The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the LGBTQIA community of Northeast India

The northeast region of India has been an isolated frontier yet strategically very important for the country. This article highlights the plight of the region’s vulnerable LGBTQIA/LGBTQ+ community in the context of the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic. It gives an insight into the lives and struggles of LGBTQ+ persons and makes an attempt to highlight the impact it has had on their lives. Through some exemplary issues, it tries to showcase the level of vulnerabilities the pandemic has created that has only added fuel to the already burning community, that is, the community has been facing a horde of issues such as harassment, discrimination, and humiliation due to structural discrimination/ oppression and constant marginalisation in the society. These are socio-psycho distresses and they have been facing before the pandemic even started. It tries to explore if the challenges faced by the community are different from those faced by other vulnerable groups such as women, children, senior citizens, etc. It finally lays out some policies/suggestions that need to be taken up by the Indian government to protect and support the LGBTQ+ people