‘There are few gay people India’: stigma lgers spe legal victory | Human rights | The Guardian

Contents:

• GAY INDIA
• ‘THERE ARE FEW GAY PEOPLE INDIA’: STIGMA LGERS SPE LEGAL VICTORY
• INDIAN CELEBS WHO ARE OPENLY GAY AND PROUD TO BE LGBTQIA+
• DELHI GAY TRAVEL
• GAY NEW DELHI
• GAY MUMBAI

GAY INDIA

In 2017, when he told his parents he was gay, their illn of him as the perfect son shattered. Unlike Sourav, who nfintly asserts himself as a gay man spe the phback om his loved on, back the 1980s and 1990s, I had no termology to scribe what I was. There was emotnal blackmail, cludg beg blamed for his mother’s illns; beg taken by his parents to nsult a homophobic nropsychiatrist who diagnosed him wh a “sexual disorr”, prcribed meditn for and remend unsellg to rrect his ways; and opprsive parental surveillance, aid by the lack of privacy their two-room home.

To his horror, she told him that he was “not normal”, followed by advice monly given to young gay men: bee more “mascule”.

He believ that if his father had not been homophobic, his mother would have e around by now.

‘THERE ARE FEW GAY PEOPLE INDIA’: STIGMA LGERS SPE LEGAL VICTORY

The transphobic and homophobic people peddlg illegal, unscpulo treatments are not likely to disappear overnight. When India’s supreme urt announced was legalisg gay sex, people hugged twos and thre on the lawns outsi the Delhi urthoe. A law agast “unnatural sex” enshred by the lonial Brish ernment (and fend by succsive Indian on) was unanimoly led to no longer prohib homosexual acts.

INDIAN CELEBS WHO ARE OPENLY GAY AND PROUD TO BE LGBTQIA+

The reverberatns of the cisn – on sheer numbers, perhaps the largt sgle act of gay liberatn ever – are still ripplg across a vast, diverse and nservative untry. “They wrote, ‘Congratulatns to my homosexual iends’. “The iology of marryg a woman and havg children here is eply rooted, ” says Shubhankar Mondal, a medil stunt and one of the few openly gay people at his llege the cy.

DELHI GAY TRAVEL

A few days after the verdict last September, Patna threw s first gay party. ”The lgerg fear reflects the fact that Indian society do a better job of policg s gay members than law enforcement ever did. Vlatg India’s ban on homosexual acts was punishable by up to 10 years prison.

Its real impact, acrdg to reports by human rights groups, was to emboln police and others to extort and abe gay people, knowg most would be reluctant to seek help om a ernment that regard them as stigma still lgers. “In India, is a se of ethics, ” says Sanjay Paswan, a member of the Bihar state uncil and former Indian feral mister who opposed the cisn to lift the gay ban.

“[Gay] people are sufferg om some psychologil weakns or problem or trma. “Now people have no guts to oppose [homosexualy] … But not out of nvictn.

GAY NEW DELHI

”The bnt of the prejudice is borne by Patna’s poorer and ls ted LGBT rints, who have limed accs to the empowerg gay culture that has veloped around the world the past half-century and which tells them they should feel pri who they how they intify, Roshni and Satya reel off a list of the slurs that are hurled at them the street. Labels such as transgenr or gay mean ltle to eher one.

“They ed to harass [before the liftg of the gay ban] and nothg has changed, ” Roshni says. But the end of India’s gay ban is spirg ty acts of urage unlikely plac, the accumulated effect of which may only be known years later.

India crimalized homosexualy 2018.

GAY MUMBAI

Through our own viss and those of the handful of LGBTQ+ tour operators who lead trips there, India is hospable and welg to all visors – cludg gay or lbian upl or groups.

In September 2018, homosexualy was ma legal India once aga after was crimalized 2013 and prevly crimalized 2009. One aspect of lol life that often surpris gay visors to India is the open affectn that Indian men display wh other men. They are not gay, nor a relatnship.

We terviewed several gay tour operators cludg Bryan Herb om Zoom Vatns (listed as a rource below), Robert Sharp om Out Adventur, and Zach Mos om HE Travel, who have equently traveled to India, and they all report feelg credibly wele. That said, tour operators who've brought many LGBTQ+ guts to India, report that beg gay is simply a non-issue. For LGBTQ+ travelers, there is a ltle more plex sce homosexualy is technilly illegal.