NEW DELHI: For the first time in the Indian political history, the most marginalized group of diverse SOGIESC community (persons born/living with diverse sexual orientation, gender identity & expression and sex characteristics) members are invited to witness the swearing-in ceremony of PM Narendra Modi.
Intersex activist Gopi Shankar Madurai along with other senior activists and members from diverse SOGIESC communities have been invited to attend the his swearing-in ceremony. The Modi led NDA government earlier appointed Gopi Shankar Madurai as the first intersex statutory authority with the Government of India.
The oath-taking ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi took place on June 9, Sunday around 7:15 pm, at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The premises have been closed to the public from June 5 to June 9 in preparation for the event.
Over 8000 dignitaries are expected to be present for the ceremony. Foreign leaders from various countries have accepted invitations to attend, with plans to arrive in New Delhi on Sunday.
Following the ceremony, the dignitaries will be attending a formal banquet hosted by President Droupadi Murmu at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Talking to The New Indian Express, Gopi said that he was very happy and excited to be invited to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Modi.
"I feel great; I feel delighted to be a part of the historical event. I really have no words to describe it. So far no PM, after independence has invited an Intersex person like me to attend an swearing-in ceremony. This is for the first time, history will be made. I feel blessed; I also feel blessed to have Modi as PM of India," said Gopi.
"We hope during this tenure Modi will recognize the existence of Intersex persons in India and include them in census by regulating the medical interventions on intersex infants in India," he added.
Intersex persons are not yet officially part of the census of India. 'Intersex' is a general term used for a variety of situations in which a person is born with reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn’t fit the boxes of “female” or “male.” Sometimes doctors do surgeries on intersex babies and children to make their bodies fit binary ideas of “male” or “female”.
