New Delhi woke up on February 3rd to a gloomy night. A heavy blanket of fog covered the area in a ghostly cloud, and the air was crisp and cutting. Tagore International School – Vasant Vihar was bustling with life amid this wintery setting, with its buildings firmly anchored against the chilly breeze as teachers rushed to take an outdoor journey on the weekends.
Traditions and customs in India shine like jewels everywhere. In a remote area where outdated views frequently hold powerful sway, Tagore International School in South Delhi is a beacon where something beautiful is taking place. The school is becoming a pillar of diversity.
The Washington Blade visited the school and talked to the individuals, committee members, and its task consultant.
While talking to the Blade, Vaanya Kalra, a 12th-grade student at the school, said her parents are understanding and supportive. Vaanya, with a smile on her face, said she had complete access to the internet when she was younger. At her school, she was the target of a campaign called Breaking Barriers that aims to promote and increase awareness of LGBTQ+ rights at the same time.
“Breaking Barriers has existed for the past 10 years at my school, and I kind of always wanted to join it,” said Vaanya. When I had the chance to visit it, I did.
Vaanya opened up about her journey and claimed that people were reacting differently to those who were different, with a mix of sadness and frustration in her eyes. Vaanya, who has always been empathetic, saw unjustifiable anger online against sex and sexuality. She exclaimed with excitement that she had the time, the power, and the emotion needed to enroll in Breaking Barriers at her school.
Before joining the campaign, Vaanya revealed to the Blade that she had the conversation with her friends and family. Her home was accepting of all. She boldly admitted that she enjoyed the experience she had while working for the LGBTQ+ group in her school and advocating for it in other institutions. Vaanya stated that she is considering pursuing further education in international relations.
Vaanya expressed her deep regret to an American media outlet while speaking to the Blade about people accusing her of “brainwashing children.” She claimed that when she went online to discuss Breaking Barriers activities, a group of people took over the discussion and began to explain how flawed this strategy was.
“It was a very tough journey,” said Vaanya.
Shivanee Sen, a learner 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 campaign because Safina Ameen and Sohini Chakrabarti were the group’s leaders and that they were active in the South Asia contest. Sohini, Safina, and Shivanee, in their younger years, sat up and decided to work in the female arena. While the conversation was taking place, Shivanee suggested working in the field of sex and gender, and the other two graciously agreed to do so.
Although the team conversation initially focused on the issue of women’s rights, Shivanee argued that her goal was to address discrimination against other marginalized groups in India. The group of three young people began working on LGBTQ+ rights in India after Shivanee’s suggestion. Sohini and Safina were sent home by Shivanee for their parents’ approval, which they thankfully received. The group then began to work on LGBTQ+ rights at the local school levels.
Sohini, one of Breaking Barriers’ owners, said that there was an administrative vacuum around this narrative region across schools in India.
“These issues are not being discussed in classrooms. I was likewise 13 years old when we began. But as a young child who was trained by experts from organizations, and because we were working on gender rights at the same time, I was talking to individuals older than I was and educators about sexuality, which was a bit strange and jarring to some people because it was a crucial part of a school-wide campaign on this theme,” said Siddhi Pal, one of Breaking Barriers’ original people. “Because our work was labeled as illegitimate, hypnosis, and unlawful, it was really difficult for us to get the campaign to various institutions. Those kinds of items were a great challenge, but apart from that, we were thus ashore. 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 plan received from the kids, explaining that all participants had parental consent before joining. Additionally, Shivanee noted that filial opposition to her Breaking Barriers campaign for the LGBTQ+ community at schools has often been heard.
“I am quite surprised that in the past 10 years we haven’t really had parental pushback,” she said. “No family has taken it upon themselves to try to stop the sessions happening at school, even though they might not be cool with their children joining the plan.”
Vaanya expressed concern about how an American news outlet published a racist article about the organization’s founders and students at Tagore International School, saying with absolute certainty that when negative information about the campaign and its members is published, it indicates that the organization is attempting to change.
Siddhi, who is based in London, said the main reason for assistance is when innovative students enroll annually. “When they observe what their peers are doing, that provided an additional source of inspiration for the plan.”
“People really aspire to visit the campaign as they advance to more leadership positions,” according to Sohini. “It’s fascinating to see as it was difficult to begin it off, and there were many difficulties in the beginning. To keep it going has been easier because every time more learners come on, there is more and more information about the campaign,” said one participant. “Thus, to keep it going has been really amazing.”
According to Priyanka Randhawa, project coordinator for Tagore International School, the organization chooses members from the eighth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grades; its president or vice president generally hails from the older classes, but any students who are interested can join. The school’s Breaking Barriers group is transforming the campaign into a movement and holding meetings at various schools as well.
“We go to other universities and take up sympathetic issues with them,” said Randhawa. “We discuss the experiences of transgender people in other schools, give presentations at workshops, and use language from other schools to explain terminology in relation to Breaking Barriers. We also discuss personal aspects of the topic.
These sessions are only intended for high school students. We even do sessions for teachers for sensitization,” added Randhawa. “We have also collaborated with charities like Naz Foundation, they train our kids and advocate on LGBTQ issues.”
According to Priyanka, the campaign encourages different schools to launch their own Breaking Barriers groups.
Jiya Chawla, a pupil at Tagore International School and a member of Breaking Barriers, told the Blade in New Delhi that she, along with Vaanya, joined the campaign four years ago.
“We have been to various institutions. At least 20 institutions offline, and online we have been to more than 40 universities,” said Jiya. “We were confronted with questions from a racist or misogynistic point of view. But we never replied, ‘You are wrong.’ We usually take their time and make an effort to comprehend where they are coming from. We try to break that shame. We are aware that a single session cannot be enough to dispel millennial prejudices, but we occasionally face backlash, but social media has definitely helped us since everyone is now aware of what this group is all about. So now, we don’t have to explain what the community is, but why equality is important.”
Sohini told the Blade that she anticipated the reaction and when she was campaigning for the gay area at Tagore International School in New Delhi when it came to changing habits outside Breaking Barriers. Her kids eerily requested her to give a presentation for them.
“It is a taboo topic, people don’t want to engage with you. However, I was surprised by the curiosity of those around me,” Siddhi said with a huge smile on her face. “My parents, once were like oh you are going around, doing this presentation, so why don’t you do it for us? 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.
“It was really amazing in the beginning, perhaps when we started doing seminars for teachers, I think teachers had a lot more questions than students in the beginning,” she added. “There are individuals who do not want to join 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 suicide. The management did not take any action, even though his mother filed a complaint.
Vaanya argued that ensuring kids’ safety at school is essential in order to adequately address these issues. She claimed that educators and administrators had a lot of support.
“Assuring children that it’s okay to feel unique, it’s okay for you to have a different gender or behave differently is very important. Individuals have understood that they are not required to bully other persons for it, and that they are not required to hate other people for it,” Vaanya said. “Nobody is constantly bullying or hating someone for this, according to the saying. We also have a pretty tight anti-bullying policy, which allows for everyone to have a safe place.
Ankush Kumar is a writer from India and Singapore who has covered a lot of stories for the Washington and Los Angeles Blades. He most recently appeared in a story for The Daily Beast. He is on Snapchat at @mohitkopinion.
