LGBTQ Rights: Will the Rainbow of Tolerance rise in India?

I know there has been no new year post and we are already standing in the beginning of the second month of the year. This period has been particularly uninspiring and busy.

I choose to write today not about anything sweet. This post is laced with bitterness. Today is the day the honourable Supreme Court of India will decide whether or not the rights of the LGBTQ community will be recognized or whether being in love with another human being will continue to remain a criminal offence warranting a life sentence in my country.

I am an Indian. I was born here and have spent my entire life here. But I am a tiny minority in this country. Why? Well I belong to a tiny fragment of the population who were raised to be liberal and tolerant individuals. I was among the fortunate few who were told from very early on in life that, who I was in terms of gender, religion, caste, race, sexual orientation, political views, taste in literature, financial status or educational qualification does not determine my self worth. I was taught that the ingredients to make a great human being are kindness, tolerance, sensitivity, honesty and reliability. My mother always assured me that she would be there for me at every difficult turn of my life and her love for me would not change based on anything, least of all based on who I chose to love. But I am among a handful in the second most populous country in the world.

This is the crux of the problem. Most of India thinks homosexuality is unnatural and wrong. It is listed in the constitution as an act against nature. Polluting the environment by choking the night sky with fire cracker smoke in the holy festival of Diwali is not an act against nature. Neither is polluting site bodies with idols of deities. Nature loves there things and embraces them. It is only when two human being are in love with each other, want to protect and cherish each other, but are unfortunately of the same gender in this 'diverse' country, does nature quiver with the unjust behaviour thrown at it. Yes. Because that makes so much sense.

I have met so many liberal individuals in the past few years that I had started to wrongly be under the illusion that everyone's mentality has changed for the better. This bubble was thankfully burst last night during a conversation with a dear friend. An educated, bright, polished, financially sound, efficient, young man who is a great friend to have around. As the conversation fell into the LGBTQ mould, I expected him to be enraged by the government's decision to call a natural phenomenon criminal. Instead he said he thought it was weird and unnatural to be with someone from the same gender as you. He said he was tolerant enough not to want to hurt gay people, but he said he did not like it. When asked what it was that he did not like exactly, he said "Nothing. I don't like anything about it. It's just wrong."
In my rage and disbelief I initially cursed him by saying I hoped he would bear children who were gay. To my utter shock he coolly replied said, "My children will not be gay. I will make sure."

That was the precise moment I realised how futile this discussion was and how nothing could move one to tolerate. I shed a few tears and prayed a hundred prayers to the heaven to never give queer inclinations to children born to people like him. I could only imagine what kind of rejection they would face.

If the young, educated generation holds such views there is no point blaming the country. I hope today's hearing yields better results than my discussion last night.

We are queer. We are here.