Thanks SANSAD for your news release of December 15. 2013.

I want to highlight that, in addition to what is going on in India, and elsewhere in South Asia, the local South Asian GLBT community also experiences prejudice, intolerance and ostracism from within (as well as without) the South Asian community in Greater Vancouver.

I hope that we too can reflect on our own levels of acceptance and whether we need to do further work in this regard toward local GLBT South Asians.

I propose that we use this forum to continue the discussion on challenging and overcoming our and South Asian diaspora’s prejudices toward LGBT South Asians as a step toward raising greater awareness of LGBT rights as essential human rights and freedoms.

Randeep Purewall