Harish Iyer, also known as "Aham", ''hiyer'' and "Harrish Iyer" (born 16 April 1979) is an Indian equal rights activist. Iyer engages in advocacy for a number of causes, including promoting the rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

) community, children, women, animals, and survivors of

child sexual abuse Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (whet ...

. Harish Iyer was also one of the most vocal proponents of the decriminalization of homosexuality in India. He has engaged in several awareness campaigns about the impact of the decision, and condemned the ruling via media advocacy. He has written articles and letters on the subject and appeared on top national television news shows to highlight the plight of the LGBT community in India in wake of the decision. He was one of the people to move the Indian Supreme Court to decriminalize homosexuality. In June 2018, he filed an Impleadement Application in the 377 case. In August 2018, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) appointed Iyer to the Core Group on LGBTI issues. This is the first group set up to look into concerns and challenges of the community, in a bid to harmonise existing laws with the needs of the community.

Media advocacy

Iyer was featured on Indian movie star

Aamir Khan Mohammed Aamir Hussain Khan (; born 14 March 1965) is an Indian actor, film director and producer who works in Hindi films. Through his career spanning over 30 years, Khan has established himself as one of the most notable actors of Indian ci ...

's talk show ''

Satyamev Jayate Satyameva Jayate (, ) is a part of a ''mantra'' from the Hindu scripture '' Mundaka Upanishad''. Following the independence of India, it was adopted as the national motto of India on 26 January 1950, the day India became a republic. It is inscr ...

'' in an episode on the issue of

. In the show, he gave a frank and detailed account of his horrific experiences of childhood sexual abuse. Prior to ''Satyamev Jayate'', he was seen in the panel of

NDTV New Delhi Television Ltd is an Indian news media company focusing on broadcast and digital news publication. The company is considered to be a legacy brand that pioneered independent news broadcasting in India, and is credited for launching t ...

's popular talk show ''

We the People The Preamble to the United States Constitution, beginning with the words We the People, is a brief introductory statement of the Constitution's fundamental purposes and guiding principles. Courts have referred to it as reliable evidence o ...

'', which is anchored by

Barkha Dutt Barkha Dutt is an Indian television journalist and author. She has been a reporter and news anchor at NDTV and Tiranga TV. She currently runs her own digital news channel called 'MoJo Story'. She is also an opinion columnist with ''The Hindus ...

, and in Richa Anirudh's

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

talk show ''Zindagi Live''. British actor

Stephen Fry Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring ...

elatedly tweeted "You're a hell of a guy!" after interviewing Harish for his

BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

documentary "OUT THERE". In 2016, Iyer and his family starred with

Elliot Page Elliot Page (formerly Ellen Page; born February 21, 1987) is a Canadian actor. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Elliot Page, various accolades, including an Academy Award for Best Actress, Academy Award nomination, tw ...

in his web series ''Gaycation''. In March 2015, Harish wrote a moving eulogy to his dear friend and Kolkata Park Street rape survivor Suzette Jordan after she succumbed to meningoencephalitis. Harish and Suzette had grown close after meeting at the Tehelka THiNK conference in Goa in 2014. Harish's letter raised several questions about the manner in which Suzette's trial was progressing and the indignities that she was subject to in court. He called for greater sensitivity in dealing with rape cases.

Activism

Iyer routinely uses social media (blogs, Facebook and Twitter) to campaign for causes dear to him. He is best known for turning his personal blog as a helpline during the 26/11 Terror Attacks. Iyer later organised an animal aided therapy workshop along with Animal Angels in Mumbai to help citizens recuperate. In 2009, Iyer and

Shobhaa De Shobha De (''née'' Rajadhyaksha, formerly Kilachand; born 7 January 1948) is an Indian novelist and columnist. She is best known for her depiction of socialites and sex in her works of fiction, for which she has been referred to as the "Jackie ...

initiated a campaign called S.I.T.A. (Sensitivity in True Action) Sena campaign to condemn the attack on women in a Bangalore pub by the right wing socio-political group Sri Ram Sene. Through the campaign they urged women to arm themselves with whistles and blow it on eve teasers. In August 2013, when the news of the gang-rape of a young photojournalist was published, in keeping with his quirky protests, Iyer marched on Mumbai's streets wearing bright red lipstick with a placard that read "Don't look at my lipstick. Listen to me". In 2014, he appeared in a PETA ad campaign encouraging consumers to go vegetarian.

In popular culture

His life inspired two films, director

Onir Onir (born Anirban Dhar, 1 May 1969) is an Indian film and TV director, editor, screenwriter and producer. He is best known for his film ''My Brother…Nikhil'', based on the life of Dominic d'Souza, starring Sanjay Suri and Purab Kohli ''it'' ...

's ''

I Am I Am or I'm may refer to: Language and literature * "I Am that I Am", a common English translation of the response God used in the Hebrew Bible when Moses asked for His name ** I am (biblical term), a Christian term used in the Bible * "I Am" (po ...

'' and

Judhajit Bagchi and Ranadeep Bhattacharyya Judhajit Bagchi and Ranadeep Bhattacharyya are Indian film director, producer and screenwriter duo. In 2019 their short film Children of the Soil have won the 66th National Film Awards in Best Audiography. They have directed and produced the film ...

directed ''

Amen Amen ( he, אָמֵן, ; grc, ἀμήν, ; syc, ܐܡܝܢ, ; ar, آمين, ) is an Abrahamic declaration of affirmation which is first found in the Hebrew Bible, and subsequently found in the New Testament. It is used in Jews, Jewish, Christia ...

''. In ''I Am'', Actor

Sanjay Suri Sanjay Suri (born 6 April 1971) is an Indian actor and film producer of Hindi cinema. He made his debut in the film ''Pyaar Mein Kabhi Kabhi (1999)''. He went on to star in many supporting roles, but finally got his big break with ''Jhankaar Be ...

plays Abhimanyu, a child sexual abuse survivor, the character inspired by Harish's life and that of Hyderabad-based fashion designer Ganesh Nallari. In ''Amen'', actor Karan Mehra plays Harry (Harish Iyer), a young man who is confident about his sexuality but still has the ghosts of his childhood memories of sexual abuse haunting him. A book by

Payal Shah Karwa Payal Shah Karwa is an Indian author popular for her book ''The Bad Touch'' Early life Payal Shah Karwa was born in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Payal attended the St Teresa's Convent High School in Santacruz, Mumbai and completed her B.Com from Narsee ...

called ''The Bad Touch'' featuring the biographic account of Iyer has been published. Amazon's Westland has signed up Harish Iyer for his autobiography titled "SON RISE".

Awards and accolades

* Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, an Indian government owned firm, recognised Harish Iyer with the Energising Bharat award in the year 2016 for his work in the field of women's empowerment. The award was handed over by the petroleum minister of India ''

Dharmendra Pradhan Dharmendra Pradhan (; born 26 June 1969) is an Indian politician serving as the Minister of Education and Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship in the Government of India. He has also been the Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas ...

''. *

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

, the British national daily named Iyer in the list of the 100 most influential LGBT people in the world. He is listed at number 71, and was the only Indian national ever in this list. *

Pink Pages ''Pink Pages'' was an Indian LGBT magazine that published online and print issues from 2009 to 2017. Background ''Pink Pages'' was founded by in 2009, with Udayan Dhar as the editor in chief. The magazine was distributed online free of cost and h ...

has named Iyer as one of India's seven most influential gay and lesbian people * Iyer is one of the ten individuals to be awarded the Zindagi Live Awards for his work in creating awareness on child sexual abuse. Harish Iyer has spoken many times at TEDx, an independently organised

TED conference TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "ideas worth spreading". TED was founded by Richard Sau ...

, including TEDxMasala on the topic "What if we had the culture of speaking about sex", then at TEDx Gitam University on the topic "Rising From The Ashes : From Abuse To Hope". and at TEDx XLRI, Jamshedpur. Given his oratory skills and his ability to emote, Iyer finds a mention in the list of fiery motivational speakers in India. Iyer spoke at

Tehelka ''Tehelka'' (Hindi: Sensation) is an Indian news magazine known for its investigative journalism and sting operations. According to the British newspaper ''The Independent'', the ''Tehelka'' was founded by Tarun Tejpal, Aniruddha Bahal and a ...

's THiNK conference for the year 2013. Other prominent speakers at the same event included

Robert De Niro Robert Anthony De Niro Jr. ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor. Known for his collaborations with Martin Scorsese, he is considered to be one of the best actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of various accolades ...

Amitabh Bachchan Amitabh Bachchan (; born as Amitabh Shrivastav; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor, film producer, television host, occasional playback singer and former politician known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the most succe ...

A R Rahman Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967) is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer and songwriter, popular for his works in Indian cinema; predominantly in Tamil and Hindi films, with occasional forays in int ...

Shekhar Kapur Shekhar Kulbhushan Kapur (born 6 December 1945) is an Indian filmmaker and actor. Born into the Anand-Sahni family, Kapur is the recipient of several accolades, including a BAFTA Award, a National Film Award, a National Board of Review Award a ...

Girish Karnad Girish Karnad (19 May 1938 – 10 June 2019) was an Indian actor, film director, Kannada writer, playwright and a Jnanpith awardee, who predominantly worked in South Indian cinema and Bollywood. His rise as a playwright in the 1960s marked the ...

and

Medha Patkar Medha Patkar née Khanolkar (born 1 December 1954) is an Indian social activist and former Politician working on various crucial political and economic issues raised by tribals, dalits, farmers, labourers and women facing injustice in India. She ...

. He is also the recipient of the 2015 Karmaveer Puraskar.

Controversies

Harish catapulted into the spotlight in May 2015 when his mother Padma Iyer placed what may be India's first gay matrimonial advertisement. While many top Indian newspapers refused to carry the advertisement, it was finally carried by MidDay. The ad attracted a lot of controversy for mentioning "Iyer preferred" (

Iyer Iyers (also spelt as Ayyar, Aiyar, Ayer, or Aiyer) are an ethnoreligious community of Tamil-speaking Brahmin, Hindu Brahmins. Most Iyers are followers of the ''Advaita Vedanta, Advaita'' philosophy propounded by Adi Shankara and adhere to the ...

being a caste as well as the activist's last name). Both Harish and Padma received a lot of flak online and were accused of encouraging caste-based discrimination. However, they later clarified that the allegedly objectionable preference was mentioned "in jest" only to show how similar an LGBT matrimonial ad could be to an ad for a heterosexual alliance.

References