Pride 038; Prejudice

Activist Dhananjay Chauhan talks about the importance of bringing the LGBT Pride Walk to Chandigarh

Back-to-back phone calls,document checklist and last-minute errands Dhananjay Chauhan doesnt have a minute to spare. Its an important day for him and he doesnt want anything to fall out of place. March 15,2013,will be recorded in Chandigarhs history as the day when the citys first ever LGBT lesbian,gay,bisexual and transgender Pride Walk was held,and Chauhan is the moving force behind the event.

I have been at it for a couple of months,and its been an uphill task, he says. We just realised that we still have to obtain sound permission for our parade at the Sector 17 plaza. Even authorities here are not fully aware of whats needed or what are we doing exactly, he adds. The founder of Saksham Trust,an NGO that works for the LGBT community in the region,Chauhan felt it was time Chandigarh got its own pride walk,and with no sponsors,he pooled in about Rs 2 lakh from his own pocket. There is a sizeable LGBT community in the tricity,and we are working with them,mostly in the areas of HIV/AIDS for they are at a high risk of infection owing to multiple partners, says Chauhan. Most of them are still in the closet,living straight lives due to the fear of ostracisation,social pressures and discrimination, he says.

That he was attracted to same sex was something Chauhan realised when he was a child. I had such feelings and thought I was the only one. So I took it as a disease and visited psychiatrists, he says. At 22,when his family started talking about his marriage,he relented. Even after having two kids,I still knew that this was not me. Doctors told me who I am,and that different sexual preferences are normal, he says.

Chauhan,who works with the Indian Public Health Association at PGI,knew it was time to come out of the shadows and confront his wife. She was disturbed and couldnt understand it,and so I used religion,historical texts and the Vedic references to tritya the third gender, says Chauhan. Gradually,his wife and children came to accept his reality. My son is 20 and daughter is 18,and when I told my daughter,she smiled and said,Papa,I always knew you were different, says Chauhan.

The burden is off since,and although he is often subjected to discrimination emotional and physical Chauhan walks with pride alongside his partner,Islamuddin. In 2009,they started Saksham to help more like them. LGBTs have little problem in bigger cities and metros; its in smaller cities and villages that life becomes suffocating, says Chauhan,explaining his motive behind bringing the LGBT Pride Walk to Chandigarh.

For the event,the duo has joined hands with Younique,an initiative by the local chapter of Hollaback Run. Its a closed group as of now,for we want to protect the community, says Singh,adding,Younique works on the lines of Delhi Universitys Queer Campus,and the focus is to create awareness for recognition and rights,for acceptance and openness.