Follow these five platforms to learn more about India’s LGBTQiA+ community

If the recent remarks made during the ongoing legal arguments around same sex marriages are anything to go by the LGBTQiA community still suffers from a lot of misconception prevalent in society The good news is that there are also numerous resources in various formats for all of us to learn from be it books podcasts social media accounts and even some in the professional networking spaceQonnectAbhishek GhoshFounded by strategy consultant Abhishek Ghosh Qonnect is a platform to connects collaborates and creates a community of queer professionals to nurture LGBTQiA role models in leadership and turbocharge career development through mentorship Qonnect also provides peertopeer mentorship programmes connecting students and professionals who are starting out with industry seniors holds fireside chats with LGBTQiA leaders and allies and promotes the exchange of ideas and resources related to diversity and inclusion Qonnectrsquos linktree page provides links to their website LinkedIn and Instagram profiles their mentorship programme and fireside chatsShuddh Desi GayThe Hindi podcast by Yogi and Kabeer started off with them talking about their experiences as two men from middleclass Indian families in a committed longterm monogamous relationship and now features interviews with individuals and couples from the gay community as well as known personalities such as actors and filmmakers There are also episodes about coming out transition and other related subjects Available on SpotifySweekar The Rainbow ParentsShridhar RangayanThe Sweekar foundation was founded by filmmaker Shridhar Rangayan to help parents of queer children understand their wards better Recognising that coming out is as significant a moment for the parents as it is for the children Sweekar helps family units through personal video accounts of parents whose children have come out to them as well as events that centre around acceptance and mental healthThe World of HomosexualsShakuntala DeviAn endeavour that was nothing short of trailblazing considering it was published in 1977 this book by mathematician Shakuntala Devi delved into the intricacies of homosexuality in the context of India The inspiration behind her profound interest in this subject matter stemmed from her personal experience of being married to a homosexual man compelling her to embark on a quest for deeper comprehension Devirsquos book featured intimate interviews with two young Indian homosexual men a male couple in Canada who yearned for legal recognition of their union a conversation with a temple priest on his views and an exhaustive review of existing literature on the subject culminating with a call for decriminalization of homosexualityA sensitive guideDr Aqsa SheikhDr Aqsa Sheikh is one of the four authors of a resource titled A Guide To Transgender Sensitive Journalism It is a 23page document compiled by the Human Solidarity Foundation It has guidelines glossaries flags and logos important judgments and a list of resources and social media accounts all related to the LGBTQiA community as well as a wordspotter puzzle at the end to tie it all up The objective was to stress on the importance to be mindful of the way vulnerable communities are portrayed and the various ways ignorant or erroneous reporting can cause harm and damage to individuals and communities It can be viewed on their LinkedIn account