India was one of the 43 nations, including Iran and Saudi Arabia, to support a Russian bid to stop the United Nations in providing benefits to its same sex staff in member countries. 80 countries voted against the proposal, and there were 33 abstentions while 37 countries did not vote.

The resolution, thwarted by the fifth committee of the General Assembly, which deals with administrative and budgetary issues, if passed would have affected the lives of 40,000 UN staff posted in various parts of the country. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, a strong advocate of LGBTQ rights, laid out a policy on June 26 last year which extended the benefits and entitlements as per the rules of United Nations to its staff.

India, which prohibits same-sex marriages, voted alongside Bangladesh, China, Eqypt, Iran, Iraq, Malaysia, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Uzbekistan and Zimbabwe, to pass the resolution.

The move, understandably, angered LGBTQ activists in the country. Lawyer Anand Grover, founder of the Lawyer’s Collective and a part of the Naz Foundation, had filed a curative petition on the Supreme Court decision to upheld section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which criminalises homosexuality. He feels that the move is “totally unacceptable”. “This is a very disappointing move, which does not seem to have much thought invested in it. It does not show India in good light, and if the government has directed the office of the permanent representative to vote against the right of the people, it is sad,” said Grover.

Rituparna Borah, queer feminist activist, who is a prominent member of the Delhi Pride Committee, sounded aghast. “What more can we expect from this right-wing facist regime? Every new day comes with the news of the violation of someone’s right; why else will we have bans on beef consumption and the vandalising of churches? This government will only serve the upper class, upper caste rich India. It will not stand for minorities of any colour,” said an emotional Borah.

Grover pointed out that the resolution, if passed, would have affected the lives of transgenders, too. “The government talks of development and does not want to extend it to its own citizens; development should not just be economic, it should be sociological, too. Why else will it side with Russia, which has a despicable record of LGBTQ rights violations,” said Grover.