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The legal changes in India regarding gay rights have given the only Sikh gay organisation in Vancouver a boost in their struggle for acceptability and protection in society. A special report.
More than a year after Sher Vancouver, the first social and support group for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender South Asians and their families was formed; things have started moving for the group. This is the second year when Sher Vancouver proudly took part in the gay pride parade in Vancouver. The group, formed basically for Punjabi gays, welcomes and supports everyone from any ethnicity and sexuality, though has affirmed that Sikhs or other Indo-Canadians can be gays too. The community can no longer live in denial and it is high time that they accept them as their own.
The group got further boost from their counterparts in India, where the Delhi High Court in its historic ruling asked for legalizing homosexuality. The ruling was upheld later by the Apex court of India. The day, many observed, would be remembered as a landmark in the history of human justice and equality. The judgement came after public interest litigation was filed by a voluntary group of gay rights, the Naz foundation. The Court in its judgement observed that Section 377 of the Indian Penal code, which criminalizes homosexuality is unconstitutional and discriminates against a section of the population. The Naz Foundation International (NFI) is an international agency that has been providing technical, institutional and financial assistance to gays, groups, collectives and organisations in South Asia since 1996, along with some countries in South-East Asia.
As many other countries in the world dither over the issue, India has set a fine example as a nation with courage to challenge tradition for human equality and justice. The day will be remembered as a landmark for justice for a section of the population shunned and ill-treated by the majority community. Says Amar Sangha, of Sher Vancouver who was the first Sikh to admit his sexuality to the world, “The ruling also sends a positive message to South Asian families in Canada who have gay kids that believe homosexuality is wrong because back home in India it is not accepted or is illegal. The Delhi high court has stated it is against the Indian Constitution to discriminate against gays and lesbians. Social change is taking place in India. Attitudes will change. As South Asians immigrate to Canada and raise gay kids hopefully there won’t be discriminatory and homophobic attitudes placed on their gay children. Maybe their parents will be more understanding and accepting. This will reduce depression, suicide and isolation and have huge benefits emotionally and psychologically. This is intercultural and intergenerational change.” Amar and his family have faced discrimination, taunts and verbal assault by members of the community since the day he came out of his closet.
Since the South Asian group was formed in Vancouver, the group has increased to 220 members now, out of which 80 are for the Punjabi division alone. Sher is also making its presence felt by participating in shows like the Sawan Mela, the Surrey Pride, Bang Bang Bollywood at Celebrities Night Club as well as the Vancouver Pride Parade.
The PIL by Naz foundation was filed way back in 2002, just before I moved to Vancouver from New Delhi. At that time, while working on an article on Gay rights as a reporter in New Delhi, I had met Shaleen Rakesh of the Foundation, who told me that there main work was more for a section of men who are vulnerable to contracting HIV/AIDS. “During the process of our work, we discovered that the best way to promote respect and protect human rights of vulnerable populations, especially the MSM community. For that, we need to change the draconian Section 377 as it is an infringement of fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 14, 15, 19 and 21 of the constitution.”
Though latest figures are not available, a study done in the late nineties had put the estimated number of gay population as more a quarter of the whole population. Said Rakesh,” The study showed that 30-40 per cent of men in big cities are gay, thought they may not accept it openly. We cannot say the same for smaller cities as there is a lot of migrant population that sleeps on roads, streets or parks.”
Back in India, the rulings impact is seen as more and more skeletons tumble out of the closets. Many are now openly accepting their sexual orientation without fear of retribution. Even people belonging to the royal families are admitting to their sexual orientation. Manvendra Singh Gohil, Prince of Rajpipla is India’s first gay royal to come out in the open. In one of his remarks, he said, ‘I grew up amongst servants and till age 9, thought that my governess was my mother. As a result, I was never close to my parents and could not share my feelings. I had my first sexual encounter with a servant boy.” However, he says that when he came out in the open in 2006, members of his community disowned him and even his parents disinherited him. His pictures were burnt and the state’s VHP unit threatened him.
Yet, it cannot be ignored that while there is greater visibility of homosexuality in the media, yet acceptability within the Indo-Canadians is still lacking. Just a few months back, three Indo-Canadian men attacked a gay man in downtown Vancouver as the victim was walking along Davie street. The men pelted him with eggs and threw bottles at the victim. And these are young men who have grown up just when there is so much talk of acceptability in society.
Religious leaders for once have united in their chorus for terming the ruling and the gay community as ‘sick’ people needing treatment and that the ruling is against the Indian culture or against the law of God and nature, says one; un-Islamic, calls another. Bollywood is encouraging. Films like ‘Dostana’ are no more given an ‘A’ rating and were a considerable box office hit. Many hit films today have a gay angle, though used more as a comedy. Yet, change is evident. The ruling for now has given some protection to the gay community, hopefully acceptance will follow.
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