PUNISHED FOR BEING ME

CHAPTER 9

THE FEW MONTHS FOLLOWING 'THE SLAP' AS IT WAS REFERRED TO, WENT BY SMOOTHLY WITHOUT ANY INCIDENT HINDERING MY WILL TO LIVE. APPARENTLY, SOME WHIZ KID, WHO HAD A KNACK OF FILMING EVERYTHING, HAD FILMED ME SLAPPING THE DEAN AND THE VIDEO WENT VIRAL. IT MADE ME AN OVERNIGHT CELEBRITY, THOUGH IT DIDNT LAST FOR LONG. THE VIDEO WAS SHARED ACROSS ALL THE COLLEGE GROUPS AND RECEIVED MORE THAN A MILLION HITS BEFORE THE COLLEGE AUTHORITIES DECIDED TO TAKE IT DOWN. I WAS SUSPENDED FOR TWO WEEKS, BUT IT WAS A PRICE I WAS READY TO PAY FOR PUNISHING THE PERSON RESPONSIBLE FOR SPREADING FALSE INFORMATION ABOUT PRATIK THAT ULTIMATELY LED TO HIS DEATH. APART FROM THE TWO WEEK SUSPENSION, EVERYTHING WAS ON TRACK. MY GRADES WERE BACK ON THE RISE AND PEOPLE HAD STARTED WARMING UP TO ME AGAIN. I HAD STARTED MAKING FRIENDS AGAIN AND WAS STARTING TO ENJOY MY DAYS IN COLLEGE. THE ONLY COMPLAINT I HAD WAS THAT PRATIK WASNT THERE WITH ME TO SPEND THE 'GOOD DAYS' WITH ME.

ONE DAY, I WAS SITTING IN CLASS, CHECKING OUT MY SOCIAL MEDIA FEED WHEN I CAME ACROSS A WEB-BROCHURE.

PRIDE MARCH

29 NOVEMBER 2015

"A MARCH AGAINST INJUSTICE"

ACCORDING TO THE WEB-BROCHURE, HUNDREDS OF GAY CITIZENS AND THEIR ALLIES WOULD BE STARTING A 2KM LONG WALK FROM TOLSTOY MARG TO THE JANTAR MANTAR, NEW DELHI. THE MAIN AIM OF THE MARCH WAS NOT JUST GETTING FREEDOM FROM THE SECTION 377 BUT ALSO FROM ALL THE SOCIAL INJUSTICES THAT THE PEOPLE OF LGBTQIA+ (LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENDER, QUEER, INTERSEX, ASEXUAL) FACED AS A COMMUNITY. THE 'REGISTER NOW' BUTTON AT THE BOTTOM OF THE BROCHURE WAS CALLING OUT TO ME. I PRESSED IT WITHOUT GIVING IT ANYMORE THOUGHT AND REGISTERED FOR IT. AFTER ALL HOW COULDNT I. IT WAS A PLATFORM FOR ME TO INTERACT WITH OTHERS WHO WERE JUST LIKE ME, WHO WERE ALSO TIRED OF BEING IGNORED AND DISCRIMINATED AGAINST. IT WAS THE FIRST TIME I HAD HEARD ABOUT SOMETHING LIKE THIS SO WHEN I WENT BACK TO MY ROOM, I DECIDED TO CHECK IT OUT.

P-R-I-D-E M-A-R-C-H I TYPED IN THE SEARCH BOX OF MY SEARCH ENGINE AND WITHIN A FRACTION OF SECONDS THERE WERE MORE THAN A HUNDRED RESULTS

ON MY SCREEN. I CLICKED ON THE FIRST LINK THAT CAME UP AND READ THE FULL ARTICLE.

"Pride parades (also known as pride marches, pride events, and pride festivals) are outdoor events celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) culture and pride. The events also at times serve as demonstrations for legal rights such as same-sex marriage. ....." defined one of the websites.

WHEN I DECIDED TO LOOK UP ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THE PRIDE MARCHES AROUND THE WORLD, I CAME TO KNOW THAT THE FIRST PRIDE MARCH WAS HELD ON JUNE 27 1970 IN CHICAGO AFTER WHICH IT WENT TO SPREAD TO DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORLD. IT TOOK PLACE ONE YEAR AFTER THE STONEWALL RIOTS IN NEW YORK CITY THAT WAS ONE OF THE PROTESTS HELD TO HELP FREE THE GAY COMMUNITY OF OPPRESSIONS THAT IT SUFFERED.

READING A FEW MORE ARTICLES ON THE PRIDE MARCH, MADE ME REALISE HOW IMPORTANT IT WAS FOR THE FREEDOM OF THE COMMUNITY THAT I NOW REALISED I WAS A PART OF.

LATER THAT EVENING, I RECEIVED A MAIL FROM THE ORGANISING COMMITTEE WITH A LINK TO CONTACT IF I HAD ANY DOUBTS OR NEEDED CLARITY ABOUT THE AIM OF THE MOVEMENT. I READILY CLICKED ON THE LINK THAT REDIRECTED ME TO A CHAT ROOM WHERE A BUNCH OF PEOPLE WERE ALREADY DISCUSSING THE PREPARATIONS FOR THE MARCH AND OCCASIONALLY CLEARING DOUBTS OF NEWBIES LIKE ME. IT WAS GOOD TO KNOW THAT AT LEAST THERE WERE SOME PEOPLE WHO DIDNT FORGET THEIR PROMISES ONCE MADE. THE CHAT ROOM WAS ONE OF ITS KIND. I HAD NEVER BEEN TO ANYTHING LIKE THAT BEFORE. IT WAS PRETTY WELL MAINTAINED AND EFFICIENT. I FOR ONE WAS REALLY IMPRESSED BY IT. IT WAS SO FASCINATING THAT IT BECAME MY GO TO PLACE WHENEVER I FELT LOW OR MISSED PRATIK.

I WOULD REGULARLY GO AND CHECK THE CHAT ROOM TO GET UPDATES ON THE PREPARATIONS FOR THE MARCH. I USED TO SPEND MOST OF THE TIME BEING ACTIVELY ABSORBED IN THE CHATS AND USED TO LOOK FORWARD TO PARTICIPATING IN, AFTER COMING BACK FROM COLLEGE EVERY DAY. IT GAVE ME A SENSE OF COMFORT THAT I