The Indian Situation on Homosexuality

By: Parth Chandani

June 28 marks 50 years since the New York City police raided the Stonewall Inn, setting off a series of protests by the city’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community, which proved to be a vital catalyst in the movement against discrimination faced by this community on a daily basis. Thirty years later, the month of June went on to be designated as Pride month, inspiring the community across the globe to come out and stand up for themselves, unapologetically.

In some third world countries like India homosexuality is legal, but is incredibly frowned upon. And it’s not only by the uneducated but also by a lot of educated people, and that is because our messed up education system is not ready to talk about sexuality. It’s is a bit sad and depressing to know that people are hiding their sexuality from the outside world as they fear that it might disappoint the people they care about. . It's sad how we, as a society who like to believe in the idea of God, can hate the people created by God, merely on the basis of their sexuality (which is something you are born with and not something you develop). I like to think that homophobia (the fear of homosexuality) comes from people who lived in the Ancient Period (3600 BC- 500 AD) and the Middle Ages (500 -1500) because the people in those times were more concerned with increasing the population and carrying on their lineage than with accepting people the way they are.

It doesn’t matter now, because we have 7 BILLION Homo sapiens on this large blue and partly green globe, we don’t need more humans. What we do need more is love and support. We need to support everyone because everyone has their own story. In the end we are stuck on this globe and we won’t be able to function if we don’t help each other out. But it’s strangely comforting to know that this situation abroad is way better. We have seen firsthand that if given a chance, people’s sexuality has not barred them from excelling in their respective fields: Alan Turing (English mathematician, computer scientist, cryptanalyst, philosopher), Elton John (legendary vocalist and songwriter), Ellen DeGeneres (comedian, actress, writer, producer, talk show host) and many more. These people, and many more, have been leading examples on a global front that no matter what part of the 52 sexualities you are a part of, you can do amazing things and achieve great feats in your life. Everyone is equal and should be given a chance to do great things with their life, no matter their sexual preference. All love is equal, and all love is beautiful.