AEGAEUM JOURNAL ISSN NO: 0776-3808

POSITION OF LGBT COMMUNITY IN INDIAN SOCIETY: A CRITICAL STUDY

Akanksha srivastava1

ABSTRACT

LGBT is short form for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender. Earlier, this community was called Gay Community. But the term `gay’ wasn’t sufficient as it is only referred to male humans who are interested in males only, on the other hand this entire community includes many categories of people, who are different from normal human beings. Therefore the abbreviation LGBT was introduced in mid 1980s. These people have different sexual preferences than normal people, which include sexual fantasies, sexual attraction, sexual behavior, social and lifestyle preferences and self- identification.

Key words: LGBT, homosexuality, identification.

1 Author: scholar B.A.LL.B(hons.) x semester, at law college Dehradun, uttaranchal university Dehradun.

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INTRODUCTION

Homosexuality in has always been a subject of discussion since ancient times to modern times. have also taken positions regarding the homosexual characters and themes. Rigveda2, which is one of the four canonical sacred texts of says that Vikriti Evam Prakriti (meaning what seems unnatural is also natural), which some scholars believes to be homosexual dimensions of human life, like all forms of universal diversities. The ancient Indian text Kamasutra written by Vātsyāyana contains a complete chapter on erotic homosexual behaviour. Even Historical literary evidence also lindicates that homosexuality has been prevalent across the Indian subcontinent throughout history, and that homosexuals were not necessarily considered inferior in any way until about 18th century during British colonial rule. On 6 September 2018, a 5-judge constitutional bench of Supreme Court of India invalidated part of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code3, hence made homosexuality legal in India. In throwing out the colonial-era law that made gay sex punishable by up to 10 years in prison, one judge even said the landmark decision would "pave the way for a better future of the country. This shows that our country has successfully proceeded towards the betterment but still one should never forget the struggle of the LGBT community from the very beginning of the society.

ARCHEOLOGICAL FACTS

Khajuraho temples

The khajuraho group of temple is a group of hindu temple and jain temple in chatarpur district, , india. They are one of the UNESCO world Heritage Site. These temples are famous for there nagara-style architectural symbolism and erotic sculptures.In the temples of Khajuraho 4, like vishvanath temple and laxmana temple there are images of women erotically embracing other women and men displaying their genitals to each other.As these temples were made between AD 900 and 1130 by candella ruler, this shows the acceptance of homosexuality at that time because if sculptures can be made in sacred places such as temples in culture oriented country like india then this proves that the society that time must have accepted LGBT aswell. Whereas, scholars have explained this as an acknowledgement that people engaged were in homosexual acts.

Konark sun temple

2 https://www.speakingtree.in/allslides/what-do--say-about-homosexuality/130726. last visited 1/2/2020. 3 Navtej Singh Johar & Ors. v. Union of India thr. Secretary Ministry of Law and Justice, W. P. (Crl.) No. 76 of 2016 (Supreme Court of India) http://supremecourtofindia.nic.in/supremecourt/2016/14961/14961_2016_Order_08-Jan-2018.pdf, last visited 1/2/2020. 4https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/10-instances-of-homosexuality-among--in-ancient-india-1281446- last visited 1/2/2020.

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A UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the seven wonders of India, the 13th century konark sun temple built by king Narasinhadeva I of Eastern dynasty , also bears many sculptures which proves that society at that time was so much sexually liberal, as it has sculptures of men and women in many erotic sexual positions including many homosexual sculptures as well.

Ajanta and

The Ajanta caves 5 are 30 rock-cut Buddhist cave monuments which were built around the 2nd century BCE to about 480 CE in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra state of India. The caves include paintings and rock-cut sculptures described as among the finest surviving examples of ancient Indian art, particularly expressive paintings that present emotions gesture and many sculputures whish shows sexual liberations including homosexuality. Therefore this is also one of the evidences which shows the acceptance of LGBT at that time.

Mention of LGBT in

In the Valmiki , Lord 's devotee and companion is said that he have seen women kissing and embracing other women. At another place, the Ramayana tells the tale of a king named Dilip, who had two wives and apparently died without leaving an heir. The story says that Lord appeared in the dreams of the widowed queens and told them that if they made love to each other, they would have a child. So, the queens did as ordained by Lord Shiva and one of them even got pregnant. They gave birth to a child, who grew up and became the famous king Bhagirath, who was best known for "having brought River Ganga from heaven to the earth". And even in there is a tale about shikhandini, who was the first daughter of king drupad, it is also known the in her previous life she was a princess named amba who got rejected for marriage by bhishma therefore after being defeated and heartbroken lord shiva granted her wish that in her next life she’ll be the reason behind the death of the great undefeatable bhishma. And king drupad also had his issues with kurus who’s army was lead by bhishma himself so shikhandini was all prepared for her job there was still one hurdle and that was she being a girl and according to their war rules a girl cannot be a part of war so she devoted herself to god who later granted her wish and made her half male and half female, which helped her fulfilling her only goal of life. And later on Drupada even got Shikhandini married to a woman and when her wife discovered the reality about the gender of her husband, she revolted. But later on the day was saved by divine intervention bestowing Shikhandini with manhood during night. Therefore after that Shikhandini lived like a hermaphrodite.

5 Ibid; 4

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And in the story of amrut manthan, it is said that during the great churning of milky ocean, according to the tale of Mastya Purana, Lord took the form of a beautiful woman, with intention to trick the demons so that the gods could drink all the amrut (the immortal juice found from churning of ocean). Meanwhile, Lord Shiva saw Vishnu as Mohini and instantly fell for her totally being unaware that she is infact Lord Vishnu himself. Later on their union led to the birth of a child who was known as Lord Ayyappa.

The Ardhanarishvara form of divine energy, created by merging lord Shiva and is worshiped in Hinduism on very high scale.

Infact even During Mughal rule in India, transgender people were given important posts of security of queens and princesses and often were given responsibility of decision making. And that is why it feels really sad that it took so long for transgender people to get their legal recognition in India. And slightly unrelated to this, the Narada Purana has references to what may be classified as "unnatural offences" described in Section 377. As at one place, the Narada Purana states that, anyone who discharges semen in non-vaginas, in those beings destitute of vulva, and uteruses of animals is a great sinner and will fall in hell, this shows that though purana does not approve of "unnatural offences" but the references prove that they were in practice.

The ninth chapter of the Kamasutra of Vatsyayana was composed in around 4th century BC, talks about oral sexual acts like (Auparistaka), and homosexuality and also of similar activities among transgenders known as tritiya prakriti. The book however concludes that in spite of all these things does not favour homosexuality of any kind.

On the other hand Arthashastra of Kautilya is a treatise on politics which also mentions homosexuality, but the book says that it is a duty of the king to punish those who were indulged in homosexuality and expects the ruler to fight against the "social evil".

Position in today’s worldThe human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) are coming into more focus around the world, with important developments in many countries in recent years, including the adoption of new legal rights for their protection. The preamble to the Indian Constitution makes sure to provide justice, social, economic and political equality of status for everyone. The right of equality before law and equal protection under the law is provided in Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution. In April 2014, the Supreme Court

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of India gave judgment in case of NALSA vs. Union of India 6 that the rights and freedoms of transgender people in India were protected under Indian Constitution in September 2018, the Supreme Court also decriminalized adult consensual same-sex relationships or bisexual relationships in the Section 377 judgment review7. These judgments are considered as landmark cases both in terms of their expansive reading of constitutional rights and in giving power to LGBT persons. Both judgments mark an important moment for LGBT rights that not only reversed the remains of British imperial rule but also ordered that LGBT Indians should be provided with all the protections by the Indian constitution. This was a starting victory, but it does not necessarily mean that LGBT people in India are fully free or accepted as equal among their fellow citizens. It shows that how much work is still left to be done in India and the rest of the world to overturn antiquated and repressive anti-gay laws.

As India is a diverse and vast country and attitudes towards this subject and experiences of LGBT individuals vary vastly, the difference between urban and rural India, language, caste, class and gender add further complexities to understanding this topic entirely. But the fact we know is that India’s LGBT citizens are not a “minuscule minority”, they have a voice that is strong and refuses to be silent any longer in their efforts to claim their equality.

So with Section 377 gone today`s scenario is that we celebrate the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia. May 17 was specifically chosen to celebrate the World Health Organization’s decision in 1990 to declassify homosexuality as a mental disorder. This day has received official recognition from many different states, international institutions as the European Parliament, and by many uncountable local authorities. Many of United Nations agencies also mark the occasion with specific events.

Today, homosexuality and queer identities may be acceptable to more Indian youths than ever before, but within the boundaries of family, home, school and society acceptance of their sexuality and freedom to be open about their gender choices still is a constant struggle for LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) people.

In urban India, where social media and corporate initiatives have created vast awareness of LGBT rights, the scenario looks more challenging for than for transgender people or lesbian women. While the voices of urban LGBT that are heard through several online and real-world platforms form an important part of LGBT

6 WP (Civil) No 400 of 2012. "India recognises transgender people as ". The Guardian. 15 April 2014. Retrieved 15 April 2014.last visit 14/02/2020 7 Suresh Kumar Koushal and another v. Naz Foundation and others [(2014) 1 SCC 1] has already spoken on the constitutionality of Section 377 IPC and, hence, we express no opinion on it since we are in these cases concerned with an altogether different issue pertaining to the constitutional and other legal rights of the transgender community and their gender identity and .

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activism, these reveals only a small part of the diverse challenges faced by the community. Apart from gay pride parades, meet-ups and heated discussions on Twitter or other social Medias, families in rural India hold their own ways of dealing with LGBT individuals. Even In some parts, secret honor killings are planned so that the only way left for a young gay man for survival is to run away in the cover of the night to some city, with no money or social support. In other parts, lesbian women become victim to family-sanctioned corrective rapes, which are often perpetrated by their own family members. Vyjayanti Vasanta Mogli, who is a transwoman LGBT activist and public policy scholar at Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Hyderabad, has openly spoken about her abuse at school, says that lesbian women and transmen in rural areas end up at the bottom of the hierarchy when it comes to basic human rights within the boundary of family and village. She invokes B.R. Ambedkar when talking of the rural socioeconomic environment. “Ambedkar thought of the village as a unit of violence and that is most true for LGBT issues," she says. “Village medics and babas often prescribe rape to cure lesbians of homosexuality. Refusal to marry brings more physical abuse. Stories of family acceptance that you see on TV and other media are more of an urban phenomenon." Even in educated urban India, suicides by lesbian women come as headlines every year. It is no surprise that a tribunal recently ruled that the only danger to lesbians in India is from their own family members and that too the closest ones.

The consequences of

A recent study found that one of the major factors that results in the development of LGBT people is parental reaction towards homosexuality. The study goes on and concludes that most LGBT people are acceptable to family only if they agree to behave like heterosexuals. Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil, whose story of coming out has been well-documented in the media over the past several years, he now heads several initiatives to help LGBT people, including the Lakshya Trust that works for HIV/Aids prevention in the LGBT community. He says LGBT people must not get carried away by what they see in the media.

______“It was for no small reason that I was in the closet for 41 years," he says. “I know of someone who got a sudden rush of inspiration from a TV programme and decided to come out to his family. It didn’t work. He lost his home, his job, everything. I always tell people to be fully aware of their own reality. Be financially prepared. Detach a bit from your family both emotionally and financially before you plan to take this step." Anwesh Sahoo, Mr. Gay India 2016, who came out to his family at the age of 16, has a different perspective: “I would not recommend waiting for the perfect time. Staying in the closet is a huge psychological burden. If you and your family have access to information, I suggest you do it whenever you feel strongly about your identity." 8

8 https://www.livemint.com/Sundayapp/sAYrieZdZKEybKzhP8FDbP/Being-LGBT-in-India-Some-home-truths.html

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Redefining the family and its role

In a society bound by a rigid set of social and cultural norms that dictate the terms and conditions of education, career and marriage, the lack of family support can prove to be a big blow to the mental and physical health of LGBT people. Isolation and pressure to conform often lead to depression, thoughts of suicide and psychosomatic diseases. Many of them prefer to move to another city to stay away from the immense pressure to marry and start a family. Families that accept their identities put many restrictions in the way they choose to dress and interact with their partners. In the absence of family support, online groups and social media have offered accessible alternatives to form a community outside of family. Platforms like Gaysi and Gaylaxy, and publishers like Queer Ink have helped carve out spaces for LGBT people to interact, share and collaborate. Though the lack of parental support can potentially be debilitating, it doesn’t mean the sky has fallen, says Shahani. “I know many LGBT citizens who have formed alternative support groups, or family-like units, when their own families have been less supportive. Fortunately, in urban India, at least, we have strong LGBT associations and communities in most big cities, so people are never alone," he says.

More difficulties for transgenders

Now if we talk about transgender people in India an image comes in our mind of a man dressed up like a woman and begging on signal or demanding money in marriages or birth of a child well, this is the harsh reality for many trans people in India, But the fact we generally ignore or don’t even realize is that directly or indirectly, we, as people of society, are the one who are responsible for their condition. Being disowned by their own families and being victim of harsh treatments from other people in society is the reason which leads to their so called ‘bad’ behavior. And the reason behind all this is Lack of access to education and non- availability of jobs which often forces them to take begging and prostitution as their profession 9.

But still, in spite of having all these adversities, there are some transgender persons who are brave enough to make their way to the mainstream, achieve their goals and prove that transgender people are as capable and deserving as any other Indian citizen, thus breaking the stereotype. It always takes a lot of strength for transgender people to come to terms with who they are. Many transgender people feel often depressed when they are figuring out that how to deal with their gender misalignment or dysphoria in struggle of Trying to achieve their dreams in a country where people routinely mock and harass them makes their life even more difficult and unbearable. Some people are polite enough and feel sympathy or pity towards transgender people but never do anything which is

9 http://nbjc.org/sites/default/files/trans-adjustment-web.pdf

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helpful to them. This ignorance and lack of understanding about transgender persons in Indian society strictly needs to be changed as soon as possible, and it can only be done by spreading awareness among the people and giving proper education and jobs to the transgender people, along with laws protecting them from any kind of harassment and inequality. Transgender people have always been an important part of Indian culture, even though they had to suffer a lot during colonial rule due to Victorian laws which caused them much injustice. After independence, while most Indians celebrated a life of dignity and equality, transgender people were left on the margins of society, along with other members of LGBT community to suffer for being different from others. As they were more visible and out in the world, unlike other members of LGBT community, they were often mistreated and harassed, because of a deep rooted patriarchal mindset which was also influenced and lead by the views of Britisher towards gender identity and norms. Anybody questioning about such norms were often ridiculed and labeled as inferior. Intact in Indian films too, instead of spreading awareness about their problems, often portrayed them just as caricatures, thus increasing social stigma and discrimination surrounding them and somehow portraying them dangerous in society. It was only in April, 2014 when transgender people got legal recognition by the Supreme Court, but still in spite of all this there is a lot of work to be done in terms of social recognition, equality, dignity and social awareness as there’s been a slow start towards achieving this aim after the NALSA (National Legal Service Authority v. Union of India) judgment 10. When we look back in history, in Hindu mythology, there were trans people who were called Kinnars or hinjras. They were placed alongside the and and we cannot forget about the above mentioned characters like Shikhandi, Ila, Mohini, etc, to name a few, who played important roles. The term transgender is an umbrella term which includes many kinds of transgenders like binary trans men and women, non-binary people, genderqueer persons and gender non-conforming persons. To be simple, it refers to someone whose gender doesn’t match with the gender that was assigned to them at birth or the gender they were supposed to be born in. This feeling of misalignment or difference causes what is called ‘gender dysphoria’. After the NALSA judgement which gave trans people legal recognition, it was thought that trans people would now be treated equal by society, and this would be followed by spreading awareness through all mass media sources but this clearly did not happened. It was also thought that they would be given education and employment opportunities, so that they could get a respectful position in society. But the reality is that the Transgender Rights Bill 2014, which was passed in the Rajya Sabha, but was later deformed and introduced in the Lok Sabha by the present ruling Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) government in the year 2016 took much more time tham it had to. The sad truth is that the attitude of political leaders toward trans people has been that of hypocrisy as the Politicians who use Indian citizens as vote banks feel uneasy to bring any significant positive change in society due to the fear of loosing their votes. That is why, even when India is a democratic and so called inclusive

10 Ibid; (6)(7).

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country, the fate of minorities is left in the hands of the majority, which often creates more hurdles in their lives. Due to the absence of any legal protection such as legal rights and equality and the lack of nationwide social awareness, transgender people in India still suffer a lot of violence and harassment. Recently, a trans woman, SabiGiri, who had been posted as a sailor in the Indian Navy, was dismissed from her job because of her transition and this was done without considering a transfer in other departments. Same like that India’s first trans woman principal ManabiBandyopadhyay resigned from her job because her colleagues were non-cooperative. Where ShanaviPonnusamy was refused a job in Air India due to her being trans which shows that Incidents like these are still happening, while the Transgender Rights Bill is still under process which later on got passed in 2019 as Transgender rights bill 2019.

But inspite of all these darkness, we also received some good news like, India got its first trans woman IPS officer – K PrithikaYashini, JoyitaMondal became a Lok Adalat (civil court) judge as Anjali Ameer became the first trans actress to play a lead role and NitashaBiswas was crowned as trans queen, India. There is No doubt that their journeys must have been very difficult but their achievements have given adequate answers to the people who thought that trans people are incapable. While the struggle for equality and dignity is still going on ,but still more awareness is needed in Indian society, so that the young generation of trans people, who are yet to come out and who are still questioning their gender identity don’t have to suffer due to prejudices and ignorance towards trans people. Conclusion So be it gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender on their entire community the struggle they have face in their daily lives is unimaginable, it is far more worst that any other sort of inequality or injustice. That is why no matter what position they have held in society it never gave them justice. And now when legally our country have already taken steps towards betterment we as a society should help them and accept them with open arms.

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