Sumit Baudh ’self identifies as gay, dalit and buddhist’:

I came out as dalit the very first time at the age of 18, to a room mate at my college hostel. He was surprised and said I don’t look like one. I was momentarily pleased, relieved that I look as good as dominant caste Hindus but it left me wondering what dalits look like. I asked my room mate. Hesitantly he answered, pointing at darker complexion as an identifying characteristic. This wasn’t entirely satisfactory.[..]

Like my dalit identity, I cannot exactly recall at what point I learnt I am queer. I was of course always conscious of my non-conformity with the norms governing gender and sexuality. Yet I believed I would somehow grow into a different adult, an adult who is perfectly compliant with hetero-patriarchal dictates. Far from accurate information about people like myself, I was fed negative and false information like homosexuality is a sin, a disease. It took immense courage to acknowledge who I am, and to adopt a new identity.