A queer couple from Bengaluru made an open request to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to legalise same-sex marriages in India last week. That video has gone viral.
Published by an online video-based news forum, the video has garnered over 50,000 likes and a million views on Instagram since last week. The couple, Nikita Prakash and Sayantika Majumder, has simultaneously received widespread hate.
“Lately our friends and followers have been checking on us because there has been a tremendous amount of negative backlash. From vile, hateful, homophobic comments to some downright hilarious ones, the past week has been a riot,” Sayantika, 32, told Metrolife.
They made the three-minute video in response to the Centre’s decision to oppose same-sex marriage. Earlier this month, the Indian government presented its formal opposition to same-sex marriages in a key Supreme Court case, claiming such unions would cause “complete havoc” in the country.
“After the removal of Section 377, people started to believe that queer couples are free to get married. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Same-sex marriage is still illegal in India. Only same-sex relationships were decriminalised,” explains Sayantika.
The current law is unfair towards the LGBTQ+ community as it denies them their “basic right”, says Nikita aka Nick, 33.
Sayantika explains: “Marriage is not a compulsion, but it should be an option available to all. A lot of privilege and protection comes from a
legal marriage that a queer couple cannot access. Twenty years down the line, if one of us is in a critical condition, we can’t even make medical decisions for each other as we won’t be considered family without a legally recognised marriage.”
She asks: “How is it fair to say that the Indian family unit only comprises a man, a woman and a child that comes out of that union? Because, Nick and I are each other’s family.”
Residents of Sarjapur, they have been in a relationship for four years and moved in together two years ago. They work at an e-commerce company and also run a joint Instagram account called nick_and_sayantika, where they regularly post entertaining and informative content about and for the queer community. ‘Duniya badlenge, lekin pyaar se’, that is, we will change the world, but with love, is their Instagram account’s mantra.
“We want to show, especially to the younger generation, that despite the hate targeted towards the queer community, you can live life on your own terms. Life does get better eventually,” says Sayantika.
And they have noticed a shift. “While there is still hate, we do get a large amount of support from the online community now. Before we launched our Instagram account last year, I was not very comfortable being open about my sexual identity. But the support we have received from the community and allies over time has made me more confident,” signs off Nick.