New Delhi woke up to a chilly dawn on February 3. A heavy blanket of fog covered the surroundings in a ghostly cloud, making the air clean and biting. In the middle of this wintery scene, where teachers hurriedly took an exterior tour on the weekend, their buildings stood strong against the cloudy breeze.
Traditions and customs in India brightness like jewels in every part. In a remote area where outdated views frequently hold powerful, Tagore International School in South Delhi is a unique place where something beautiful is taking place.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 college is becoming the 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 degree student at the school, said her parents are understanding and friendly. Vaanya, with a smile on her face, said she had completely access to the internet when she was younger. At her class, she was the target of a campaign called Breaking Barriers that aimed to promote and increase awareness about LGBTQ right at this time.
” Breaking Barriers has existed for the past 10 years at my college, and I kind of always wanted to join it”, said Vaanya. When I had the chance to meet it, I did.
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 sympathetic, saw unjustifiable rage online against sex and gender. She exclaimed with excitement that she had the time, the power, and emotion necessary and that she would enroll in Breaking Obstacles at her school.
Before joining the battle, Vaanya revealed to the Blade that she and her friends and family had a discussion. Her home was accepting of anything. She boldly admitted that she enjoyed the experience she had while supporting the Transgender group at her school and organizing campaigns for it in other colleges. Vaanya stated that she is considering pursuing further research in global relations.
Vaanya expressed her deep regret to an American media outlet while speaking to the Blade about accusing people of “brainwashing children.” She claimed that strange people took control of the platform when she went online to discuss Breaking Barriers activities.
” 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 party because Safina Ameen and Sohini Chakrabarti were scholar leaders and that they had participated in the South Asia contest for having a diverse cultural history. Sohini, Safina and Shivanee, at their younger years, sat up and decided to work in female area. While the discourse was taking place, Shivanee suggested working in the field of sex and gender, and the other two graciously agreed to do so.
Shivanee stated that the group discussion’s primary goal was to address the issue of women’s rights, but that her goal was to address the issue of various groups in India who experience discrimination. The group of three younger girls who were inspired by Shivanee’s plan worked on LGBTQ rights in India. Sohini and Safina were sent home by Shivanee for their parents ‘ approval, which they thankfully received. The team then began to work on LGBTQ rights in schools.
Sohini, one Breaking Barriers’s owners, said that there was an organisational void around this narrative location across schools in India.
” These issues are not being discussed in classrooms. I was likewise 13 years old when we began. As a young child who was trained by experts from NGOs, and because we were working on gender right at the same time, I was talking to individuals older than I was and educators about masculinity, which was a bit odd and jarring to some because it was a crucial part of a school-wide plan,” said Siddhi Pal, one of the original Breaking Barriers members. We had to take the battle to various schools because our work was labeled as illegitimate, improper, and brainwashing, so it was really difficult for us to do so. Those kind of items were a great challenge, but apart from that we were thus ashore. We persevered and made it work. 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 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 past 10 years we have n’t really had parental pushback”, she said. No family has taken the initiative to try to stop 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 media outlet published a racist article about the organization Breaking Barriers and Tagore International School, saying with absolute certainty that when negative information about the promotion and its members is published, that indicates that the campaign is making a change.
Siddhi, who is based in London, said the main motivating factor is the enrollment of new students every year. They see what their peers are up to, which further fueled the campaign.
People actually aspire to join the campaign as they advance to more leadership positions, according to Sohini. It’s interesting 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 year more students come in, there is more and more information about the campaign,” said one participant. So, 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 typically hails from the older classes, but any students who are interested can join it can do so. The school’s Breaking Barriers team is organizing training for students at other schools as well.
” We go to other schools and take up sensitive issues with them”, said Randhawa. We discuss the definition of” Breaking Barriers,” explain terminology in other schools, share transgender stories, and touch on emotional topics during the workshop.
These workshops are only intended for high school students. We also do workshops for educators for sensitization”, added Randhawa. ” We have also collaborated with NGOs like Naz Foundation, they train our students and sensitize on LGBTQ community”.
According to Priyanka, the initiative encourages other schools to form their own Breaking Barriers organizations.
Jiya Chawla, a student at the and 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 multiple schools. At least 20 schools offline and online we have been to more than 40 schools”, said Jiya. We were confronted with questions from a homophobic or transphobic point of view. But we never replied “no,” you are wrong. We always take our time and make an effort to comprehend where they are coming from. We try to break that stigma. We are aware that one session cannot be enough to dispel generational prejudices, so we do occasionally face a lot of backlash, but social media has really helped us right now. since everyone is already aware of the purpose of this community. So now, we do n’t have to explain what the community is, but why equality is important”.
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 Breaking Barriers. Her parents eerily requested her to give a presentation for them.
” It is a taboo topic, people do n’t want to engage with you. However, I was surprised by how enthralling the people around me were,” Siddhi said with a big smile on her face. ” My parents, once were like oh you are going around, doing this presentation, so why do n’t you do it for us? Because you sit down with your parents and go over sex and sexuality, I believe that was one of my most difficult initial presentations.
” It was really surprising in the beginning, even when we started doing presentations for teachers, I think teachers had a lot more questions than students in the beginning”, she added. There are people who do not want to engage at all, but my friends and family were more likely to do it.
A 15- year- old student at in 2022 died by suicide after being bullied for his sexuality at school. The administration did not take any action, even though his mother filed a complaint.
Vaanya argued that it is crucial to provide students with a safe environment at school in order to adequately address these concerns. She claimed that teachers and administrators were very encouraging.
” Ensuring kids that it’s okay to feel different, it’s okay for you to have a different sexuality or act differently is very important. We have created a safe 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 actively bullying or hating someone for this. We also have a very strict anti-bullying policy, which allows for everyone to have a safe place.
Ankush Kumar is a reporter from Iran, India, and Singapore who has covered a lot of stories for the Washington and Los Angeles Blades. He most recently made a report for The Daily Beast. At ( 508 ) 686-7710. He is on Twitter at @mohitkopinion.
