What makes a queer person safe? Is it support from friends and family? Is it financial security? Is it fame? Madhusudan Sandhu, better known as Mad Sandhu to his over two lakh Instagram followers, had all those things. And yet, he was shot dead by two men on a bike in Amritsar last week. Soon after, a post on gangster Goldy Dhillon’s Facebook claimed responsibility. What was Sandhu’s crime? He had “spoilt” Punjab, just by being himself, by being gay. Dhillon’s post quickly disappeared thereafter. 

The LGBTQIA+ community in India is no stranger to violence. “Our mere existence makes people feel threatened. Being ‘out and proud’ has its own pros and cons,” says Yash, a Delhi-based queer rights advocate. “Being yourself is a basic human need. At the same time, for someone like me, it means risking death.”