#rohin bhatt

[indizombie]

Bullying is the lived reality of thousands of queer kids in this country and yet, we have no regimen in place to deal with it, both in schools and at an institutional level. Queer kids, especially during middle and high school, are more vulnerable to bullying. Name-calling is just the tip of the iceberg. Violence, both physical and sexual, is common not just by peers but also by the teachers in whose care the students are. The cascading effects on the emotional, mental and physical health of the children are enormous, and in some cases, we lose them to suicide.

Rohin Bhatt, ‘The death of Pranshu’, Indian Express

[indizombie]

Teachers need to be trained in encouraging queer kids, taking steps to ameliorate bullying and showing acceptance. One such effort was undertaken by the NCERT which put out a teacher-training manual that could be a good first step towards helping queer children. It was pulled down after the opposition from the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, and the right wing. Members of the committee were trolled, and some were transferred. If the NCPCR was as concerned as it seemed to be when it filed an intervention in the marriage equality case to oppose adoption by queer people, why is it silent on the death of numerous queer kids? Does the mandate of the NCPCR only cover cis-gender, heterosexual kids? The NCPCR has failed in its primary duty by failing to protect queer kids.

Rohin Bhatt, ‘The death of Pranshu’, Indian Express

[indizombie]

It is said that conventional conceptualisations of family and marriage are facing evolutionary challenges. This argument is based on the idea that a family comprises two parents of the opposite sex and their two children. This argument makes it seem as though new forms of marriage which are non-heterosexual are new. They are not. The hijara 'gharana' system, maitri karar and other forms of alternative familial structures have existed for a long time in the sub-continent.

Rohin Bhatt, ‘A case for marriage equality’, Hindu

[indizombie]

This is not to argue that marriage will lead to queer liberation. In fact, marriage does not obfuscate but lays bare the caste hierarchies that embolden discrimination and segregation. But despite being a faulty institution, marriage is a legitimate legal need in order to file taxes jointly, inherit property, open bank accounts, and choose nominees for insurance policies.

Rohin Bhatt, ‘A case for marriage equality’, Hindu

[indizombie]

It is argued that legalising queer marriages will destroy the concept of family, which is the "fundamental building block of society." For long, queer people have had to deal with their rights being granted as gifts from heteronormative society. But no more. We are equal citizens of the country and deserve the same rights as cisgender heterosexual people. Queer people are demanding equal rights, not just of marriage, but of horizontal reservation and protection from natal families. We don't demand these as largesse to be bestowed upon us by society, but that they be accorded to us as equal citizens of this democratic nation.

Rohin Bhatt, ‘A case for marriage equality’, Hindu