Politics, Mainsteaming, AIDS and Sexual minorities in India

[Guest guest]

Hi,

The past week has been a watershed of sorts for myself as various events tumbled

out over the week and I wish to share it with you all on all the various lists.

What happened has portents for sexual minority politics, sexual minority in

mainstream politics, and for HIV/AIDS.

Like all story let me begin at the begining. Last saturday People for the rights

of Indian Sexual Minorities [PRISM], a Delhi based group of individuls working

for the rights of sexual minorities in India but also having faith in building

alliances with other groups of opressed people like the women's movement, slum

dwellers, et al, was given space to have a stall in the most happening place in

Delhi, namely 'Delhi Haat'. A board was put up at one prominent junction of the

Haat where an impromptu opinion poll was taken. The statement put out was " being

homosexual is normal " . Small chits were given out to whosoever wanted to jot

their opinion and the responses were pinned up either to the left of the board

if the response was " I Agree " , or to the right if it was " Disagree " .

Response was overwhelming and the age range of respondents were from school kids

to grandmothers. Daddies and sons wrote out and stuck their opinion chits

togeher on the board. And by the end of the day, the agree side of the board had

spilled over well into the space reserved for the disagree side of the board.

By more than 25 to one the average haat going middle class persons of Delhi had

found no abnormality with homosexuality.

But semantics of polls aside, what was more important was that there was that

there was an activist with a poster stuck on his back exclaiming in LOUD letters

" GAY & PROUD " . He did not even raise eyebrows. No body gave a fig as to him

being gay. A real life substantiation of the fact that the poosters were not

just polling politically correctly, they really found nothing awkward in being

gay.

PRISM tied up with a street theater group, who enacted a play on homosexuality,

homosexual love, and the kind of problems that homosexuals face. By the end of

the day there were 3 encore performances. The public came, saw, and

enjoyed....with fathers, daughters, moms, sons, friends, all gathered around and

no elder trying to hustle away a child from such " bad things " . Leafet given were

read and not thrown away, but tucked into purses and pockets, queries being made

on how prism or similar groups can be contacted should some one they know need

help. I could not help thinking that most people know of some one or the other

who is homosexual, and this information was being kept to aid them should they

need so.

On to sunday last, at the NDTV studios in Delhi. It was shooting time for

Bharkha Dutts people's talk show " We the People " . They were to discuss the laws

on homosexuality. What brought it on was the petition filed by Naz India

challenging the vires of 377 in the Delhi High Court. In the crowd of 100 were

various LGBT activists including myself, the historian Saleem Kidwai [co-author

of the meticulously researched 'same sex love in India - readings from

literature and history'], one Additional Solicitor General, the token IPS guy

Uday Sahai, the token Psychiatrist, and the BJP MP VK Singhal. The opening shot

was given by the hon'ble MP about the need to criminalise as homosexuals were in

every which way appaling to India, Indians, Culture and what have you. Along the

way Mr. Sahai did his out of turn and out of context pitch on Lucknow, doling

out a story that is probably the n-zillioneth version of the lie coming from the

police camp, and quiet coincidentally much in varience of the report that the

police themselves have filed in the courts. The learned ASG threw in his hat for

the need to criminalise and the good psychiatrists went against the grain of

world psychiatric opinion on homosexuality, hee-hawed, and tied himself up in

knots. But all these people were what we call the establishment. The drivers for

the powers that be. Their attitude was important because suddenly in the midst

of all this I realised why NACO had not defended its policies in public when the

police in Lucknow were so effectively shredding and rubbshing it. They could not

because they are part of the same establishment. They are not courageous

fighters for the truth, the just, or what they themselves say they belive in.

They are driven by these drivers and therefore by these attitudes. No wonder I

also felt the fear of what it means for the AIDS containtion movement in India.

Talking of AIDS, because the debate from the inception hinged on the morality

and 'indianness' of homosexuality, Criminalisation and how it impacts HIV

intervention could not become a main theme of the debate. But what is heartening

is that other than the establishment the rest of the " People " came out strongly

on the side of the " Oppressors " , and some of their simple logic quite literally

floored the establishment-wallas. It was quiet amusing to see their attemts at

establishing the validity of their hatred by dogma, convoluted logic on culture,

and plain simple ph Goebblesisms.

Again I could see that the common person does not have the greater homophobia

that we apprehend. The average mother, the average brother, the average friend,

does not judge by sexual orientation. They judge by what one means when sexual

orientation is kept aside. The fact that this has happened is what I feel is the

positive in the political struggle of sexual minorities. The real fight is with

the establishment wallas and their attituted. It is they who would not hesitate

to give cultural, indianness, or any other twist, if they see any king of

political mileage being gained by having another punching bag around. It is them

that we have to deal with by using the best arsenals we have- truth, good

science, honesty, justice, and our human rights to be who we are.

[Note: This programme is scheduled to be telecast at 8PM IST on the star news

Channel on the 17th February 2002.]

Then I came over to Lucknow on work. Here one of the political heavyweight has a

challenger who is a eunuch. Lalji Tandon of the BJP has been having quiet a

fight from this gutsy person, namely Payal, a candidate for the Rashtriya

Communist Party. She held a meeting yesterday and in her campaign, quiet a few

members of the sexual minority population from all over joined in. A public

coming out of the closet of sorts after the Kristellnacth days last July in

Lucknow. And today the press has gone to town about hows gays have come to the

aid of Payal. There are big articles in the 'Indian Express " , " Times of India " ,

" Asian Age " , and most of the Hindi Newspapers. Of course the political camps of

Mr. Tandon has given the necesary spin about how the participation of gays is

either a conspiracy of the rebel BJP/RSS persons who do not love Tandonji, or

how it is their handiwork to spoil Tandonji's chances at the hustings.

But I am more pleased with the fact that the candidate and her party have

courted gay men/homosexuals with open arms and have publicly stated that their

rights to be needs to be respected. I hear from reports tat there are eunuch

candidates being fielded in these elections by quiet a few parties including the

congress. I would be interested in knowing if they as parties share this same

opinion and if so what they propose to do about it. Thus far there are no

answers. But what is clear is that collectively sexual minorities of all hues

are becoming a political force and not very far from today, I feel, the

establishment wallas can no more hide behing their hatred and homophobia and

ignore the fact that sexual minorities are human beings with human rights that

cannot be denied them just to abet their own personal bigotry. With these

elections I see that the silence has finally been broken.

If rights are at the root of effective intervention for HIV/AIDS, then this can

only mean a better future, homophobia of the estblishment wallas aside.

When Shabnam mausi became a legislator, or when the other eunuchs were elected

in the past, there were e-mail traffic on the net asking if they were able to

help in any way in furthering the cause of sexual minority rights. After what

happened at Payal's campaign, I feel that sexual minority activists [myself

included] in the past have erred in not reaching out to these elected

representatioves or by not providing support in their candidacy days. That I

feel shall not be a mistake repeated by us in the future. We cannot come to the

reaping to toil, and yet expect a share of the harvest.

The piticizing of sexual minority in the mainstream of politics has begun, I

fingers crossed, I hope only for the better.

Love and regards

Aditya Bondyopadhyay

e-Mail: adit_bond_2@...>

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