Chetan Bhagat says scrap Sec 377, but asks gays not to freak people out

Chetan Bhagat did not have to stand up for gays. Section 377 is not in the headlines. Bhagat’s latest novel Half Girlfriend is not short of publicity. Or front-page ads. So there is nothing opportunistic about his op-ed against Section 377, first very importantly in Hindi for the Bhaskar and then in English for The Times of India .

“I do a million silly things, but sometimes get to do stuff which makes my life worth living,” he tweeted about the Section 377 op-ed. That sounds genuinely heart-felt not just a pro forma signing on to some cause du jour.

The arguments he makes are not new or groundbreaking. Section 377 is a Victorian relic. Homosexuality exists in nature. Discrimination is wrong.

But what’s noteworthy is that it’s Chetan Bhagat making those arguments. Love him or hate him, Bhagat is way more than a writer these days. As he himself tells India Today “My competition is apps like Candy Crush or WhatsApp. I don’t see other writers as my competition at all. I want a share of people’s minds.”

And he wants to change people’s minds about 377 or at least make them care. To that end he carefully constructs the op-ed to be not about bleeding heart liberal human rights but to be in the self-interest of the upwardly mobile Indian.

“Strong minority rights are evidence of justice in society. It shows even the powerless are heard and protected. With justice comes a higher sense of investor confidence, which in turn leads to higher economic growth.”

Some might fault Bhagat for turning what should be about human rights and social justice into a plug for acchey din for the GDP. But Bhagat seems to think if we cannot appeal to the conscience of “the selfish, non-homosexual, growth-seeking Indian” to do the right thing then then we can appeal to their self-interest.

This is not that unusual a strategy. The immigration movement in the US has long tried to woo supporters, especially Republicans, to the cause of legalizing the undocumented millions in America by citing the economic argument – pulling at their purse strings rather than their heart strings.

But all movements need a group that’s willing to stick its neck out, march for its rights and create a helluva ruckus until they cannot be ignored anymore.

Bhagat advises gays that any “breakthrough in gay rights should not spill out onto the streets, in the form of Western inspired gay parades or anything that presents being gay as being somewhat fashionable or cool.” You don’t want to freak out the neighbours in a “conservative, almost hostile society”.

But that “conservative” society sometimes does not want to acknowledge the “other” unless it’s spelled out and underlined in triplicate. Devdutt Pattanaik said that while the Hindi soap Maryada broke many taboos with its gay sub-plot, many in its audience just didn’t get it. “They just kept wondering why this man is not getting married. Problem kya hai. So they thought he was impotent. So in Dostana he keeps shouting main gay hoon. As one of my writer friends says Indian audiences have to be shown it in Braille-lipi.”

Especially if it’s remotely sexual. Then socially we are expert at averting our eyes from it and pretending it does not exist. That does not mean India is ready for a same-sex kiss-in or a leather-and-chains bondage fest on the street. Or even that it should ever be. Being gay does not have to ape a certain western model. Pattanaik says you have to prepare a society and not shove gay rights down its throat.

To his credit Bhagat is consistent in his approach. After the Delhi gang-rape protests he had suggested the same cautious approach when it came to rape. He had told those clamouring for change to be patient with what he called 90 percent of the country, poor, ill-educated, rural, slum-dwellers.

If we want people to change, we should not mock or deride. Instead listen and understand first and slowly nudge people towards change. Don’t just laugh at anyone who says women should cover up and not venture out at night.

But you cannot change the status quo without challenging it. If the Delhi gang-rape had not resulted in such angry protests across the country, politicians would hardly have been moved to even revisit the rape laws. Some issues are so fundamental and their abuse so glaring we cannot wait for a billion people to play catch-up and generational attitudes to change inch by glacial inch. Section 377 has become an embarrassment not because thousands of gays are being rounded up using that law but because it’s a blot on our idea of ourselves as a modern nation.

In the West the Pride Parade is a party but as Russia proves you can never take progress for granted. In India a Pride March is still a way to remind the larger country that homosexuals are part of it, that laws like Section 377 are used to target very real people. And most importantly for a gay or lesbian person watching it on TV but unable to join in, it’s reassurance that the gay world does not only exist in the virtual anonymity of chat rooms. Pride is not about sex. It’s about not being ashamed of who you are.

Bhagat’s advice is well-intentioned just as Bill Clinton’s Don’t Ask Don’t Tell military compromise once was but rights don’t always come to those who are well-behaved and want to wait in line for their turn and where the long-time same-sex partner remains a discreet “friend”.

Full points to Chetan Bhagat for his attempt to puncture our “denial and hypocrisy.” And from his mouth to the Supreme Court’s ears. But he should also know that thousands of LGBT Indians march in Pride Marches not because it’s cool or fashionable but because they are impatient for a day when they can have the same as everyone else -a full girlfriend or boyfriend, not just be content with a half one.