Tags:
Journalism of Courage
The government has just spoken for all of us. It has argued before the Delhi high court that homosexuality cannot be legitimised in India because 8220;Indian society is intolerant to the practice of homosexuality/lesbianism8221;. It has also reiterated the need for Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code IPC that punishes such behaviour. There are at least four important reasons why we must reject, out of hand, this outrage expressed on our behalf.
First, it does not stand the test of history. As an erudite work on the subject, Same Sex Love in India, has pointed out, 8220;at most times and places in pre-19th century India, love between women and between men, even when disapproved of, was not actively persecuted8221;. So why is the government so anxious to prove that it is even more medieval in its attitudes than the medieval rulers of this land? Secondly, such a stance goes contrary to significant changes in social attitudes toward gay practices and rights the world over. In June, the US supreme court struck down Texas8217;s anti-sodomy law, which had criminalised sexual practices between same-sex couples. Also in Canada around the same time, two provinces 8212; British Columbia and Ontario 8212; have ratified same-sex marriages and the federal government has come up with a proposed law that would legalise such marriages across the country. In Britain, homosexual couples will soon be offered a civil partnership, conferring upon them the same legal rights as that of heterosexual couples. Third, the government8217;s position will only drive the practice underground with seriously negative consequences in an age when HIV/AIDS is set to assume pandemic proportions. Finally, this attempt to 8220;nanny8221; the people and control adult behaviour, goes against the grain of the libertarianism that is an essential part of Indian democracy.
