An extract from [V] My India Report [http://www.myindiareport.in/]
October 9th, 2007
A Salute to Dr. Guha Thakurta
General Sex Social Issues
Baseless opinions are worth the fight. Challenging social prejudices is the first and most ambitious step to drive a change. This post is put up to bring to light the story of one such person who leads the movement.
Reading the comments for the post ‘Is homosexuality a crime?’, I found this interesting story of a doctor who gives an account of his personal journey of coming to terms with his sexuality in an intolerant society. Dr. Guha Thakurta has set an excellent example by telling his story. He speaks out as he believes in fighting the social injustice through increasing awareness by providing insightful information. I think the story and his work need acknowledgment, so here it is.
In Dr. Guha Thakurta’s words:
I would like to share a few social and medical developments that have taken place on the issue of homosexuality over the past few years. The interactive blogs tempt me to share an incident that took place recently in South India, where a group of Mass Communication students were expelled from the college for choosing their topic of Diploma film as ‘Homosexuality’.It is indeed a matter of great shame and injustice that some students have been expelled from a college for their effort to make a film on an issue of their choice (which is a reality).
I take particular interest to write on this issue, in support of the victimized students’ rights, and the innumerable “out” of “closeted” gay and lesbian friends, as I had made a similar effort to make a film on Homosexuality when I was in the second year of my medical education, and I am gay (and a student of Psychiatry at a State Medical College, too).
In 2003, when I was a second year medical student at Calcutta National Medical College, we (me and my other class mates) made an effort to make a docu-feature titled, “Piku Bhalo Achhey” (Piku Is Fine) on the “coming out” of a gay boy and his journey towards self-acceptance.
It was a “coming out film” in the true sense of the term, as it was not only based on my own experiences as a child, but also, that I came out to the media with my sexual orientation soon after the release of the film. This holds a special significance, as, I was also afraid of being expelled of my college, should the authorities react irresponsibly! Although there were many moral eyes wondering at what was happening, there was no official interference with me or the film. Instead, when I was in the final year of my studies (during my internship), the Psychiatry department of our college arranged for a screening of the film which was attended by psychiatrists from different medical colleges, and psychologists from the Calcutta University.
Presently, I am posted as the house physician of Psychiatry at our institution, and my second effort at making a film on LGBT issues (”Strangers In The Rain”) was also encouraged by arranging for a screening of the same.
In the light of modern knowledge of Psychiatric Medicine, Homosexuality is neither a disorder, nor a crime. The ICD-10 ( International Classification of Diseases, 10th Edition) published by WHO clearly states that homosexuality itself cannot be regarded as a disorder. DSM IV-TR ( Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition, Text Revision) published by the American Psychiatric Association also strongly holds this view.Just to add a note to what some of the guests have commented; in the light of modern psychiatry,
(1)Homosexuality is not a disorder
(2)Homosexuality is just not a matter of choice, there is more to it. We cannot CHOOSE our sexual orientation. It only reflects the diversity of nature’s creation(please refer ICD 10, DSM IV TR, works of Alfred Kinsey and Evelyn Hooker, amongst others)
(3)Crime is a legal term. Whatever the law declares wrong is a crime (even if the Law itself is unscientific); so what? Science progresses at its own pace. Failure to catch up with the ongoing scientific changes is a disorder on part of the society.
In a country where we are gifted with the constitutional rights of freedom of expression, we have every right to raise voice for any cause including homosexuality and the society or any educational institution does not have the right to penalize an individual for the same. It is the need of the time to be united against such fascist powers and stand in support of the victims of moral policing.
With warm regards and spirits,
Dr Tirthankar Guha Thakurta,
Department of Psychiatry,
Calcutta National Medical College,
Kolkata - 700 014
West Bengal
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To read more on this article, please visit: http://www.myindiareport.in/2007/10/09/a-salute-to-drthakruta/#more-170
