found.

# Support the campaign to get homosexuality de-criminalized in India. Join local gay and lesbian support groups and help kickstart the Indian Gay Liberation Movement.

Reviews of some Gay Movies

2007-12-04T08:30:00.000-08:00

Milk (8/10)

"I know you can not live on hope alone, but without hope, life is not worth living." Thus spoke Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected public officer of the United States. This beautifully made film chronicles the life of Milk from being a hippie on the streets of San Fransisco to becoming the face of the gay liberation movement of America. Stirring speeches, touching moments of love and friendship and crushing politics, combined with some spectacular performanes, excellent cinematography and screenplay has made this movie a must watch!

The Bubble (9/10)

An astonishing Hebrew language Israeli movie about gay love in conflict zone. ‘The Bubble’ tells the story of two men in love- one an Isreali Jew(Noam), the other a Muslim Palestinian (Ashraf). The story starts with Noam returning from his military service after he’s disgusted with the way the Palestinians are treated, and then invites Ashraf to stay at his place, as being openly gay in Palestine is not an option. However, he has to assume a Jewish name, but on getting discovered returns to his Palestinian home. Soon disaster strikes as Ashraf’s brother in law masterminds a suicide attack in Tel Aviv which maims Noam’s friend. In retaliation, the Israeli army kills Ashraf’s sister, and both Noam’s and Ashraf’s worlds fall apart, until they reach the ultimate crescendo. Beautifully directed, with a real feel of the ancient-cum-cosmopolitan Israel lingering throughout the film. Opens new frontiers of gay cinema.

Yours Emotionally (6/10)

Sridhar Rangayan’s ‘Yours Emotionally’ breaks stereotypes and brings the Indian gay community out of the closet. Ravi, an Indian gay from UK travels to India with his British friend Paul for an all-night gay party, hosted in a gay friendly hotel by an elderly gay couple- Anna and Murthy. Here Ravi falls in love with a strictly closeted Indian guy- Mani, but things take a wrong turn with Paul’s careless flirtations with Mani. Murthy and Anna are there to advice Ravi, with their experiences of defying tradition and being true to one’s heart, as Ravi dwells on his relationship with Mani. The film has a surreal touch and uninhibitedly explores Indian male sexuality. Path breaking and definitely worth a watch!

Boys Don't Cry (8/10)

The heartbreaking true story of Brandon Teena, a transsexual who is murdered by his friends after they discover he has female genitalia. Brandon, born female, gets romantically involved with another girl, who does not know about her. Upon being discovered, his girlfriend continues to be supportive, but her brothers, two ex-convicts, rape and murder Tina. Despite being a low-budget independent film, it received massive critical acclaim, and even went on to become a box office success. The film is set in Lincoln, and Falls City, Nebraska. The title track- ‘The bluest eyes in Texas’ by Nina Person and Nathan Larson is as good as country music can get.

Touch of Pink (7/10)

This is the story of Alim, a Pakistani origin Muslim man in London, and how he gets through the ordeal of coming out to his mother, Nuru, staying in Canada. His life turns upside down when Nuru visits his London apartments, where he stays with his boyfriend. While his boyfriend wants Alim to come out to her sensibly, he remains strictly closeted, only to come out later in an insensitive manner. This causes Nuru to immediately leave for Canada, and Alim breaks up with his partner. However he makes amends by visiting a family wedding in Canada, where he comes out to his whole family, along with his boyfriend, who is now reconciled, with the backing of Nuru. The film is witty, with doses of humor and tragedy. Beautifully grasps the turmoils of the South Asian diaspora, when it comes to the issue of homosexuality.

My Brother Nikhil (7/10)

Perhaps the first Indian movie to sensitively handle the issues of AIDS and homosexuality, Onir’s acclaimed movie tells Nikhil’s story through the narrations of his sister, boyfriend, mother and father. Set in the idyllic backdrop of Goa, it talks about what happens to Nikhil after he contracts the HIV virus- critically touching the faultlines of ignorance of hatred, running deep in a deeply conservative society that still scorns on people who are gay or have AIDS. While Nikhil ultimately succumbs to his illness, the ultimate triumph lies in how his life touched and changed that of so many others.

Broken Hearts' Club (7/10)

Directed and written by Greg Berlanti, this is this is definitely a thoroughly enjoyable, non-controversial gay romantic comedy. The central theme is friendship and what role it plays in a world where gay men and women increasingly define themselves in terms of their sexuality, thus forgetting that they’re much more than being just gay. This is the story of a group of young gay men. There’s Dennis, who on his twenty-eighth birthday wonders whether his friends have done him more harm than good, but is nonetheless an upcoming photographer, who falls in love with the young and gorgeous “newbie” Andrew, who in turn gets ditched by the very attractive Cole, who has a penchant for relationships that don’t survive the weekend, but ultimately gets rejected by a well-known film actor. Then there’s Benji- with a strong desire for gym-going men, who finally realizes the need for his own friends. Howie and Larrie are the other eccentric members of this very eccentric group. Towering upon them is Jack- a sort of a father figure for them all- whose restaurant is their favourite hangout. Their friendship is repeatedly tested by disasters that strike the group. Overall, a beautifully made film that talks of love, friendship and the everyday toils of out-of-the-closet gay life.

Wedding Wars (8/10)

It’s rare to come across movies that are strong political statements in themselves. ‘Wedding wars’ deals with how a straight American wedding gets seriously entangled with a burning political issue- Gay Marriage. And that’s because it’s the wedding of the Governor’s daughter whose fiancé’s brother and a good family friend who happens to be gay is irked by the Governor’s public stand against gay marriages.He promptly quits working as the wedding planner and goes on strike. What begins as a one-man campaign, once covered by the media becomes a national phenomenon with gays all over USA going on strike. A news reader’s “flowerists and hairdressers” remark only adds more vigor to the fury of America’s gay community intent on proving such stereotypes false. Once on strike, the tiny but vibrant gay community proves its presence in each and every field like never before. It shows what gay activism can actually achieve. Although the Governor’s public stand actually helps him get more votes in his conservative stronghold, what stands out is the assertion that “We might have lost the battle, but will eventually win the war, and that’s because we are going to keep trying”.

Straight Jacket (6/10)

It's the name that explains it all. This is the story of a famous film star, who happens to be gay- in the pre-Gay Liberation Hollywood. It's his story of how he remains in the closet and to avoid an imminent coming out, marries a hapless girl. Out he does come, disgracefully enough, as he's caught with his boyfriend- someone who's given him a meaning to his harassed life. But he manages to take it boldly enough and is happy to tear off his straight jacket. Watch out for the title song- Really Cool.

Friends and Family (5/10)

Although ‘internalized homophobia’ has been dealt with extensively in modern Gay literature, it’s been hardly touched upon by gay cinema. This movie does exactly that. The story is about a gay couple who are the two personal body guards of an outlaw come face to face with their internalized homophobia after they term a group of straight men acting gay as “queeny”. Pulled up for the same by a gay friend, one of them admits how he wished for a job that was considered more “manly” in order to somehow make up for the fact that he’s gay. The rest of the movie is mostly a blur, the acting being not so impressive. The “hostage crisis” towards the end is a dampener and the movie could have definitely done with something better.

Get Real (10/10)

This is gay cinema finally coming of age. It’s a story that deserves ten on ten for the simple reason that it touches your heart like nothing else. It’s a movie that portrays so vividly, yet so sensitively what growing up as a gay is all about. It’s the story of Steven, played by Ben Silverstone, a gay school-going teenager- a story so familiar to all of us ordinary gays yet so mesmerisingly portrayed that it stirs the deepest emotions of your heart. It tells what it means to be gay in a society, which for all its liberalism remains essentially homophobic, what it means to lead a life pretending something that you are not, what it means to fall deeply in love with someone who you know will ultimately leave you for a girl and thus a more “normal” life, what it means to break the heart of a lovely girl for absolutely no fault of hers, and ultimately the exhilarating freedom of being out and proud. It’s the story of all ‘real’ gays, also a call to the other lot to go “Get Real”!

Butch Camp (6/10)

It’s the story of a gay guy who seems to have lost control of his life- he gets dumped and cheated by his boyfriend, is fired from his job, gets practically raped by a woman and is constantly bullied by straight thugs. That’s when he enrolls himself with the “Butch Camp”- a toughening programme for all “sissy” gays. Only now does his life takes a turn for the good. Not only does he learn to be more assertive- with some hilarious scenes in straight pubs and bars where he finds himself facing the “hetero bullies”, he also discovers his true self- that had been hiding in the shell of quasi-intellectualism. He finds his love, gets back his job and it’s a “happily ever after…” ending.

Poster Boy (8/10)

How does it feel to be the gay son of a Republican senator who happens to be stringently anti-homosexual? For Henry Kray, this is the bitter reality of life- a closeted gay in a New York University, he's constantly harrased by a belligerent father who wants to see his son as his politcal heir, but Henry can't see eye to eye with his conservative political ideology. Finally forced by his father, he agrees to introduce him to his fellow-students at a College Political meeting, but is emotionally supported by his mother, and another gay pal of his who had befriended him only to embarass the Senator by outing Henry publicly. Tables turn and Henry himself, in full media glare kisses his boyfriend, putting his father's political career in jeopardy. What is good about this movie is that it is not centralized on one theme throughout. There are peripheral characters who make their mark- a straight guy, who's a virgin; a female victim of AIDS and some others. A good watch overall.

True Love (4/10)

Six stories one after the another- no continuum, no link. Two worth watching, rest a lookover. That probably wraps up the whole thing. 'A Christmas Story' features a boy recieving Christmas gifts that he doesn't find the least appealing, instead intrigued by the gifts his sister gets. The story-writer presumably assumes the audience will take the little boy as gay. 'Staying Together' is about a young gay couple and how they rejuneavate their relationship. 'Going Gay' is about a fourteen year old boy being harassed by his father for having a gay relationship. 'A Little Drama', the last story is something the movie could've definitely done without.

Brokeback Mountain (8/10)

You really can’t miss out on this endearing love story of Jack and Ennis- from their first meeting on the Brokeback Mountain to their inseparable relationship lasting several years despite both of them being tied down by their respective families is a saga of the “love that dare not speak its name” in a time and place where being “queer” can cost you your life. Oscar nominated and winner of the Golden Globe, the movie captivates you with its wonderful acting, exceptional direction and an awesome cinematography.

Maurice (9/10)

Based on an E. M. Forster novel by the same name, ‘Maurice’ has earned its place among the iconic gay movies of all times. Dating back to an era in England, when even being homosexual was considered a crime, the movie chronicles the lives of three homosexual men- Maurice (James Wilby), Clive (Hugh Grant) and Alec. At university, Maurice falls in love with Clive, and maintains a restrained, but romantic relationship with him. Clive, however decides to leave Maurice in order to settle for a more acceptable life. This pushes Maurice into depression who seeks psychiatric counseling. The counselor, apparently is the only individual who understands Maurice’s situation, advising him to leave England for a more gay-friendly country. “England has always been disinclined to accept human nature”, he says in a poignant acceptance of the truth. But Maurice once again finds true love- in the form of a poor farm helper- Alec. The story unfolds beautifully, doing full justice to Forster’s novel, though some minor changes have been introduced. It takes the viewer on a journey back in time, complete with its mesmerizing appeal to the human heart.