Anjali Gopalan

Anjali Gopalan is an Indian human rights and animal rights activist. She is the founder and executive director of The Naz Foundation (India) Trust, an NGO initially established to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic in India. Gopalan began working on issues related to HIV/AIDS and marginalized communities in the United States.

In 2012, Time magazine placed Gopalan on its list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Early life
Anjali Gopalan was born on September 1, 1957, in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Her father, Group Captain Dr KR Gopalan, was an officer in the Indian Air Force; her Punjabi mother was a homemaker. Gopalan did her schooling in La Martiniere Lucknow.

She studied in both India and the US and received her degree in political science from Lady Shri Ram College for Women, as well as a postgraduate diploma in journalism and a Masters in International Development from the School of International studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Early work
Gopalan worked with community-based organizations in New York City, helping migrants from Southeast Asia who lacked valid documents. She later started the Naz Foundation to support LGBT adults and children who are HIV positive.

1990s
When Gopalan returned to India, she established Delhi's first HIV clinic in 1994. In the same year, she founded the Naz Foundation (India) Trust, an HIV/AIDS service organization that concentrates on prevention and care. The foundation currently works on promoting the rights of people with marginalized sexual orientations.

2000s
In 2000, Gopalan opened the country's first holistic home for orphaned, vulnerable HIV+ children and women. She trains health professionals and caregivers to treat HIV+ children, both in the home and in foster care.

As an advocate for the sexual health and rights of the LGBT community, Gopalan headed the eight-year legal battle against Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). In 2001, her organization filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) to decriminalize homosexuality and put an end to the law under which individuals were harassed and discriminated against based on their sexual orientation. The Delhi High Court ruled in favor of Naz India in 2009 and declared Section 377 an infringement on individual rights.

In 2001, Gopalan was awarded the Commonwealth Award for her work with marginalized communities. The Chennai-based Manava Seva Dharma Samvardhani presented her with the Sadguru Gnanananda Award in 2003 for her work in supporting those living with HIV/AIDS.

In March 2007, Gopalan was honored as a Woman Achiever by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, along with nine other awardees. On July 29, 2012, Gopalan inaugurated the Alan Turing Rainbow festival and flag of Asia's first genderqueer pride parade as a part of the Turing festival organized by Gopi Shankar Madurai of Srishti Madurai. This was the first gay pride parade attended by Gopalan. Since September 2, 2012, she has served as the advisory head of the committee of Srishti Madurai.

In 2012, Gopalan established an animal sanctuary called "All Creatures Great and Small" at Silakhari, Harayana.

On October 25, 2013, Gopalan was awarded the Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur in the order of the legions of honor, the highest award from France; the award was presented to her by Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, Minister of Women's Rights for France. Gopalan is the first Indian Tamil woman awarded the "Legion of Honour".

In 2014, the Limca Book of Records placed Anjali Gopalan in "People of the Year".

Actor Nutan Surya played the role of Anjali Gopalan in Aligarh released in 2016.

Awards and recognition

 * Received the Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur (2013)
 * Gopalan was named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World (2012)
 * Received the Woman Achiever Award from the Government of India (2007)
 * Received the Commonwealth Award (2001)

Anjali Gopalan Srishti Awards for Social Justice Journalism
The academic committee of Srishti Madurai awards the Anjali Gopalan Srishti Awards for Social Justice Journalism to distinguished social journalists. The first award was received by V. Mayilvaganan and V. Narayanswamy from The Times of India for highlighting issues regarding genderqueer people and Santhi Soundarajan.