For the month of October, Canada and the United States celebrate LGBTQ History Month, while February is for the United Kingdom. So here’s a school of thought; given the extensive history of varied sexualities in India, we should have one too, right? Before we start celebrating, let’s have a conversation.
Despite the movement truly gaining momentum in the early 2000s thanks to globalisation and social media, there’s been an awareness for centuries — dating back to the Vedic ages. Ancient texts and temple mouldings have been very vocal about them.
The 18 day-long Koovagam Festival in the Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu attracts hundreds of people from Malaysia and Singapore. The festival is a celebration of the transgender and transvestite community.
The independent film industry has also been striving towards equality in representation. BOMGaY by Rahul Bose and Fire by Deepa Mehta faced tremendous backlash and even censorship or restricted release. Now, thankfully, there are avenues that aim to aggrandise LGBTQ filmmakers’ rights which could point towards better portrayals as well.
New Delhi, 06/09/2018 : Supporters of LGBT Community seen celebrating after the verdict on Article 377 at the Supreme Court on September 06, in New Delhi. Photo by R V Moorthy / The Hindu
Isabella Saldana, who ran ‘Film and Conversations on Sexualities and Genders’ in the city explains, “My initial thought would be to turn to the community members and see what they think is possible. And I also wonder how many people would be resistant to the idea. For example, with Black History Month in the U.S., there are many who believe that relegating the celebration of history to just one month gives permission to people to not think about it for most of the year, or that the state-recognition pacifies people. It is important though, to recognize history and know the struggles that allow you to reach one point so that you can learn from them: past strategies, triumphs, mistakes all give us necessary context for our current struggles. Whether the passing down of that should be something structured by the government who had long seen no problem with criminalization or something structured by and for the LGBTQ community, is a question that Indian LGBTQ community members and activists would have to consider.”
- Pride parades: Serving as calls for LGBTQ rights, they’re a demonstration of the unity of communities. The parades feature concerts, art shows, poetry slams and other ways to express the movement.
- The fight ahead: Prominent figures and organisations around the world provide forums for discussion on issues that still lie ahead. There are also talks to educate and/or to remind people of the pioneers in this movement.
- The next generation: Education children about love and acceptance is a part of setting an example on being one’s authentic self, be it through books, film, plays or games.
- Donation drives: Funding for LGBTQ legislation run at a peak during Pride Month plus there’s an increased year-round support for LGBTQ-run businesses
More recently, in Hyderabad, the Indian Photo Fest has been vocal about this through vivid imagery. Rohit Chawla’s 2013 telling photograph of Vikram Seth holding a placard reading ‘Not A Criminal.’ Even five years later, such images have an affecting impact.
Pride Months across India already have the discourses we need to move our community in a more progressive direction. But there’s way more complexity to the subject. Vyjayanti Vasanta Mogli sheds light on how such a move can harm as well as good. “An active part of the trans community, we have a worry about such a month becoming very tokenising. I’m not shooting the idea of these celebrations down but we’ve seen a lot of corporates pay attention to the ‘L’, the ‘G’, the ‘B’ and the ‘Q’... but what of the ‘T’ and the ‘I’? We are visible to the corporate world for 30 days but then what of the rest of the year? The fact that our lifestyle is tangibly visible shouldn’t impede on our skills or ability to work. That needs to change first.” Vyjayanti points out. That being said Vyjayanti is not totally opposed to a Pride and History Months because visibility does happen.
Isabelle continues to consider, “But in terms of what Films and Conversations has taught me, it is that people are always going to be exploring the bounds of their genders and sexualities, and will always find ways to celebrate, even when the government is not on their side. There's still much more work to be done to be done regarding LGBTQ liberation, but choose to believe that regardless of whether there's a history month, we'll find ways to pass down our histories, and to celebrate, mourn, protest, and enjoy each other's company the whole way there.”
So let’s take a step back and analyse what needs to change first — the history-in-the-making itself, of course.
