Surviving Loudly: Love, Law and the Price of Being Seen by Mr. Supriyo Chakraborty
“This isn't just my story, it's ours” – Supriyo Chakraborty
Surviving Loudly: Love, Law and the Price of Being Seen is a concise 187-page memoir written by Mr. Supriyo Chakraborty, who was one of the leading petitioners in the historic Supreme Court judgment of Supriyo Chakraborty vs. Union of India, 2023 LiveLaw (SC) 900, also known as India's first plea to legalize same-sex marriage.
The book begins with a chapter titled “The Day I Didn't Win”, in which the author shares his reaction to the Supreme Court judgment that went against them. In this chapter, he reflects on the disappointment felt after the Court declined to grant legal recognition to same-sex marriage in India, despite the sincere efforts made by the petitioners and the advocates. The author uses the book to look back on his childhood and adult life as a queer person. He brings attention to the difficult memories of discrimination and lack of acceptance he experienced in school and at workplace. In the chapter[1] titled, “The Double Life”, the author writes emotional and heart-touching paragraphs to reflect the silent struggles of every LGBTQ individual and provide an overview of how queer people are often forced to live multiple lives– one that is shown to the outside world and another hiding inside them with pain and silence. Using simple yet powerful words, the author describes the repeated feelings of loneliness and emotional isolation that runs with him and his whole community. With the help of this narrative, he reflects accounts that strongly resonates with the real-life experiences of queer individuals and hardships of their journey of self-acceptance and embracing their true identity.
By shedding light on his own past, the author aims to represent the voices of countless queer people who are still searching for a safe space to tell their stories.
As a memoir, the book takes a deeper look into the author's whole life journey while growing up in a small town in Kolkata, within a social setting that frequently marginalizes individuals who do not categorized under the gender binaries. The motivation of writing this book is to encourage every person who belongs to LGBTQ community and are being forced to live and suffer in silence, hiding their true identity from the society and parents.
The author shares painful memories from his school years that reflect the struggles faced by many queer children. The author writes in Pg No. 21:
School was its own jungle. Children are cruel, not because they are born that way, but because they learn to protect their own fears by pointing fingers. I was the soft boy. The boy who cried easily. The one who walked with too much swing in his hips…. I became the target before I knew what I had done wrong.
“Chakka”, they'd whisper at first. Then louder. “Shikhandi”, “Ladki”, “Naachnnee Waala”
Remembering the hardships faced earlier in his life, the author also tries to explore the positive side of humanity and the story of surprises that proves that rejections and humiliation was not everywhere, but there was also an acceptance. The book presents a few examples of the support that author received from his students and colleagues while working as a teacher and a hotel manager.
The final six chapters are the most captivating, focusing on the author's bravery and how he faces life's challenges and fought with courage when dealing with difficult situations. The chapters explore why he decided to approach the Supreme Court and how he plans to continue the fight after the verdict, as reflected in the final chapter. The book widely propagates the message on why the law has always mistreated homosexuals and failed to provide them the same basic human rights that heterosexual couples enjoy, and further explore the question as to why they are still being treated as second-class citizens and seen as incomplete in the eyes of law? It was before 2018, their love was considered as crime. Under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, they simply treated as criminals just for being who they are. They were not even allowed to adopt children, could not visit their partners in hospitals, had no rights to inheritance or insurance, and received no legal recognition. Their relationships were not respected, and were denied dignity and basic human rights.[2]
In one of the chapters titled, “The Name on the Petition”[3], the author writes about his first day experience at the Supreme Court and the positive response and support received from various organizations and groups, who believes of themselves being represented in the Supreme Court as a result of the petitioner's strong efforts. It further explains how the petition silently became the voice of every queer individual who always called as unnatural and found no protection in the eyes of law. The book stands as a strong voice for those oppressed LGBTQ people who wish to be recognized and want to raise their voice in public.
Writing this book, the author tries to present before his readers the strong argument in favor of the same-sex marriage to be legally recognized in India. The book further explores the complete account of meeting with his life partner Mr. Abhay Dang with whom he got married in December 2021. The main aim is to ask question from the Indian judges that why can't two men be called husband & husband?
In the final chapter, the author writes about going through a mental and emotional healing after facing the defeat in the Supreme Court. However, it gives them the feeling of proud that taking their fight to the Supreme Court helped in ending the long silence and encouraged the queer community to finally stand up for their rights against discrimination. The effect of filing the petition is that it received wide attention on social media and news channels, which helped in spreading awareness about the laws affecting queer people. Even though the Supreme Court at the end pronounced verdict against them, but they at least got succeeded in speaking the truth and strongly defending their rights in the courtroom.
To justify the main title of the book, the author at Page No. 183 writes about his feelings that all his pain, struggles, and breakthroughs belong to him, and he will not apologize for Surviving Loudly. Therefore, this book act as a letter to hope, resilience, and the power of living– and surviving loudly.
There is no doubt that with this book, Mr. Supriyo Chakraborty is representing thousands of queer people, bringing their life struggles and personal stories to public attention. For law students, this book reflects the more detailed arguments framed by the petitioners in the Supriyo case and highlights upon the important questions in detail that might have not been entertained by the Supreme Court. By sharing real-life experiences, the book offers a deeper understanding of the case law through author's emotional perspective and explains why the court verdict should have to be pronounced in their favor, even though it didn't.