Indian Coming Out Day

Sunday, July 2, was the 8th anniversary of the historic judgement of 2009 which decriminalised gay sex by reading down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. Many tout it as the ‘Indian Coming Out Day’, considering that legality gave wings to the inner void to explode and ‘come out’ strongly and loudly. The patrakaar people were the happiest because there was a time when they used to struggle to interview LGBT people, which resulted in recycling three or four voices in the community again and again, now there was a sea of stories. DNA was the only newspaper back then to start the ‘Out of the Closet’ page dedicated to LGBT voices, which has now metamorphosed into a broader Sexuality section.

Times changed, laws changed. Today, Section 377 is back in the books in its original Victorian form. Time has taken us back to the point we had the Quit India Movement. Just that we are now fighting a colonial law. That’s one of the historic reasons why we have our pride march starting at August Kranti Maidan in Grant Road, Mumbai — where Mahatma Gandhi delivered the Quit India Speech on August 8,1942.

Angrez chale gaye, 377 chhod gaye. The ‘patriotic’ people who speak in favour of Section 377, are actually standing up for discrimination. Come on, that cannot be Indian culture. How can it ever be Indian to stand up with a law that Britishers made to colonise our minds and divide us? Irony just died.

But hello! When have laws stopped the spirited from being who they are, right? While Section 377 ensures that there is an increase in extortion rates and overall prejudice, it also ensures that those who have the rebel streak in them push their limits and come out as LGBTQI and allies. Vishal Tandon from Hyderabad was one such person who pushed the limits and curated a queer-themed art exhibition. I was deeply saddened that his life came to a stunning halt on July 1, 2017 when he decided to take his life. The reasons are still sketchy.

On the same day, I heard the news of my out-and-proud lesbian film maker friend from Nepal, Nilu Dorma Sherpa. She wanted to visit Mumbai, after learning about the bustling LGBT scene. Sadly, her dreams will remain dreams as we had to flood our Facebook profiles with RIP. We lost her to a heart attack.

Some laws don’t kill directly. But, they clip your wings and chop the trees where you could perch, so that you simply die of the frustration of eternally longing for absolute freedom.

But hey, let me end with the lines of someone’s favourite song who was also born on July 2 — Sushant Divgikar — I Will Survive. Mr Gay World India 2014, Divgikar is now a mentor to boys participating in the pageant every year.

Aani. Aamhi Vijayi Honaar!

(Activist Harish Iyer shares his entertaining adventures through Mumbai’s landscape)

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