India's First Openly Gay Prce Turned His Palace Into a Safe Haven for the LGBTQ+ Communy

Contents:

• INDIAN GAY UPL BEG LEGAL BATTLE FOR SAME-SEX MARRIAGE
• 8 BOLLYWOOD STARS AND INDIAN CELEBRI WHO ARE GAY
• INDIA'S FIRST OPENLY GAY PRCE ENDURED YEARS OF TORTURO NVERSN THERAPY. NOW, HE'S FIGHTG TO MAKE THE PRACTICE ILLEGAL.
• GAY
• MARRIED TEXAS, GAY INDIAN UPLE SEEKS RIGHTS INDIA
• GAY DIA
• A 'SM' OR JT UNPROFSNAL? INDIA GAY MATCHMAKG SERVICE UNR FIRE
• IN INDIA, GAY, LBIAN AND TRANS PEOPLE N FACE WCHDOCTORS, EXORCISTS AND 'RRECTIVE RAPE'

INDIAN GAY UPL BEG LEGAL BATTLE FOR SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

Indian gay uple Supriyo Chakraborty, right, and Abhay Dang, gture durg their pre-weddg ceremony on the outskirts of Hyrabad, India, Dec.

New Delhi — India's Supreme Court has set the ball rollg on petns by gay upl and activists seekg legal regnn of same-sex marriage. The Supreme Court also gave the feral ernment about five weeks to make s stand on the matter 's Supreme Court crimalized homosexual sex wh a lg 2018, strikg down a lonial-era law that ma homosexual acts punishable by up to 10 years prison. After the ernment fil a rponse, the urt plans to hear the llective pleas by gay upl and activists March.

Among the petners is a gay uple om Hyrabad, Supriyo Chakraborty and Abhay Dang, who have been together for 10 years and want to register their marriage unr India's Special Marriag Act.

8 BOLLYWOOD STARS AND INDIAN CELEBRI WHO ARE GAY

"Dpe the crimalizatn of homosexualy, urts, police and several other anizatns are not aware of var provisns of the law that protect transgenrs. On Friday, as the Supreme Court heard the petns, members of the Uned Hdu Front, a right-wg relig anizatn, protted outsi the urt, cryg homosexualy as agast Indian culture and sistg the Supreme Court shouldn't hear the petns.

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.

INDIA'S FIRST OPENLY GAY PRCE ENDURED YEARS OF TORTURO NVERSN THERAPY. NOW, HE'S FIGHTG TO MAKE THE PRACTICE ILLEGAL.

The transphobic and homophobic people peddlg illegal, unscpulo treatments are not likely to disappear overnight. Except no one else knew about the gay uple’s was 2008.

GAY

Homosexualy was yet to ga a gree of acceptance eply nservative India, wh many gay upl facg stigma and isolatn.

MARRIED TEXAS, GAY INDIAN UPLE SEEKS RIGHTS INDIA

So Saxena and Kotia took their time, watchg om a distance how people’s acceptance of homosexualy was changg. Over the years, as Indian society beme more acceptg of homosexualy and much of the untry’s LGBTQ muny began celebratg their sexualy openly, the uple cid to make their relatnship known to their iends and fay.

Three other gay upl have filed siar petns that will be heard by the untry’s top urt March.

GAY DIA

If legalized, India would bee the send enomy Asia after Taiwan to regnize same-sex marriage, a signifint right for the untry’s LGBTQ muny more than four years after the top urt crimalized gay sex. The historic lg 2018 that stck down a lonial-era law that had ma gay sex punishable by up to 10 years prison expand nstutnal rights for the gay muny. The cisn was seen as a landmark victory for gay rights, wh one judge sayg would “pave the way for a better future.

”India’s Supreme Court has, however, signaled uld challenge the ernment’s January, s llegium — prisg the Chief Jtice of India and two Jtic — said the ernment was opposg a gay judge’s nomatn part bee of his sexual orientatn. Gay upl and LGBTQ activists argue that by refg to regnize same-sex marriage, the ernment is privg homosexual upl of their right to equaly enshred the nstutn and opportuni enjoyed by married heterosexual upl.

Gay and lbian upl are not allowed to have children born wh the help of an Indian surrogate mother.

A 'SM' OR JT UNPROFSNAL? INDIA GAY MATCHMAKG SERVICE UNR FIRE

Many such upl believe that legal regnn of same-sex marriage would not jt be a val step toward equaly but also rult more people g out as homosexuals and strengtheng their relatnship wh the state. Homosexualy has long rried a stigma India’s tradnal society, even though there has been a shift attus toward same-sex upl recent years.

India now has openly gay celebri and some high-profile Bollywood films have alt wh gay issu. Acrdg to a Pew survey, acceptance of homosexualy India creased by 22 percentage pots to 37% between 2013 and many same-sex upl ntue to face harassment many Indian muni, whether Hdu, Mlim or December, India’s LGBTQ muny found support om an unexpected quarter.

IN INDIA, GAY, LBIAN AND TRANS PEOPLE N FACE WCHDOCTORS, EXORCISTS AND 'RRECTIVE RAPE'

Mohan Bhagwat’s ments, which uld force the ernment to reasss s posn, were a parture om the group’s long-held views on homosexualy, which has a tangled history India, even though some of Hduism’s most ancient texts are acceptg of same-sex upl. We have always wrten about (homosexualy), talked about , and discsed , ” said Vana. In a landmark lg, India’s Supreme Court crimalised homosexualy on Thursday.

But who are India’s gay celebri? Wh gay sex only jt beg legal, will take time for the big stars India’s celebry world to e out.