“Dr. Amita was a bright young doctor and surgeon working at Father Mueller hospital in the department of general surgery. Over the last several years the hospital and her patients have benefitted from her skill in surgery and knowledge of medicine. In her passing, the hospital has lost a talented doctor and the nation has lost a bright young mind. In the times of grief, the hospital stands firmly with the family.” The morning bulletin of Father Mueller hospital was used to make an official statement on the sudden and untimely death of Dr. Amita the previous night. It was too soon to be speaking about the cause of death but prima facie the death looked unnatural.
Dr. Amita Purohit (maiden name) was a young and talented doctor. She had graduated from top tier university in the UK in the field of general medicine and surgery. Dr. Purohit was a class topper and her Chief was Medicine had written a glowing reference letter for her when she was seeking a job in India. It was mentioned on more than one occasion about the keen bent of mind Dr. Purohit had shown for research in medicine despite being a major in surgery. The Chief had also offered her an on campus job in the research department and a chance to pursue PhD in medicine. Unfortunately, Dr. Purohit had to leave for personal reasons and could not take up the job. In the year 2013, Dr. Purohit returned to India and joined Father Mueller hospital in the capital.
Dr. Anish Agarwal was a graduate of Father Agnel School of medicine and is a trained dermatologist working at Father Mueller hospital serving as a resident doctor in the department of Dermatology. Dr. Agarwal is mild in his manners, has a great rapport with his patients and seniors, and is also easy on the eyes. The entire hospital was invited for his wedding with Dr. Amita Purohit in the January of 2014. They looked so happy, deeply in love that one could not make they had met just weeks ago in an arranged marriage setup by their parents. Being doctors, it seemed a perfect match as they would understand the pressures of the job and cut each other some slack. The match was just too meant to be by logical standards and also by the standards of “religious / caste match making”. The pundit (astrologer) had claimed this was a match made in heaven.
Coming back to present day, the autopsy of Dr. Amita confirmed that she died due to an overdose of sleeping pills possibly ingested by her due to suicidal thoughts. It was hard to fathom what had gone wrong from “happily ever after”, a year ago. Many theories were doing the rounds about possible causes for the suicide and most of them were the usual- mental torture, dowry harassment, possible extra marital affair and so on. However, the people who knew Dr. Anish and the people who worked with him vouched that the doctor was an upright person with good manners, no roving eye or ever a harsh tone with his staff or patients. To be fair, Dr. Anish was visibly shaken with the suicide and was taking it hard upon him. It would be very hard to pin the blame on Dr. Anish for he was genuinely unaware why his wife took this extreme step. After forensic analysis of the house, her belongings and after a thorough analysis of her email accounts and text messages, it was assessed that Dr. Amita committed suicide because her husband Dr. Anish was a homosexual.
From her various email conversations with her friends, it could be gathered that Dr. Anish’s parents were aware of their son’s sexual preference but wanted to cure him of homosexuality. Some family advisor or spiritual guru had advised that a heterosexual marriage along with a diet regiment would cure Dr. Anish of his depravity. The parents were convinced that homosexuality is a disease borne out of western influence and could be easily cured by “babaji’s” blessings. Marriage to Dr. Amita was part of this regiment and over a period of time the parents were happy that they had successfully cured the son. Dr. Amita also wrote of her conversations with her parents and in-laws about the lack of physical intimacy between the couple even after a year of marriage and were always advised that some guys are shy and take some time to develop amorous love. Lack of support from parents and some plain speaking by the husband had convinced Dr. Amita that there was no hope as her husband had different sexual preferences. Dr. Amita tried to file a divorce but was constantly dissuaded by her parents and in-laws, many times blaming her for lacking feminine qualities to entice a man. There was also advice to make “adjustments” as marriage was basically a compromise. All these negatives had taken a toll on her and Dr. Amita, in a weak moment consumed high dosage of sleeping pills to end her misery.
Dr. Amita’s parents and in laws are facing prosecution on charges of abetment of suicide. Dr. Anish has moved to another city as it became difficult living and working in a city after being identified as a gay man and a “wife killer”. We could all take a deep breath and analyze if societal prejudices and lack of empathy towards LGBT preferences are driving people to end lives as it is becoming impossible to live in a hostile society. There is a need to understand LGBT preferences are not mental sickness that needs a cure but is a preference like that of food or clothing. Live and let live should be the learning here. #DownWithArticle377 #HomosexualityIsNotSickness
So long...
Dr. Amita Purohit (maiden name) was a young and talented doctor. She had graduated from top tier university in the UK in the field of general medicine and surgery. Dr. Purohit was a class topper and her Chief was Medicine had written a glowing reference letter for her when she was seeking a job in India. It was mentioned on more than one occasion about the keen bent of mind Dr. Purohit had shown for research in medicine despite being a major in surgery. The Chief had also offered her an on campus job in the research department and a chance to pursue PhD in medicine. Unfortunately, Dr. Purohit had to leave for personal reasons and could not take up the job. In the year 2013, Dr. Purohit returned to India and joined Father Mueller hospital in the capital.
Dr. Anish Agarwal was a graduate of Father Agnel School of medicine and is a trained dermatologist working at Father Mueller hospital serving as a resident doctor in the department of Dermatology. Dr. Agarwal is mild in his manners, has a great rapport with his patients and seniors, and is also easy on the eyes. The entire hospital was invited for his wedding with Dr. Amita Purohit in the January of 2014. They looked so happy, deeply in love that one could not make they had met just weeks ago in an arranged marriage setup by their parents. Being doctors, it seemed a perfect match as they would understand the pressures of the job and cut each other some slack. The match was just too meant to be by logical standards and also by the standards of “religious / caste match making”. The pundit (astrologer) had claimed this was a match made in heaven.
Coming back to present day, the autopsy of Dr. Amita confirmed that she died due to an overdose of sleeping pills possibly ingested by her due to suicidal thoughts. It was hard to fathom what had gone wrong from “happily ever after”, a year ago. Many theories were doing the rounds about possible causes for the suicide and most of them were the usual- mental torture, dowry harassment, possible extra marital affair and so on. However, the people who knew Dr. Anish and the people who worked with him vouched that the doctor was an upright person with good manners, no roving eye or ever a harsh tone with his staff or patients. To be fair, Dr. Anish was visibly shaken with the suicide and was taking it hard upon him. It would be very hard to pin the blame on Dr. Anish for he was genuinely unaware why his wife took this extreme step. After forensic analysis of the house, her belongings and after a thorough analysis of her email accounts and text messages, it was assessed that Dr. Amita committed suicide because her husband Dr. Anish was a homosexual.
From her various email conversations with her friends, it could be gathered that Dr. Anish’s parents were aware of their son’s sexual preference but wanted to cure him of homosexuality. Some family advisor or spiritual guru had advised that a heterosexual marriage along with a diet regiment would cure Dr. Anish of his depravity. The parents were convinced that homosexuality is a disease borne out of western influence and could be easily cured by “babaji’s” blessings. Marriage to Dr. Amita was part of this regiment and over a period of time the parents were happy that they had successfully cured the son. Dr. Amita also wrote of her conversations with her parents and in-laws about the lack of physical intimacy between the couple even after a year of marriage and were always advised that some guys are shy and take some time to develop amorous love. Lack of support from parents and some plain speaking by the husband had convinced Dr. Amita that there was no hope as her husband had different sexual preferences. Dr. Amita tried to file a divorce but was constantly dissuaded by her parents and in-laws, many times blaming her for lacking feminine qualities to entice a man. There was also advice to make “adjustments” as marriage was basically a compromise. All these negatives had taken a toll on her and Dr. Amita, in a weak moment consumed high dosage of sleeping pills to end her misery.
Dr. Amita’s parents and in laws are facing prosecution on charges of abetment of suicide. Dr. Anish has moved to another city as it became difficult living and working in a city after being identified as a gay man and a “wife killer”. We could all take a deep breath and analyze if societal prejudices and lack of empathy towards LGBT preferences are driving people to end lives as it is becoming impossible to live in a hostile society. There is a need to understand LGBT preferences are not mental sickness that needs a cure but is a preference like that of food or clothing. Live and let live should be the learning here. #DownWithArticle377 #HomosexualityIsNotSickness
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