The idea of human rights rests on the premise that all humans

The idea of human rights rests on the premise that all humans are equal. It also follows that all humans have dignity and all humans should be treated as equals. Anything that undermines that dignity is a violation, as it violates the principle of equality and paves way for discrimination. India is a vast and diverse country and attitudes towards the LGBTQ community is complex but what adds further to this complexity is difference between urban and rural India, caste, class and gender.

Despite all of this we can say that India's LGBTQ community is not a "minuscule minority" but rather they have a voice that refuses to remain silent and is strong in order to reclaim their efforts in equality.

LGBTQ community face tremendous difficulties growing up in a society where heterosexuality is often regarded as the only acceptable orientation and homosexuality is considered deviant. This discrimination against the LGBTQ community is termed as homophobia. Through this essay we will be summing up our assignment by highlighting the struggles faced by the LGBTQ community and how the Indian cinema has made their presence more evident.

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"Respect existence or expect resistance" this quote stands true for the LGBTQ community who have been struggling for their existence for past many decades which lead to revolt and they were successful too but the question today is that why they had to fight for their existence and rights? The answer is pretty simple it's because of the certain standards set by the society on people and when something or someone that does not fit the "perfect idea" of the society is usually treated as an outcast or a disease.

What society fails to understand is when someone is ignored or treated as an outcast they become negative which hampers their health both mentally and physically. The Indian LGBTQ community has come a long way after fighting for their rights, proving the Indian society that their identity is not a disease and finally decriminalizing section 377.

Existence of LGBTQ community is (and has been) an undeniable reality. We all come from different backgrounds, different parts of the country, speak different kinds of languages, live different kinds of lives. Many of us want to live and share our lives with people of the same sex as ours and this desire and reality is no less important than the hetrosexual ones. It definitely is problematic to reconstruct history, especially a very recent history such as a history of the LGBTQ movement in India. It is because people who are part of this movement are still around and each one of them have different perspectives on the events and point to gaps and inconsistencies. There have been so many efforts in which some were successful and some were not but despite all of this people were supporting each other, making their lives visible to themselves and to the entire world at large. Along with these efforts there have been changes in perspectives, ideologies, strategies and alliances as the world and its context changes. Men and women who are openly gays and lesbians had to (and still have to) face tremendous violence and the persistent threat of violence. This violence may take form of verbal and physical assault on the streets, death threats and even murder. This has been justified because "he/she was gay, lesbian or a transgender". It also takes form of psychological violence on men and women in the form of shock therapy, aversion therapy, and incarceration as a "treatment" for their "problem".

The law criminalizing homosexuality i.e. section 377 was first suggested during British rule by Indian Law Commission in 1837, section 377 stated that " Unnatural offences :Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine." It is definitely ironic because the country that gave us the section 377, normalized same-sex marriage before us. Patriarchal society for centuries has attempted to control human sexual behaviour or through various social and legal sanctions against any deviation from stereotype family. Sexual relations were confined within the marriage that too for procreative purpose rather than recreative purpose. Challenge to hetrosexual family stereotypes has always existed, but has gained momentum in this century with the growth of the women's movement, the sexual revolution and recently, gay liberation. In India however majority of homosexuals and transgenders lead secret lives and those who did "come out" or got "caught" were subjected to severe censure and under IPC,1860, gays and lesbians could even face imprisonment.

Homosexuality has been treated in several ways such as a sin against god, a heresy which can only be absolved by fire, a sexual deviance which must be given deterrent punishment, a mental illness which must be treated. However, Indian Psychiatric Society has stated that homosexuality is neither a disease nor a crime, but is inherent to human nature. Homosexuality is neither unnatural, abnormal nor neurotic, but rather it is represented as inherent physiologic capacity and is found in every age group, in every social level, in every conceivable occupation, in cities and in farms, and in the most remote areas. Homosexuality or one's sexual identity is as much a part of person's identity as much as his colour, caste, religion etc.

"Cinema is not only about making people dream. It's about changing things and making people think." Indian cinema has progressed slowly and created an impact on society for their views on LGBTQ community. During this assignment we had taken five movies which we felt created an impact and beautifully highlighted the lives and struggles of the LGBTQ community. The movies selected by us were fire, margarita with a straw, ek ladki ko dekha toh aisa laga, Kapoor and sons, and Aligarh. These movies depicted the relationship between same-sex couples that were ridiculed for their sexual orientation and the relationship they share, movies also highlighted the toxic masculinity faced by majority of women in both rural and urban areas. Although at first it was hard for people to digest the fact that Indian cinema was making films based on the LGBTQ community, there were even several social groups who burned down posters and ridiculed the artists but soon these movies paved their way into the hearts and minds of the people by acknowledging the presence of LGBTQ community. It would be right to say that along with Indian cinema it is also the Indian society that has progressed towards acceptance and respect, treating every section of society as an equal.

Indian LGBTQ community has certainly made a progress by telling the entire society to acknowledge their presence and treat them with same respect, they would treat a "normal". As the members of this society, we just have one question to ask that irked us while doing this project that is why a certain section of society had to fight for their existence and rights that any normal person is deserving of? The answer I feel is very simple yet complex, it is the fragile minds and hearts of all of us where we expect the people around us to be similar to us, who share the same thought process as ours which makes us stereotypical towards certain people who are brave enough to break and change our mindset towards them and the entire beauty is that they never give up which is why their struggle is worth applauding for. The struggle and journey of LGBTQ Indians is not yet over even after decriminalizing section 377 they still have a lot left to achieve because they still face discrimination and let's be clear it's the Indian justice system that has identified them and given their right to equality and not the Indians (few of the Indians).Our society has failed because if the LGBTQ community has to be recognized as a different section in the same society as ours is a shame because at the end of the day they are same as all of us, we all bleed the same colour irrespective of our sexual orientation, gender, caste, colour and creed. At the end of the day the members of the LGBTQ community are normal people just like us, and instead of addressing them as lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender and queer we should just call them as normal people or however they like to be addressed, instead of calling their relationships and marriages as the "same-sex relationship or same-sex marriage" we should just call it a relationship or marriage, just how we address a hetrosexual relationship or marriage. Most importantly, we should be more accepting towards them and treat them how we would like to be treated, we should also teach the upcoming generation that LGBTQ community are people like us, neither inferior nor superior. Lastly, as the members of this society we all exist and we all should be more accepting towards each other.