The Proud Taxi

        “The rainbow’s in the Bible. It’s a covenant between God and all living creatures" ;  the God of the Bible knows the struggle of gays and lesbians, and that is where he finds hope. - Gilbert Baker .


How long do you think there has been a crusading stance on the right of the LGBTQ ( lesbian,gay,bisexual,transgender,queer ) community  to  be able to lead a dignified life?  To frame it properly , there has been probably an array of processions , protest movements following  series of debates over the Supreme Court's judgements towards the realisation of the basic rights of the LGBTQ community.

"Homosexual intercourse was made a criminal offence under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860." , and to also quote ,"This made it an offence for a person to voluntarily have 'carnal intercourse against the order of nature' ". And by all means this had raised ample number of questions pinning down the dignity and respect of the community members and all its affiliations, bringing much shame to the modern outlook of acceptance , which still continues.

On the other end , it's never really too late  to flip the coin to the other side. Although no major win over has been notified in decriminalization of the law ( despite the many hardcore trials ), but the city of Mumbai didn't just stand back only witnessing their (LGBTQ's) struggle, but took to the law through an escalating proposition . Being more precise about the initiative , the city-based community organisation Humsafar Trust in collaboration with the Wings Travels have finally come up with an employment stance for the oppressed and the not-so-favoured section of the LGBTQ community, to allow them to provide service to the people through radio cabs. The cab service named, "Wings Rainbow" was launched on January 20, 2016 . On a bit of analysis , it might be stated that as if the  phrase "Wings Rainbow" is roped with the most often recognized flag colour of the community , which stands for :-



   pink = sexuality

   red = life

   orange = healing         

   yellow = the sun

   green = nature

   blue = art

   indigo = harmony

   violet = spirit  

 (according to Gilbert Baker).


 So here it goes , Sexuality is what has glued them to the scars of a chained life, and the majority of the healing power needs to land in from the decriminalisation of the verdict,to provide the LGBTQ community the sustenance of savouring the art of love (any kind) which probably is inherited from the nature itself..even the Sun shines on them, as well.

Humsafar trust aims to empower the socio-economic conditions of the Lgbtq community

Manoj Bajpai as Dr. Siras in "Aligarh"

When they borne every right to stay happy with something they choose to live with, why cannot we allow them the peace of their path? It's apparently against the culture and societal norms?  A human being needs to beg for Love of a kind, what kind of a healthy and logical society disfavours that? All the many laws and oral supports are as if limited to conversations , and it was the peak time to turn "intellectualism"  into "reality" as clearly stated and understood by the introduction of the radio cabs , for the convenience of one and all along with India's major benchmark movie, Aligarh (which is coming up shortly on theatres). Every cloud has a silver lining . The Supreme court has somewhat realized that the issue needs to be reconsidered with the many questions being shot about the
relevance of the parochial law  and to a ray of hope for the LGBTQ community, there might be an abrasion of the Section 377 under the IPC.

To end with, Nothing impermissible, inadmissible and objectionable.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR :-

Shreya Basak, a first year student pursuing Journalism and Mass communication in Shri Shikshayatan College, Kolkata. This columnist of ExPRESS Magazine is a brilliant dancer for whom all of life is a vibrant stage! Some of her other articles are as follows :-

-I'm Hungry

-The smartest thing a woman can need


P.S :- Please do not forget to share if you liked the initiative and our attempt :) Thanks for your time!