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In an exclusive conversation with India.com, Drag Artist, actor and model, ‘Glorious Luna’ aka Suruj Rajkhowa talks about what he feels about the Supreme Court Verdict on Same-Sex Marriages in India and how despite a not-so positive verdict, they remain hopeful about the future..
New Delhi: The LGBTQIA+ Community has been part of the society for years that maybe cannot be counted but their acceptance in this society is still debatable today. Recently, the Supreme Court pronounced its verdict on the long-pending issue of Same-Sex Marriages in India and it was not in favour of the Queer Community. Even though the five-judge Constitutional Bench did not legalise same-sex marriages in India, it did bring up several important points about how the members of the LGBTQIA+ Community deserve a ‘normal’ life where they do not have to face discrimination or coercion from the people around them and how Queerness is not an ‘urban or elite’.
An art especially associated with the LGBTQIA+ Community, is Drag Performances where a person dresses in clothes, wig, jewellery, make-up etc. of a different gender and perform for entertainment. Ananya Srivastava of India.com exclusively speaks to Drag Artist, actor, model and a proud member of the LGBTQIA+ Community, Suruj Rajkhowa, who is more popularly known by their stage name ‘Glorious Luna’. Suruj moved to Mumbai from Assam in 2017 and ever since their first drag performance, found the art liberating and a medium to express themselves without any judgement. Suruj, with their performances as a Drag Artist, breaks gender stereotypes and also creates quite a storm on social media, with thousands of followers and a community that loves them for who they are. ‘Glorious Luna’ speaks about what they feel about the Supreme Court Verdict, how ‘Glorious Luna’ had no expectations but is still hopeful for the future and what is needed, along with the Court’s judgement to change the perspective of the society towards the Queer Community in general. Excerpts from the conversation..
What are your thoughts on the Supreme Court Verdict on Same-Sex Marriages in India? How optimistic do you feel about it?
I did not want to hear this but was also not expecting anything because we have learnt to be in a system like this and our fight has been like this. So yes, I was not expecting anything but at the same time, I remain hopeful and am happy that my Transgender sisters and brothers can live a somewhat ‘normal’ life because I am pretty sure that the prejudices will still be there. Its not very easy, this is a fundamental right for any human being and the fact that heterosexual people have to build a community to make the verdict and practice power over minorities’ life, that’s sad. But surely, I remain hopeful because that is what we can do, otherwise you are going to kill yourself.
SC has said that a Transgender Person marrying a heterosexual person, is a legally recognised marriage. What impact does this part of the judgement have on the community?
I am happy for the Transgender sisters and the brothers but what will happen is that this will further have a very bad and negative impact on the non-binary community because now, we are being ‘taught’ to fit ourselves in a box in order to have a ‘normal life’. For example, I am a non-binary person and if I were younger right now, I would have ended up picking hormones just because this will give me a more ‘normal life’ as I will ‘fit into a woman’s or man’s box or mold’. But some of us are not like that; imagine the kids who did not plan on taking hormones, did not have any gender dysphoria- they will end up doing this because there might be a pressure to fit in a specific mold which is more ‘accepted’ by the heterosexual community.
How do you see Supreme Court’s direction to the Govt regarding setting up of a committee, Do you consider this progress and what do you have to say about it?
I mean the fact that they had a conversation in English and the diction was quite good, is progress. There has to be something fundamental and that needs to be fixed; its probably all about the conscience, first. Also, I feel like the queer people must be given a chance to speak for themselves and the conversation should include them; it is 2023 and we have been fighting this for a very long time. I shared a post on social media after the verdict that said, ‘I was only denied my fundamental right but I still have got my chosen family and a lover who I can call my own’ and I stand by that; although, I have been ‘thrown out’ from my two previous houses because of my identity. But I feel this is going to be a slow process and the government will not be very pro-active about it, to be honest. I expect nothing as my expectations are only so low that I don’t disappoint myself, it is my defence/coping mechanism. Having said all this, I’d still say that we as a community, are here to stay and no one can eradicate us as we’ve been here for donkey years. (On a lighter note) What also keeps me hopeful is that I was not born in Saudi Arabia.
The 5-Judge SC Constitutional Bench has also remarked that non-heterosexual couples cannot be granted the right to jointly adopt a child. What do you have to say about adoption rights being denied, does the struggle continue?
You know, currently, I am not able to nominate my partner for any life insurance, any house papers, rental documents, etc. so the question of raising a child really doesn’t arise under such circumstances. I feel like first we need to get the rights to at least get married and ‘look and be dignified’ and only after this will I worry about adoption rights. Although, my partner and I do have a full-blown to adopt kids after we get married; but probably we will have to go abroad to get married and maybe adopt a child from a country where homosexuality is legal because we are also at an age where we have to start planning. And all this cannot be done in this country for now..
Even though same-sex marriages have not been legalised, the Court has stressed on a ‘dignified’ life and have also underlined that non-heterosexual couples have the right to live together without any coercion or discrimination. How do you see this court direction?
I really feel that the change has to start at the bottom. So I have lived in various places and situations, from villages to small towns to big cities and how do you change the small-town minds because they are going to be as rigid as they always have been. I think the change needs to be made in the education system, the fact that we exist must be included in the books and there has to be acceptance. Education is the only way otherwise how do you change the mindset of the people; the country is really agitated at everything and I don’t see a major change when it comes to queer people; minorities in this country are a threat.
I am happy about various parts of the verdict but for example the other day, I went to a fancy coffee-shop in a mall with my trans-girlfriends and the manager walked to us with a look of judgement and said that no tables were available; if we are not comfortable in our day-to-day life then what’s the point. The judgement in people’s eyes will always be but baby steps of course; Gen-Z is more sensitive towards the community and social media, our activism online has also a lot to do with the change.
Similarly, my partner is a white, Eastern-European man and I generally don’t express my love in public because I know it may be threatening for him, so we have to navigate it very carefully when we go out in public; we ‘act’ or ‘pretend’ as if we’re just friends but I wouldn’t want to do that because that’s not my normal self. It is kind of suffocating but at the same time I do not want to get stung by mockery, not with my lover because otherwise, I am used to it.
The judgement in totality may not be in favour of the Queer Community but several positive points have been mentioned including the fact that ‘Queerness is not an urban or elite concept’. How do you see the judgement collectively?
I am kind of hopeful after the judgement but am also hoping that all that is said, is not performative. You could say things because you know its being recorded, people are taking notes and its going to be printed in the media, but how this will be seen happening on the ground, that’s important. I don’t know how all this is going to play out in smaller towns where I am pretty sure where a queer or a transgender person is looked down upon. So let’s see in the next five years as to what will happen and its okay. I am obviously sad because I have a partner who I’ve been with, for more than nine years and now we wish to settle; imagine that we will have to travel to Nepal, to get married and I would love to get married in my country.
