Facebook deletes viral photo of gay Sikh man kissing a man
A photograph posted by a gay Sikh man of himself kissing a man has gone viral but not before it was “mistakenly” deleted by Facebook for violating the terms of service.
Kanwar Anit Singh Saini, on Sunday posted the photograph on his DJ and producer Facebook page Sikh Knowledge of himself kissing a man at a protest in Toronto against the reinstatement of Section 377 of India’s Penal Code last week by the Supreme Court.
Almost 1,500 people liked the photograph, which was shared widely, before Facebook informed him that it “violates our terms and policies”, and removed it from the page, and blocked his account for 12 hours.
It has since been reinstated and BuzzFeed reports that a Facebook spokesperson said: “The photo was mistakenly removed and has been reinstated. We apologize for the inconvenience.”
The original caption on the picture read: “Last night my uncle told me if they knew i was gay before 20 they would have killed me. He also said im gay cause i was molested as a kid and im on “the wrong path”…and when was i getting married? …i laughed and hung up. He comes from the same backwards place a whole minority were just recriminalized … F*ck my uncle. F*ck section 377. Im very proud to be illegal in any context. I owe that to my sikhi heritage and my mom. Also, for all the ranting about genocide i hear…i rarely see solidarity. So…f*ck em all. #sikhknowledge #baagi #377 #section377 xoxox. (all sic)”
Since the photo was reinstated, Singh Saini added: “Sikh Knowledge 1, Facebook 0 … they put it back up. AND I STILL THINK FACEBOOK IS A LOSER .Live. Work. F*ck up the game. Times ticking.”
Protests took place across the world on Sunday including one in London against the Indian Supreme Court’s decision to reinstate a ban on gay sex.
LGBT campaigners in India and around the world reacted with shock at the ruling.
