As human beings, our first points of contact are our parents. We learn from them, by them, and for them. But sooner or later, we have to get out of our safe haven. After our parents, we are introduced to our school and then work. We spend the majority of our lives out of our houses.
That being said, it’s important for our second family to be a good support system for us. Especially when we’re in our youth.
This is the most life-altering time in our lives. With our crazy hormones, our sudden self-questionings and the number of hiccups our hearts do.am
Tagore International School
Tagore International School is one of the more premier schools in Delhi. This puts them in a position much ahead than their counterparts. And they put good to this. They have an exceptionally active LGBTQ+ support group. They blog, tweet and organize events. This includes their personal Pride Walk. “Breaking Barriers”
Active Group: Breaking Barriers.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/breakingbarriers.tis/
Contact: breakingbarriers.tis@gmail.com
Contact person : Gaurav Kumar
Courtesy – Tagore International School
Jawaharlal Nehru University
“Dhanak” is the queer group from Jawaharlal Nehru University. They are active in sharing important information, debates, hosting events all to keep the conversation afloat. Dhanak means ‘rainbow’ wherein seven colours stand for a multiplicity of identities—queer identities, to be precise.
Of course, what would this list be without any of the IIT’s showing up? They are one of the most pro-active groups amongst the institutes across India. IIT Bombay supports the LGBTQ+ by organizing events on their campus. They even have a YouTube series to cut across linguistic barriers.
The sprawling campus of IIT Kharagpur is bustling with energy. They have a very active LGBT group called ‘Ambar’. Ambar has hosted queer film festivals and has also invited the queer community for interactions with the student community.
Active Group: Ambar
Contact: Click here for the contact form
Courtesy – Ambar
IIT Roorkee
QAGAAR is Queer And Gender Advancement Alliance Roorkee. They are a queer and gender support group in IIT Roorkee. “Come join us as we stand on the verge of a promising future,” reads their Facebook page.
Active Group: Qagaar
Contact: Unavailable
Courtesy – QAGAAR
IIT Gandhinagar
Orenda at IIT Gandhinagar aims to achieve an all-inclusive campus for people of different identities that fall on the gender and sexuality spectrum. Orenda is believed to be a supernatural force. The Iroquois Indians believe that the force is present in all objects or persons. They furthermore believe that the spiritual force by which human accomplishment is attainable or account for.
Indradhanu is the Sexuality And Gender Diversity Support Group of Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi who is committed to serving the needs of LGBT community and questioning students by creating a “positive space” for LGBTQ people to discover and come to terms with themselves in a safe, comforting and confidential environment.
Anchor is BITS Pilani’s initiative for starting the dialogue on sexuality. Their motto on their Facebook page summarises the intent of the group – “Here’s hoping that this small effort will create a difference; with the realization that if this forum helps even one person in any which way, we can all revel in the joy of setting ourselves on this daunting task of changing the mindsets of thousands of students and faculty and consider it a job well done.”
IISc Bangalore has a support group called QUASI (Queer and Straights at IISc). It’s a tight-knit lot comprising of undergraduate, Masters and Ph.D. students of the Institute. QUASI aims to serve as a platform for raising awareness about sexual and gender diversity as well as for providing a support network for sexual and gender minorities in IISc. QUASI is an extension of the group ‘Queer IISc’ to its straight allies and they welcome participation from the larger community at IISc and neighbouring institutes such as NIAS, JNCASR, and NCBS.
