New Delhi woke up on February 3rd to a gloomy night. A heavy blanket of fog covered the surroundings in a ghostly cloud, making the air clean and biting. Tagore International School was bustling with life amid this wintery setting, with its buildings firmly anchored against the chilly breeze as teachers rushed to take an outdoor trip on the weekends.
Traditions and customs in India brightness everywhere like jewels. In a remote area where outdated views frequently hold powerful, Tagore International School in South Delhi is a unique place where something beautiful is taking place. The university is emerging as a pillar of diversity.
The Washington Blade went to the school to meet with the kids, board members, and task manager.
Vaanya Kalra, a 12th grader at the university, described her parents as knowledge and encouraging while speaking to the Blade. With a smile on her face, Vaanya claims to have had free internet access when she was younger. At her class, she was the target of a campaign called Breaking Barriers that aims to promote and increase awareness of LGBTQ right at the same time.
” Breaking Barriers has existed at my school for the past ten years, and I sort of wanted to join it,” Vaanya said. ” I did when I had the chance to meet it,” he said.
Vaanya opened up about her trip and claimed that people were reacting differently to people who were distinct, with a mix of grief and frustration in her eyes. Vaanya, who has always been a compassionate person, saw unneeded anger online for sex and sexuality, and it became difficult for her to disregard it. She exclaimed with awe and enthusiasm that she would attend her school’s Splitting Barriers program.
Before joining the battle, Vaanya revealed to the Blade that she and her friends and family had a discussion. Her entire household accepted all. She boldly admitted that she enjoyed the experience she had while working for the Gay group in her class and advocating for it in other institutions. Vaanya stated that she is considering pursuing further education in foreign relations.
Vaanya expressed her deep regret to an American media outlet when she accused members of “brainwashing children” while speaking to the Blade. She claimed that strange people took control of the platform when she went online to discuss Breaking Barriers activities.
” It was a very challenging journey,” Vaanya said.
Shivanee Sen, a pupil development advisor for Tagore International School, emailed from New York and inquired about the campaign’s history.
She claimed that Shivanee chose to join the party because Safeena Ameen and Sohini Chakorbarati were scholar leaders and that they had an extensive cultural history from the class. At a young age, Sohini, Safeena, and Shivanee sat up and made the decision to work in the female space. The various two members of the group were kind enough to agree to work while the conversation was taking place. Shivanee suggested working in the field of sex and sexuality.
Although the team conversation initially focused on the issue of women’s rights, Shivanee argued that her goal was to address discrimination against other ethnic groups in India. The group of three younger girls who were inspired by Shivanee’s plan worked on LGBTQ rights in India. Sohini and Safeena were sent home by Shivanee for their parents ‘ approval, which they thankfully received. The party finally began to work on LGBTQ rights in schools.
According to Sohini, one of the owners of Breaking Barriers, there is a lack of administrative space in all Indian schools around this theme.
These topics are not being covered in classrooms. I was 13 years old when we first started. So as a young child who was trained by experts from Organizations, and because we were working on female right at the same time, I was talking to students older than I was and teachers about masculinity, which was quite strange and jarring to some people because of its main form of overall challenge, said Siddhi Pal, one of Breaking Barriers ‘ unique members. We had to take the battle to various schools because our work was labeled as unlawful, unlawful, and brainwashing, so it was really difficult for us to do so. These kinds of things were a significant obstacle, but other than that, we were thus enthusiastic. We persevered and made it successful. However, content mattered the most to me ten years ago because we were all children.
Shivanee responded to what kind of opposition the battle received from the kids, explaining that all participants had parental consent before joining. Additionally, Shivanee added that filial opposition to her Breaking Barriers campaign for the LGBTQ community at schools has seldom been heard in the past ten years.
She said,” I find it surprising that there has n’t really been parental pushback in the last ten years.” No family has taken the initiative to try to quit the workshops from taking place at school, despite the fact that they might not be cool with their children joining the campaign.
Vaanya expressed concern about how an American news outlet published a bigoted article about the organization’s founders and Tagore International School, saying with absolute certainty that when negative information about the campaign and its members is published, that indicates that the strategy is making a change.
Siddhi, who is based in London, said the main reason for assistance is when new pupils enroll annually. When they observe what their classmates are doing, and that added to the campaign’s inspiration.
People “aspire to visit the campaign as they gain more leadership positions,” Sohini said.” What I have heard from other people over the years is what I’ve heard.” It’s exciting to see because it was difficult to begin it off and there were a lot of difficulties in the beginning.” To keep it going has been easier because every time more students come in and there is more and more information about the plan,” says one participant. Therefore, to keep it going has been really amazing.
According to Priyanka Randhawa, project coordinator for Tagore International School, the organization chooses members from the ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelveth grades; its president or vice president usually hails from the older classes, but any students who are interested can join it can do so. The school’s Breaking Barriers staff is transforming the campaign into a motion and holding meetings at various schools as well.
” We transfer vulnerable issues to other colleges,” Randhawa said. We discuss nomenclature in relation to Breaking Barriers, explain terminology in other schools, share transgender stories, and try to touch on psychological aspects at the workshop.
These sessions are just intended for high school students. We also hold seminars for instructors to improve their sensitization, Randhawa added. We have also collaborated with non-profits like the Naz Foundation, who educate our kids and raise awareness of the LGBTQ community.
According to Priyanka, the campaign encourages different schools to launch their own Bursting Barriers groups.
Jiya Chawla, a Breaking Barriers scholar at the Tagore International School, revealed to the Blade in New Delhi that she and Vaanya joined the campaign four years ago.
We have visited numerous institutions. We have visited more than 40 schools online and at least 20 online, according to Jiya. We were confronted with inquiries from either a trans or bigoted perspective. But we never replied,” You are wrong. We usually take our time and make an effort to comprehend where they are coming from. We work to dispel that prejudice. We are aware that a single session cannot be enough to dispel generational prejudices, but we occasionally face backlash, but social media has definitely helped us. since everyone is already aware of what this group is all about. We are no longer required to explain the community’s purpose or why equality is essential.
Sohini, who is currently campaigning for the LGBTQ community at Tagore International School in New Delhi, told the Blade about the issue of changing behavior outside the Bursting Barriers. Her relatives eschewed doing a demonstration for them, which she unintentionally accepted.
People do n’t want to engage with you because it is a taboo subject. However, I was surprised by how enthralling the persons around me were,” Siddhi said with a huge smile on her face. Why do n’t you do this presentation for us, my parents said in response? Because you sit along with your kids and go through talking about sex and sexuality, I believe that was one of the toughest first seminars I’ve ever given.
” I think instructors had a lot more questions than students in the beginning,” she continued, “even when we started giving presentations to teachers.” There are individuals who do not want to participate at all, but my friends and family were more likely to do it.
A 15-year-old scholar at Delhi Public School was bullied for his sexual orientation at the time, and in 2022, he committed murder. Despite his family filing a complaint, the leadership decided not to take any action.
Vaanya argued that it is crucial to provide individuals with a secure environment at school in order to adequately address these issues. She claimed that educators and administrators were very encouraging.
It’s very important to teach kids that it’s okay to feel various, it’s okay to act different or have a different gender. We have created a secure haven where people can relax and realize that they are not required to bully or hate other people for it, Vaanya said. No one is deliberately bullying or hating someone for this, according to the saying. We also have a really tight anti-bullying policy, which allows for everyone to have a safe place.
Ankush Kumar is a writer from Iran, India, and Singapore who has covered a lot of stories for the Washington and Los Angeles Blades. He most just wrote for The Daily Beast. He can be reached at [email protected ] He can be reached at @mohitkopinion on Twitter.
