Radio Gay Gay

A look at India’s first radio station geared exclusively to the LGBT community.

WrittenBy:Palash Agarwal
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An effort to raise awareness is afoot in Bengaluru, Karnataka. Q Radio is India’s first radio station geared exclusively towards the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) lifestyle and aims to reach people via the online platform. It is a part of radiowalla.in which was launched the previous year by Anil Srivatsa – former CEO of Kings XI Punjab and an award-winning radio personality of Between the Sheets fame.

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Radiowalla will cater a niche audience, but Q Radio goes even further in this regard considering the close-to complete lack in India of discourse on the LGBT lifestyle. The extent of public conversation on the issue is limited to media reports about the number of people attending pride parades across various cities, Dostana notwithstanding. The lifestyle itself is often stigmatized even though we live in an era when gay rights have increasingly become a human rights issue – and even a civil rights issue – worldwide.

This, according to Srivatsa, highlights the need for Q Radio. Even homophobes are invited to participate, whether in the studio or via call-ins, email, or even recordings. The exchange of perspectives will hopefully lead to the removal of stigma bringing about an open dialogue on what it means to be gay, bisexual, or transgender in India. Such hope is not unfounded, if one has followed recent developments regarding gay rights in countries such as the US as demonstrated by the case of one Rob Portman. A republican senator from the state of Ohio, he could no longer view homosexuality as an aberration existing outside of his own universe once his son came out to him. Even as he was being considered for the post of Romney’s running-mate in the 2012 presidential elections, Portman’s views on gay-marriage – a divisive topic during the election – began to evolve.

The son comes out and the father finds a new perspective. Senator Portman is not alone in this situation; those of us who have been to pride parades have seen many parents with changed mindsets speaking up for their children. Now, we don’t all have gay offspring, but we do have the biological and mental capacity to relate to our fellow human beings. Empathy can change things quickly, and if dialogue facilitates empathy then online radio, free from TRAI interference, is an almost ideal medium.

Lack of internet access may prevent a sizeable chunk of the population from becoming part of this dialogue, yet Q Radio still has its hands full. Over three-fourths of the urban Indian youth – no doubt plugged into the information superhighway – do not approve of all that is gay, except for, maybe, Dostana. However, an open discussion on the prevailing misconceptions and stereotypes such as the correlation between homosexuality and child sexual abuse may remedy that to some extent. Such topics are frequently discussed on Q Radio and if Radiowalla is able to get the word out, there is reason to believe that the youth will lend their much clamored-for ear.

Srivatsa is aiming to engage with the topic in the larger Indian context. The place Hijras occupy in our society is a great example to highlight the idiosyncrasies involved; the conversation in India cannot be just a rehash of the arguments in America or UK, though much of it will be. The “Unnatural” label – in right-wing Republican-speak – and being equated with drunken hooliganism during a panel discussion on NDTV – an original as far as I know – might exemplify this duality. During the same panel discussion, Srivatsa and Ashok Row Kavi, a gay rights activist, were met with what one can only describe as ‘compassion in condescension’ from Father Dominic Emmanuel of the Delhi Catholic Archdiocese and Kamal Faruqui of the Muslim Law Board. One is probably better off not wondering about Baba Ramdev’s opinion on the matter.

Opposition to the LGBT cause on grounds of religion is bound to be deeply entrenched even in the developed world. But perhaps the confluence of social media and online radio will bring about a watershed moment in the history of LGBT India. Social media, such as facebook and Twitter, has been quite a boon  by facilitating the formation of worldwide alliances that involve real people, as in the case of many 21st century movements. When you scroll down your news – or Twitter – feed, chances are that the topic of homosexuality is broached in one way or another. No longer can we brush it off as a non-issue, and in that sense Q Radio is definitely symptomatic of change.

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