Tanmay Sahay, a 30-year old entrepreneur from Delhi, starts by clearing the air, “I am a heterosexual man and have been married for a little over four years. But I have friends and family who are part of the LGBT community.”
Sahay is the man behind the Gay for a Day event, which was launched on December 11 after the Supreme Court passed the judgment in favour of upholding Section 377 of the IPC, which indicts and criminalises homosexuals.
“Initially I just changed my profile picture, posing with a male friend as a sign of solidarity with the community. But then I realised even a simple act as this had the potential of becoming something. And that’s when I created the event on Facebook, inviting 100 odd friends (out of the 800 in my friends’ list) who were social workers or lawyers to join in.”
And in a span of two days, the event which was started as a “mere show of faith” grew into a one-of-a kind movement resonating among thousands of others. “Within a few hours of creating the event, the number of people joining became a thousand and the number kept multiplying. It just went on to show the sense of helplessness and disappointment which has crept in after the SC decided to recriminalise homosexuality.”
In spite of going viral and receiving hopeful messages from countries like the US, UK, Germany and even Pakistan, Sahay shares that a number of people have written in, criticising his endeavour.
“I have received a lot of uncomfortable messages, some people wondered why I was going against religion or promoting something which was a part of the Western culture and went heavily against the multicultural society of India. But ironically, isn’t accommodating thoughts, ideas and the freedom of choice crucial to any multicultural society?” he asks.
“And that’s why I can’t even begin to imagine what the LGBT community must be going through. I have been confined to my home reading out the messages and was quite skeptical about going out. But then again it has made my resolve much stronger,” Sahay adds.
He also feels that one should be digging deeper into this otherwise simplified message of just posting a photo, kissing or hugging a friend of the same gender. “We have implicitly decided to be ‘gay for a day’ but it’s not about choice really, it is how we are born. Initially a lot of people didn’t know how to react and a lot of people did post pictures thinking it was cool! But as a token gesture, responses kept pouring in and that’s the first step to take.”
But what about those who refuse to acknowledge the existence of close to a million of the country’s population simply because of their sexual orientation? “Nobody can force anyone to consider something they are not willing to accommodate. There’s no point in wasting time. However, even the most adamant of people have had a change of heart at times, after maybe coming to terms with someone close to them coming out of the closet,” says Sahay.
And what’s the future of the movement, and its thousands of supporters? “As supporters of gay rights, our only duty is to sensitise people in an appropriate manner, to make them understand that choosing a partner is our fundamental right and that shouldn’t be taken away from us. As for the page, since I am not the best person to manage it, there will be 2-3 social activists, who are in touch with the community, administering and giving direction to it,” he says.
Like all hopeful people, Sahay also believes that where there is a will, there is a way, “When Section 377 was decriminalised by the Delhi High Court in 2009, as members of the society we could have ensured that it was taken up in Parliament and repealed. Even now, the SC has left that option open and we should force the government to do away it, simply because what we do in bedrooms shouldn’t be else’s business,” he says.
