Beauty pageant with a difference

After the annual Rainbow Pride March to spread awareness about the third gender, Kolkata is ready for its first-ever beauty pageant for transsexuals on Sunday.

The event is being organised by MANAS Bangla (a network of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender or LGBT community) and city-based gay rights organisation Kolkata Rishta.

Sunday’s winners will join contestants from other cities to the Miss India Beauty Queen contest.
The grand finale organised by Bhojiwood Films, the largest producer of Bhojhpuri cinema, will be held in New Delhi later this month.

Anish Roy Chowdhury of city-based LGBT rights organisation Ametié and one of the event promoters, said the motive behind the beauty pageant is to develop a platform for the LGBT community. “Despite various programmes throughout the year, our issue does not have as much visibility as it should,” he said.

Some city transsexuals feel that Miss Indian Beauty Queen could be the stepping-stone for them as the three winners could get a chance to participate in international pageants.

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Acceptance of Homosexuality

For centuries being a homosexual in Pakistan and India has been a taboo and considered a curse. For most men and women it can mean a lifetime of ridicule and persecution for showing even a slight interest in members of the same sex. With homosexuality classed as illegal under an outdated 141-year-old law that prohibits “unnatural” sexual acts, resulting in a punishable offence, it has become virtually impossible for most Pakistani and Indian homosexuals to be completely open about their sexuality.

At one end it makes you feel happy knowing that there are people who will leave no-stone unturned to achieve what they truly believe is their right, but then on the other hand it makes you miserable and angry on again realizing the fact that our lives revolves so much around the “do’s & don’ts” of the society. A society that will go to any extent to demoralize and ridicule people who do not live up to their society’s set of rules and demands.

Whenever, there is a talk of making a law of homosexual marriages, our society and all anti-gay organizations take the plea of our religions which prohibits such relations. One can invite a maximum sentence of life imprisonment and fine for themselves if they want to fight this matter. This they do with an intention to suspend the matter and have been very successful at it. If one believes that religion is a personal matter, then why can’t one’s sexuality be a personal matter as well? Yes, our religions don’t accept these kinds of relationships but one who does not practice religion will not care about it. It’s a personal choice of every human being to be whatever they want or whatever religion they want to practice, so let it be.

Gays. Lesbians. Bisexuals. Tans-gender individuals have no rights to marry, adopt children or even protest against discrimination at the workplace… in fact, no right to be recognized as normal human beings free to live life as billions of other do around the world. All because of sexual orientation. That is a fearful scepter indeed for our countries where more than 10 to 20 per cent of the population is comprised by Gay, Lesbians, Bisexuals and Transgenders. Should we continue to allow this inhuman reality?

I think it’s high time that the society starts concentrating its energies in the right direction; like tackling the ever-growing phenomenon of violence against women and children, create AIDS/HIV awareness, etc — and allow consenting adults to make their own choices about sexual behavior.

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Teen arrested for killing homosexual in Surat

Surat, April 10 A teenage boy was arrested on Thursday for killing a 35-year-old man on Monday night in the Lal Darwaja area of Surat. The man had allegedly forced the teenage boy to have a homosexual relationship with him.

The Mahidharpura police recovered the man’s body from near Natraj cinema at Lal Darwaja on Tuesday afternoon, which was later sent for a post-mortem examination to the New Civil Hospital. The body was identified as that of Mohan Patel, a resident of Gotalawadi tenement in Katargam area, who polished diamonds in the Khodiar Krupa diamond factory at Katargam.

On Monday night, Mohan asked him to accompany him to the Natraj theatre for some work. On finding a deserted place, Mohan asked him to have a homosexual relationship with him. On his refusal, Mohan threatened to kill him and even slapped and punched and later tried to rip his clothes. On finding no way to escape, Kalpesh took a stone lying on the ground and inflicted repeated wounds on Mohan's head before escaping from the spot. Mahidharpura police inspector A R Desai said, "We have arrested Kalpesh. This teenage boy was forced to have a homosexual relationship with Mohan, who stays with his wife and children and works in the diamond firm in Katargam
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INDIA: Police raid "gay" party

THANE: The Thane police on Saturday night raided a party at a farmhouse in the Yeoor Hills following a tip that it had been organised through a website for homosexuals.

A team, led by deputy police commissioner Bhujangrao Shinde, raided the Agrawal bungalow at Yeoor and detained six persons, including the main organiser, Sahil Bhoricha (24). Liquor bottles and condoms were seized from the bungalow. Entry to Yeoor Hills was restricted during the operation.

Ashok Row Kavi of Humsafar Trust, a gay rights group, condemned the action as unfair, given that all the men detained were adults and were not found violating any law. A magistrate denied the police custody of those arrested.

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