'Will turn you straight': Indian gay man in Canada faces deportation, says he's already receiving homophobic messages on social media

Visual artist Tarun Godara has lost his last appeal to stay in Canada and is facing deportation to India after eight years of residency. In several interviews to Canadian media, he said he fears for his life in India as he has already started receiving homophobic messages on social media telling him that once he's in India, he will be "turned straight".

“I’m receiving a lot of hate and homophobic messages from India on my Instagram, telling me that when I go back, they’ll turn me straight, or just like death threats. These are people responding to news articles about my case," Tarun Godara said to the Toronto Star. The 33-year-old said coming to study at a Canadian college in 2017 was a relief from his closeted life in India. He said he was sexually assaulted by two men in 2013 when he was 19. His work permit did not get renewed in Canada, and his sexual orientation was not a reason not to send him to India as court ruled that "being teased and mocked does not necessarily amount to persecution" and he is safe to be deported to India as he has run out of legal status in Canada after staying therefor seven years. Both of his Godara's parents work for the government in India but Gidara said he had a tormented childhood living in constant fear.

His elder brother convinced his parents to send him to Canada after learning that he was gay. Godara got a three-year postgraduation work permit after his graduation in 2019 and has worked as a cook, server, art instructor and barista to support himself while selling his drawings and paintings through a local gallery and creating public murals with other artists.

Why Godara's work permit was not extended in Canada

It was caught between old rules and new rules. Godara applied to extend his work permit in July 2022, a month after Canada launched a special program to let international students extend their non-renewable permit.

When he applied, he was told that his application would be processed under the new program. But in December 2022, he was told that his application was refused under the old rules. His second application was also rejected as the special program had expired by that time.

Court said he could not prove he was raped in India because of his sexual orientation

“The Applicant did not submit as part of his (pre-removal risk assessment) application that the assailants of the sexual assault targeted the Applicant for the discriminatory reason of him being gay,” wrote Judge Glennys V McVeigh. "Nor was that inference argued or made clear. Therefore, the Officer reasonably found that ‘there is little information and evidence before me to indicate that (the Applicant) was persecuted in India due to his sexuality.

’ ”