‘I have sacrificed a lot’: Growing up LGBTQ+ in India

LGBTQ+ Indians who battle family expectations and social pressures to live their authentic lives share their stories.

Listen to this story: Like most parents, Sourav’s would like to see him “settled”. In India, however, this is a loaded concept. Being happy, healthy and financially secure are all important, but making a good marriage is the cornerstone of “settling down”. Indeed, 26-year-old Sourav, an IT professional in one of India’s metro cities, would make a wonderful husband to a man of his choice. But that is the problem. In 2017, when he told his parents he was gay, their illusion of him as the perfect son shattered. He recalled how his mother cried so much, she required emergency hospitalisation for dehydration and low blood pressure. His father did not speak to him for three months.