On September 6, 2018, the Supreme Court decriminalised homosexuality in India. However, almost two years after this historic verdict, homophobia continues to remain one of the biggest social issues faced by the LGBTQIA community. 

Foreign Policy

This desi dad mustered up the courage to narrate his journey from being homophobic to accepting his son’s sexuality while making a toast on his son’s wedding: 

In a room full of desis who might or might not judge him for being ‘open-minded’, this father-of-the-groom broke the ice on a fairly relatable note:  

He further opened up about how he thought that he was the luckiest father to have a son who held on to his Indian roots on foreign land while being the perfect all-rounder Indian student. He was proud of him until his son came out of the closet. 

The now father-of-the-groom’s world came crashing when he initially heard this news. His initial reaction just like most desi parents was to treat homosexuality like a disease and find a cure for his son ASAP:

Before admitting to his homophobia, he also opened up about his initial notions and myth about a homosexual relationship: 

My initial theory was that in this country the sex goes on and on, they do all kinds of things, they get tired and finally, they do this kind of gay thing.  

With an aim to ‘fix’ his son and understand the main cause of homophobia, this father who’s also a counselor flipped through various research papers only to find the American Psychology Association’s explanation of homosexuality. That’s when this father found his Buddha moment’: 

After a lot of contemplation, he asked himself a very simple question that cleared his head and solved most of the problems. He asked himself if he loved his son any less than he did before he came out of the closet. Here’s the answer: 

Being a desi with a homosexual son in the 90s, this father was stuck in the quintessential ‘what will the society and people say’ rut. He wanted to control the narrative and personally tell his close firends and family but he was greeted by a dilemma:

And as fate would have it, this father trusted his gut instinct and over time, managed to convince most of the people in his community to attend his son’s gay wedding, while he boldly narrated his transition. 

Watch the father-of-the-groom’s entire heartfelt toast here: 

With his wise decisions and an open mind, this father is proof that homosexuality is not a disease but homophobia is. And with the right set of conditioning, homophobia is curable.