By now, most of us know have seen the gripping trailer of Aligarh, starring Manoj Bajpai, which is slated for release this month. In case you haven’t, watch it here first. The film tells the true story of Professor Ramchandra Siras who was sacked from his position at Aligarh Muslim University for his sexual orientation.
Even though the trailer received immense praise, the censor board’s decision of giving it an adult certificate certainly shows that homosexuality is still a hush-hush topic for our society. And here’s how Pahlaj Nihalani, head of the Censor Board defended his decision to give the movie trailer an adult rating:
“Tell me, is the subject of homosexuality for kids? For teenagers?“
In the wake of the Section 377 hearing happening today, activists are coming together to shed light on the fact that homosexuality is not an adult topic. It is an important day for our country as changes in Section 377 might be re-considered by the apex court.
On this momentous day for our country, we decided to look deep into Prof. Siras’ life who was found dead in 2010 under mysterious circumstances.
And that’s when we found this interview of late Prof. Siras to Barkha Dutt, 40 days prior to his death.
Here’s all that went down in Aligarh Muslim University in his own words:
Prof. Siras was a simple man who was objecting to his personal space being encroached by the university. He was thrown out of his house and sacked from his job for his sexual orientation. And, 6 years on, the issue still remains a taboo. What times are we living in?