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Vice President Kamala Harris’ defeat in the US presidential election has sparked mixed reactions among LGBTQ activists in India.

A notable segment of Indians expressed support for current President-elect Donald Trump over Harris, despite their maternal lineage tracing back to India. Her mother Shyamala Gopalan was born in 1938 in a Brahmin family in Chennai, and her grandfather PV Gopalan was from Thulasendrapuram village in Tamil Nadu.

Harris’ loss sparked mixed reactions within the LGBTQ community.

While some expressed disappointment, others supported Trump.

The Washington Blade reported in August that Harris’ grandfather had moved to New Delhi to work as a civil servant in British-ruled India. This move ultimately facilitated Gopalan’s move to the United States to pursue biomedical science at the University of California, Berkeley, which played a fundamental role in shaping Harris’ future political aspirations.

The Washington Blade has spoken with several LGBTQ activists and influencers in India since Election Day.

Harish IyerOne of the plaintiffs in India’s marriage equality lawsuit said in response to Trump’s election that “the road to gay liberation has never been straight.”

“The presidential election was filled with rhetoric from the Republican side against transgender people,” Ayer said. “Transgender people are completely denied their existence, and vilification and ostracism are rampant. It made people’s tensions worse.”

He also noted that there have been major changes in transphobic laws and rhetoric in the United States, with Trump in the White House, Republicans holding majorities in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, and a conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court. He pointed out that he was awake.

“With so many Indians and Indian-born people living in the United States, and in a highly connected world, this impact will be felt in India as well,” Iyer said.

Indrani Chakraborty She is a prominent social activist and advocate for transgender rights, especially in Northeast India. She has been outspoken about the challenges facing her transgender daughter.

Chakraborty said if President Trump continues to make transphobic comments and the U.S. government does not support the LGBTQ community, the effects will be felt around the world. Anwesh Kumar SahuIndian artist, author, model, and the youngest winner of Mr. Gay World 2016, told the Blade that Trump’s policies are a setback for the ongoing fight for LGBTQ rights and recognition. spoke.

“This is a powerful reminder of how interconnected our struggles are globally,” Sahoo said. “It highlights the importance of standing up for equality everywhere.”

Abhijit Iyer Mitra is an LGBTQ activist. Senior Researcher, Peace and Conflict Research Institutesaid her Indian roots “really don’t matter” following Harris’ loss.

“America expects not only integration but assimilation,” Mitra said. “She has no real ties to India in any way, no knowledge of India at all. So it makes no sense at all that she’s from here. She’s American through and through and has no knowledge of India at all.” I don’t have any knowledge, I don’t know anything, so that’s the way it is.”

“I’m not too worried, certainly not from an Indian perspective, because all of her particular political supporters are virulently anti-India, but Biden is not ” Mitra added. “Biden is pro-India. But Kamala, especially her supporters, are in the same woke circuit, which is… ‘Oh, India… there’s a genocide going on.’ Just being Indian means nothing.”

While reacting to the Trump campaign’s rhetoric on transgender issues, Mitra said, “The problem is not the transgender community, it’s the imposition of gender ideology on everyone, putting children on puberty-blocking drugs, irreversible “For example, forcing children to undergo surgical procedures or removing their children from their homes,” he said. parents. “

“When I was a child, I thought I was a girl,” Mitra says. “As I grew up, I realized that I am a man. I am very happy with who I am and I thank God that this did not happen. If this had happened now, I would have been separated from my parents, required to undergo surgery, and I would not have been able to live the life I have now.”

“What is being propagated as ‘trans ideology’ or ‘gender ideology’ is inherently homophobic, saying that men cannot be attracted to men. Women can’t be attracted to women. No way. Instead, they undergo an irreversible gender change and are forced to become something else,” Mitra added. “This is exactly what Iran is doing. It punishes homosexuality with death, but changing your gender is considered acceptable.”

“There is no LGBTQ-leaning element in the Democratic Party, there is none at all. It’s LGBTQ genocide. It’s erasing the viability of the LGBTQ community. It’s a gender dysphoric person who might really need surgery. But why do they need surgery? It’s because they are shunned by society and forced to do things that no one should have to endure,” Mitra said. “They need to be accepted and loved for who they are and not become what society wants them to be.”

Sarah McBride, a Democrat from Delaware, became the first openly transgender person elected to Congress on Election Day. Biden, former President Barack Obama, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker spoke about marriage equality and other LGBTQ rights at the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. He is one of the people specifically mentioned.

“Mr. Kamala’s loss is a major setback for our friends in America’s LGBTQ community.” Kalki SubramaniamThe activist, queer artist, and actor who is a member of India’s National Transgender Council spoke to the Blade.

“As a Tamil woman from Kamala’s mother’s state, I am disappointed that Kamala was not selected,” Subramaniam added. “Like Kamala said, never give up and burn bright. For all LGBTQ families around the world, let’s support more leaders like Kamala Harris and strengthen them. Step forward. Let’s take leadership and take back all our rights.”