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Beginning
Of Career:
I started out as a
customer-care executive with Tata Finance Call-centre. My team used to handle
the queries of the customers who spoke in Gujarati. It was very important for
me to find a job & start earning, as it became imperative for me to have financial
independence and explore the world outside. Almost a parallel track for me was
the exploration and realization of my sexual orientation.
Initially I was
ill-at-ease with myself and like most individuals of the LGBT community, I had
negative thoughts and depressing ideas of self-hurt. Then there was also the
fear of what if my colleagues or boss found about my orientation; how will they
react? Will I get fired from my job? That is when self-realization came, I
confronted my fears, began to speak up and initiated my long journey of
self-acceptance. I have culminated as the spokesperson and activist for LGBT
rights.
Your
Current Role:
I am currently working
as a Diversity and Inclusion Consultant and founder of the Queer Hindu
Alliance. It is an advocacy and support group for the LGBT community. It
intends to not just provide consultation services to the families with LGBT
children but also acts as a bridge between this community and faith leaders.
The judgment of the
Honorable Supreme Court stating the dilution of the Section 377 of the IPC was
not the end but only the beginning of a new and important phase for the
community. A long, arduous but exciting part of the nation's journey has begun
and I am fortunate to be a part of it. An important part of my work is talking
and interacting with faith-leaders and working with them to ensure the
inclusion of the LGBT community within the different religious groups.
Challenges:
I believe the first
challenge is internal, i.e., confusion, denial and finally acceptance by an
individual and the immediate family member. The second challenge is external -
the viewpoint of the religion, society, media and the government.
Like most members of
the LGBT community, I too faced the challenge of coming to terms and accepting
my orientation. It was then that I started reading a lot of religious books and
found out that Hinduism is not against same-gender relationships & believes
in inclusion. The gender preference of a person does not come or hinders his
relationship with God. On a broader level, I too faced the challenge of
acceptance by society at large. As I see it, these can be broadly divided in
three categories Ignorant, Neutral and Homophobic.
All three categories
have their own beliefs and perceptions, on one hand some can be
changed/improved by sharing facts, data & stories, while on the other hand
some individuals are firm & rooted with their conservative thinking, not
yet ready to face the truth.
When I reflect, long
term, I dream of a utopia where or rather when the LGBT community members will
be recognized as an integral part of the society and allowed to live without
fear or prejudice. They can then contribute meaningfully to the society and
help it blossom into a safer, peaceful and happier place. For invariably within
our LGBT community, we have extraordinary talent, and any society or
civilization would be poorer without that talent and contribution.
Your Advice:
There are many aspects
to that question. I think first and foremost is self-realization. A person must
realize and accept who they are and the way they are. They then should speak
up, be vocal and not be a silent sufferer. Because only when you speak up, you
make life easier for yourself and many more who will follow you in the
workplace.
Another way to become
self-confident is by joining the community. Not only is there strength in
numbers, but an individual can also learn a lot from shared experiences.
At the end of the day, it is not your gender-preference that matters but rather
what you are contributing to society.
So, every person from
the LGBT community should be a positive contributor to the community that
he/she or they live in. This surely gives me hope for the future, when things will
get better, and the society will change their perceptions about our colorful
community. I am currently working as a Diversity and Inclusion Consultant and
founder of the Queer Hindu Alliance. It is an advocacy and support group for
the LGBT community. It intends to not just provide consultation services to the
families with LGBT children but also acts as a bridge between this community
and faith leaders.
The judgment of the
Honorable Supreme Court stating the dilution of the Section 377 of the IPC was not
the end but only the beginning of a new and important phase for the community.
A long, arduous but exciting part of the nation's journey has begun and I am
fortunate to be a part of it. An important part of my work is talking and
interacting with faith-leaders and working with them to ensure the inclusion of
the LGBT community within the different religious groups.