What are the living conditions for homosexuals in India, socially, culturally and politically?
Reading about the gay movement in India often contains; “punishable offence”. When I tried to look up gay-bars wanting to do my research I find it quite hard as the clubs often opens and close, opens and close… Than asking on the streets if there is one to visit, people tend to get really shy and nervous, almost not wanting to talk about it. But reading more about the gay culture it seams that it is growing and there are some people writing about Mumbai as the capital in India that do develop in the acceptance.
Mumbai was the first city to host India’s gay conference eight years ago and I wonder if there is just a matter of awareness that will make the small step towards a bigger acceptance. Or do they actually need to change the law that says; homosexual relations for men are illegal. I seriously don’t know.
As most of the time in India I find that many things are accepted in the upper class of the society where there are awareness, experience and knowledge. And where there are no education things are characterized by tradition and culture, whish I think can be harder to change. By speaking to an Indian man he confirmed I am right, in the upper class there are people being open with their sexuality, where in the countryside there can be dramatically consequences of being gay. The people there are the law and what the community decides is the law. Also this is common in illegal marriage. If the family and the community decide a girl of age 15 should marry a unknown man, she has nothing to say even if the law says a girl must be minimum 18 years .
So what is love to the Indian people?
I find love just as a metaphor for security in the future. If your not allowed to choose your life partner and if there are strict rules and laws based on tradition and religion, what else can it be? For sure it is very far away from my detention of love. And I just reminded myself of a friend in Europe that was madly in love with this girl, but as he was brought up in an Indian family there was no way he could ever imagine a life with her… I find that as a real proof of the power of religion.
Love hurts- in India in texas wherever you are. Bad conditions to be gay in India, or to be in love in India.
Remember a night on the gateway of india-the harbour of mombay- all kinds of couples met in the darkness of the night – stolen minutes and hours from what was condemned to be illegal in daylight.
Maybe changeable like most human processes seems to be- cultivating the power of love.
All the best to you my dear daughter of gods- beloved Irja!
hugs and kisses!