Love in the Time of Corona

‘ The Manusmriti equates homosexual sex to a man having sex with a menstruating woman or having sex during the day, and the punishment involves purification rites: bathing with clothes on, and fasting for a night, and eating specific cow milk and urine related products. Failure to purify can result in loss of caste. The crimes of heterosexual adultery and rape, and deflowering a virgin, have much higher fines and more intense purification rituals. (XI:175) ’ I have grown up in a highly privileged orthodox Bihari family with strict rules and stricter gender norms. At a very young age I realized that something is different in me which made me stand out of the crowd. Growing up gay has its own set of challenges which unfortunately is not acknowledged by the majority of people and homosexuality still remains a taboo topic in society. Looking back to the earlier times and comparing it with today’s situation would be stupid because though the world is getting inclusive each passing ...

It's a Saturday afternoon, but feels like just another day when you have been quarantined for 5 weeks. Things have randomly sorted their own schedule and there isn't anything actually to not feel okay. Or maybe there isn't anything to feel, you don't know. Then suddenly you receive a text from a friend who is not (feeling) fine and there you are listening and helping them through it. And again, you forget how were you feeling. When you are listening to someone, you sometimes feel so vast that you can hold so many feelings, emotions and other things which are told to you, inside you and still feel too short to let them out, because you are the Confidant. You can hold and not spill, you can listen and not lay out what you feel to them, because at that time you are helping and can't seek help. There is a certain position you find yourself in, where you might be there for everybody but for yourself, you hold. You will not mention it, because you love them, you...

       Police Brutality Amidst Corona Crisis This article is in context of recent instances of Police Brutality that took place and has continued ever since then. On account of containing the spread of COVID-19 the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi announced a nationwide lockdown on March 24, 2020 resulting in a strict implementation of curfew for a period of 21 days. The impact was the same can be seen on everyday life of almost every citizen of this democratic nation. Let’s be honest even this article is a child of these troubled times. Consequently, our WhatsApp chat groups, family groups and media were flooded with myths and measures to evade the pandemic. Amidst the chaos we came across the instances of police brutality and this article is aimed at bringing the same into broad daylight. Though Guidelines issued by Ministry of Home Affairs categorically exempted “essential services” from the lockdown, lack of coordination and miscommunication ...

In response to the COVID -19 global pandemic, India and innumerable other nations around the globe are in a complete/ partial lockdown.  In addition to the fear of contracting the infection, the anguish of obtaining food, medications, hand sanitizers we now also face the testing circumstances of home reclusion with a somber cloud of uncertainties. The emotional impact of being locked down, and the weight of the resulting loneliness generate waves of fear and take a toll on both our mental and physical well being as we practice the only solution to Covid-19 that currently exists, i.e. the preventive measures : Social distancing, quarantine and isolation. We are creatures of habit and creatures of connection. According to a meta-analysis co-authored by Julianne Holt-Lunstad, PhD, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Brigham Young University, lack of social connection heightens health risks by as much as smoking 15 cigarettes a day or having alcohol use disorder. She’s...

As of 2018, one case of rape was reported every 15 minutes on an average. Why is it that we are still not able to take this human-rights violation seriously? The mere fact that Rape is a prevalent crime in our society, yet normalised and excused by us is what ‘Rape Culture’ is. Any culture informally educates us about values, beliefs and behaviours that are broadly seen as “normal”. Rape Culture is a process of learning that conditions a kind of misogynistic culture to be normal. It is when we trivialize sexual assault, blame the victim or don’t take his/her/them seriously, and make rape jokes. It is not limited to this as it encompasses a much broader range of behaviours, beliefs and norms than the act of rape alone. It is the attitude that objectifies women and their bodies as sexual conquests. Rape culture means that people don't actually see 'rape' as a big deal. We created this culture and our social and institutional factors contribute to it largely. I want to focus...