Commoditizing the Rainbow: Will Congress go beyond its manifesto to secure LGBT rights?

Are LGBTQ+ symbols commoditized amid corporate and political tokenism? Considering past actions and current realities, will political promises translate into genuine progress for queer communities?

An acquaintance from upstate New York, one whom I had met only cursorily at a common friend’s marriage in Delhi, sent me a WhatsApp message out of the blue, after watching a beguiling double rainbow in the rain-slicked sky. All the best for your life, the white man with bulky biceps and brown hair had written. I quickly responded with thank you for thinking of me, topping it up with a couple of emojis, almost reflexively. I kept thinking about it, how words, phrases, symbols with their irrational and obsessive use, become vestigial, pigeonholed to a single, straight meaning. Rainbow has become one such symbol. I was bewildered even to notice how I had used me in response to the rainbow as if both of them can be used interchangeably, hand-in-glove.

Ahead of the Pride Month, when our screens will be bloated by rainbows, and capitalists will resort to clickbaits and cliches, tossing words like love, courage, identity like juggler’s balls and merchandise Pride, we should consider this as a moment to introspect. Recently, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) of the US have cautioned queer people worldwide against holding pride marches: “Foreign terrorist organizations or supporters may seek to exploit increased gatherings associated with the upcoming June 2024 Pride Month.”

All the more important for India, though, with this June colliding with the Janata mandate for the 15th Prime Minister of the country. If we go by the exit polls & political commentators – aided by the infectious fervor of the masses following the Ram Mandir installation – the chances skew in favor of the current ruling party. The ruling party has an insipid approach towards LGBT rights, steeped in right-leaning policies of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, as it envisions building a Hindu Rashtra. However, it is also predicted that the INDIA alliance standing strong, especially in Southern states, might not allow the party to mimic the 2019 clean sweep.

At the centre of this alliance is Rahul Gandhi-led Congress which has, in its manifesto Nyaya Patra, promised to expand the scope of Articles 15 and 16 to do away with discrimination based on sexual orientation and also to recognise & legalize same-sex civil unions. The latter comes with an asterisk – T&C apply – “after wide consultation.” While Congress divulges no further, CPI(M) goes a step further to mention “legislations on similar lines as the Special Marriage Act, 1954, so that the partner can be listed as a dependent for inheritance and alimony in case of divorce etc.” This injects queer people with a sudden hope as they begin to picture an equal & just social democracy.

Not so soon, though. Let’s not forget that Congress maintained a studied, dead-rock silence last year when same-sex marriage petitions were being heard in the Supreme Court. The promise for Civil Unions, and not marriage, should be, at best, thought of as politics of othering. While I would happily tip over to civil unions if given a chance, where people in love, two or more, start from scratch to build the boundaries of their relationship, without banking on the patriarchal, regressive archetype of marriage, but that’s a different discussion and would hold value only if we were ever to become progressive enough to scrape off the deadlock of marriage. What shall be included in such a Civil Union law is unclear. Will it have all the rights available in marriage including adoption? Will it just be like a contract between two consenting adults with some inheritance and alimony rights thrown in? We have to wait for answers and they may take a long time to come.

Some of my friends would despise me for being ‘over-critical’ or ‘reading too much between the lines’, consoling me with quips such as something is better than nothing. Of course, but sometimes this snail’s pace can take many, many years before any palpable change can be seen. Generations can be wiped off during this time. Should those aspiring for equality settle for a second-class status as a first step towards the ultimate goal? The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, even though problematic, has visibly failed to even fulfil its basic promises despite being five years in function. In Delhi’s tertiary care hospital, where I worked, a gender-neutral washroom was constructed after the law’s provision—but only one, and that too, in an obscure corner, its entrance blocked by rusted bed rails, and absolutely nobody, not even us doctors, being aware of it. Not to mention the shuttlecocking of trans patients from a department to another as the doctors find themselves unable to develop a bond of trust. With the lack of gender-neutral wards, the in-charges couldn’t decide which ward to keep the patient in as the other patients would make a fuss.

Moreover, in this age of tweets & reels, manifestos are quickly losing their charm. Making a promise somewhere down in a long list, while mostly remaining quiet about it in your public life, should be squinted at. Like the vague promises of Congress, even BJP has vowed shelter, national ID cards, and access to public health insurance for transgenders.

What if all of this is just a gimmick, a curious case of pinkwashing—the way Israel has been using it as a pretext for years to unleash violence on Gaza & Palestine and even justify it. Last year, an Israeli Defence Forces soldier tweeted a picture of himself smiling at the camera while holding the Pride Flag with ‘in the name of love’ scribbled over it, and wrote, “despite the pain of war – the IDF is the only army in the Middle East that defends democratic values…And so I fully believe in the righteousness of our cause [Emphasis mine.]”

Keeping all my skepticism aside, let’s consider for a moment that everything goes as planned and party leaders are not doing lip service but consider the manifesto a living document as it was reported to be under Mayawati’s rule in UP. Let us rewind and go back to the Hindu Code Bill, drafted by Babasaheb Ambedkar to ensure equal rights of women. Its radical departure from the prevalent Hindu marriage, property, inheritance laws caused such furore that Sarojini Naidu threatened to go on a hunger strike. CM Mookerjee accused it of being Anti-Hindu questioning why Muslim Personal Law was not brought under its purview. While the bill aligned with both Nehru’s and Ambedkar’s vision of a secular India, where the state maintains a neutral stance towards all religions, the backlash not only soured their personal relations but eventually became the reason why Ambedkar decided to resign from the cabinet.

While no accurate data is available, the government database estimates 2.5 million gay voters in India. The actual number would be much higher than anybody would be able to guess. Attracting so many voters without 5 kg wheat, a packet of rice, a bottle of desi daru is not a joke. And when the country’s prime minister can change his statements to suit a particular audience, supply them with spurious information such as Alexander was defeated by Biharis or that he halted the Ukraine-Russia war, albeit temporarily, to airlift Indian students, should innocuous promises of queer rights count?