An LGBT+ community member from Ram Lal Anand College in Delhi University recently died a gruesome death. According to news reports, he was lured, kidnapped, gagged, held for ransom, and murdered before his family could deliver the money. The perpetrator—a designer he had met on Tinder.
Tragedies like these serve as an unpleasant reminder of the lack of safeguards available to LGBT+ folks, and the high rate of violence faced by the community. Even at Nazariya LGBT (a gay-straight alliance which I co-founded), we’ve had some members share their experiences with violence and abuse, not only at the hands of strangers they’ve met online, but also from intimate partners.
When asked why they don’t report such cases to the police, a common response is that they do not want to get interrogated about their sexual orientation or get booked under Section 377. In addition to that, there’s also the fear of being ‘outed’ upon filing a case. This, therefore, indirectly leads to the normalisation of abuse and violence against members of the community.
Commenting on the horrific news, Neha Upadhyay, a Nazariya member expressed, “It’s just a reminder of how being queer is highly unsafe in our country and how the LGBTQ+ people face social and legal difficulties.”
Another member, Nitish Anand, added, “Since I live nearby where the incident took place, this incident left me in fear because now I can’t trust anyone ever not only on dating sites but also on social media. It could have been me and I am scared.”
Activists and NGOs working for LGBTQIA+ empowerment must sensitize the community about their rights but it should not stop there. The crux of the matter is that the government, law enforcement, and politicians are apathetic about the issues that queer people face daily in “the world’s largest democracy”. Even when supposedly ‘progressive’ political parties extend their support to the community, their support hardly ever translates into action or legislation, nor do these issues ever receive a mention in their manifestos. The community to these people in power is just a “miniscule minorities” that does not deserve priority. The community itself is also fragmented, and mobilization is a rare occurrence which makes the task of self-assertion strenuous. Armchair activism has taken the place of action-based activism ,as is evident in some of the responses to the death of the victim. Some were planning on hosting slam poetry memorial events, while others were discussing about a potluck dinners to memorialize the victim, without even consulting the his family. This tone-deaf attitude in dealing with serious issues that affect our community is one of the factors responsible for the movement being unable to gain the required momentum.
At the condolence march, Vishal Tyagi, a student at Ram Lal Anand College asked, “Can’t the police take some immediate actions to stop these kinds of things from happening again? Can’t our society be more friendly towards the LGBT community?” He further emphasized on the need for prompt action to protect LGBT+ individuals.
Another student, Varun Mishra, also talked about how the police did not act as quick as they were supposed to in this case. When asked about their views regarding the victim’s sexual orientation, all students we interviewed agreed that they do not have a problem with it and are supportive.
These students are not alone. According to a 2016 poll by The Telegraph, 77.6% of heterosexual college students across India said they would stand up against discrimination and harassment of non-heterosexual people, and 80% believed that non-heterosexual relationships should be legalized. This is a clear indication that the new generation is ready for social change and acceptance but disappointingly, the country still refuses to protect its LGBTQIA+ citizens from violence, continues to hold on to archaic laws and beliefs, and is therefore, essentially homicidal.