The brutal murder of transgender Anil Sadanandan of Kerala, India

by Rev. Steve Parelli, Bronx, NY, May 11, 2012

Yesterday afternoon (on May 10, 2012) I received the following disturbing email: 

Anil Sadanandan, transgender
of Kerala, India, recently
murdered

I am very upset, sad and shocked…. about the brutal murder of Sweet Maria / Anil Sadanandan (Facebook profile) my friend and queer activist, at his quarters, Kollam. He/She was a vibrant, pleasant, very active and visible person, spreading a lot of positive energy around, approachable to community members of all strata. He was courage enough to express and establish his/her marginalized and stigmatized identity in every walk of life and in every space he traversed. He dared to face the challenges posed by the intolerant society which normally pushes gays, lesbians or any body, who even slightly differs from the main stream, to the limit of committing suicide. He faced such a society holding his head high, living his life fully standing out for the rights of the fellow queer. And he fell victim to that….very shocking. We will miss you dear in all our future fights……

          CHILLA, House No.16/238, Mundakkal,                                           

          Karakulam.P.O.,Thiruvananthapuram,Keralam,India,

                Web: www.anannia.org

                Blog: www.chillaindia.weebly.com
                Email: chillaindia@yahoo.com

Anil Sadanandan, transgender,
looking at Jose Ortiz (on
left)

My husband Jose Ortiz and I (Rev. Steve Parelli) met Anil Sadanandan last summer in Trivundrum, Kerala, India, briefly at a seminar we conducted for Kerala University students.  Anil was at the hall early, before the event. He was smiling, up-beat and talkative.  He offered me his help in organizing the handouts on a table and then  placing them on the the individual chairs in the room.  He talked about himself and the activism in which he was involved.  He was very friendly and easily likable.  The pictures that follow clearly express how winsome he was. 

The individual above (Chilla), who emailed us this sad news, worked with Trivantrum Theological Forum in the translation of the book The Children Are Free.  We met him in 2010 upon our first trip to Kerala.  We sympathize with him upon the loss of his dear transgender friend.   We grieve that there are those in this world who out of whatever fear, misunderstanding, and hate would take the life of an LGBT person.

The three pictures that follow (as well as the above two pictures) - all of Anil Sadanandan, were taken by Steve Parelli on July 18, 2011, Kerala, India: