This Guy Just Used Modi's Public Grievance Portal to File a Complaint Against Section 377

Divyesh Nagwekar, 25, keeps a photo of his mother and father beside the Ganesh statue in his bedroom. “I miss them everyday. But I’ll be honest, I also curse them,” he told VICE today. Nagwekar wrote an emotional message to Narendra Modi on the government’s centralised public grievance portal on May 26, asking for the legalisation of homosexual sex in the India. “My parents kicked me out when I came out to them, “he wrote. “When whole India is independent than why not Me and my orientation.”

Born and raised in Prabhadevi and later in Wadala in Mumbai, Nagwekar kept his sexual identity secret. But when police found him cruising near Dadar railway station, they called his parents who asked him to leave home three years ago.

VICE spoke with Nagwekar over the phone.

VICE: What prompted you to write to the Prime Minister’s Office?
Divyesh Nagwekar: I was thinking about my life the other day. What to do next. I don’t have a job right now. My parents kicked me out when I came out to them. I am in Kolkata now. I’ve lost my job, my money, my career. I had heard that the PM had said that we can share our grievances with him. So I wrote to him. I also want to know what he is doing to bring achche din. When will achche din come for the LGBTQ community? How many more years will it take?

What did you expect would happen after this complaint?
I want Modi to legalise LGBTQ rights in the country. So that parents know that being gay is not a disease. My own parents thought being homosexual is a disease. It is not. If it’s legalised, people will understand that it is normal. Actually being gay is nothing new. There are gay folks in Hindu mythology too. The PMO has not responded so far. This morning I sent them a reminder.

Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I knew I was gay when I was in school. I graduated in Social Sciences from Pune University and completed my International MBA in Travel and Tourism Management from Kuoni Academy. I was working with a travel company in Mumbai. Then I had to leave the city.

Why?
I was in a toilet one day when police raided the place. They thought I was a hooker and asked me to have sex with them. I refused. They called my parents and told them that I was cruising near the toilets.

Were you cruising?
Ok, I’ll be honest. I was cruising. That’s how gay people in Mumbai meet each other for hookups. The police called my parents, and my brother came to the police station. At home, there was a lot of drama. That was my opportunity to come out to them. I told them, yes, I am gay. And they asked me to leave home right then and there. I packed a few clothes, shoes and left.

On the roadside, I waited. I waited for a long time. I kept thinking what to do next.

Did you have a plan?
I had a Facebook friend. I had never met him face-to-face, just online. We used to talk a lot on the phone. When it was beginning to get dark, I called him and he asked me to take a flight and come to Kolkata. I had Rs. 13,000 in my savings account. I took a late night flight and have been with him since. We are dating now.

My health was severely affected. I got jaundice twice. The climate didn’t suit me. I felt so alone.

My parents didn’t get in touch with me at all. Only three-four months later, did I get a call from them. By then I had gotten a job in Kolkata in a call center. I was earning my own money. But I was missing them, so when they got emotional and asked me to come back, I went back to Mumbai.

But I soon realised I couldn’t live in such an environment. There was no real acceptance. I left again. This time on my own. And came back to Kolkata to my boyfriend.

Tell us a bit about how legalisation of LGBTQ rights will affect your own life?
I miss my parents. But I’ll be honest, I also curse them. If it was legal in the country, they would never have thrown me out of my home. I know so many gay guys who had to leave their homes because their parents didn’t accept them. Parents need to know it is not a disease. That it is normal. That it is ok. I hope my message can make some change to someone else’s life.

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