Born to live....

This was about a month back, when I was assigned a job to do ‘Content Analysis’ on any subject of my choice, be it political, cultural, social or related to business- the only clause was that it had to be current. I was given a short deadline of 15 days and consequently the project work had to be submitted and presented to an audience of about 50 odd people.

After a lot of thinking and scrutiny of different topics, I eventually decided to put some efforts into analyzing the issue which is still considered taboo by both the Indian civil society and the government….the topic was ‘Homosexuality’. Yeah, we all know that the government has taken a liberal stand by legalizing Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) relationships by making sure that their rights are a part of the legislation (abolishing sec 377 of the IPC which criminalizes homosexuality). However authorities need to do more to build-up the acceptance of this minority community by society at large. Activities such as social advertisements, skits, road shows, cultural events can be employed to effectively propagate the message. We need to inform and educate society giving them the correct message and meaning of homosexuality....instilling in their minds that ‘Homosexuality is not a choice but it is a genetic orientation.’

Doctors are the worst informed
More than 50% of people in India are still orthodox and they simply don’t seem to understand and accept homosexual relationships. We need to target the section of society living in rural areas and educate them. And why only talk about the orthodox community....there are even some highly qualified doctors, who call homosexuality a disease. These so-called qualified elite doctors prescribe tonics, injections and also induce homosexuals to go up the aversion therapy. 

With the kind of treatment and the social stigma that homosexuals face today….they turn-up to doctors to know whether their feelings are normal or whether it needs to be treated. But doctors themselves are not informed today….a complete pity and a sorry state of affairs.

Live and let live
This reminds me of the famous fashion designer and a Big Boss 2009 contestant, Rohit Verma, who has come out in the open to reveal his sexual orientation. However, it is easier for Rohit to do so because he belongs to the elite section of society...in infact it becomes even more uncomplicated for him since he is a celebrity. Has anyone thought about the rest of the LGBT communities who are facing humiliation and are afraid that their families do not disown them?

Rohit Verma scripted a wonderful poem (in Hindi), dedicating it to the homosexual community in India and in the world…..even more to the Indian society, telling them to accept homosexuals with open arms and stop acting indifferent towards their feelings.

Poem goes like this (in Hindi)…

Main ek dil hu...dil
Na main purush hu...na ek aurat hu
Main ek dil hu

Jo dhadakhta hain jo samajh mein...apni he banayi hui iss dhakhano ko mehsus karta hain
Ye woh bhagwan ki dain hain, jise duniya kabhi abhishaap keh deti hain, ya kabhi isko uthake mandir mein rakh deti hain

Jab kabhi baccha hota hain...issi dil ko bulate hain duaon ke liye
main ek dil hu

He says, he feels like an unwanted child....but he ends up saying he is born to live. So let us, live and let live!

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Before I sign out, as I always say take very good care of yourself and God Bless!

Don’t forget to stick around, because life is beautiful ;-)