After 62 years of wilful ignorance, the Indian Government has finally seen the light. Delhi High Court today finally struck down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which criminalizes gay sex. This ruling today came after years of campaigning, parades and lobbying from intellectuals.
Section 377 was written in 1877, during the British Raj, and was representative of the prudish Victorian mores of the age. The gay population of the capital overflowed onto the streets today, as the historic decision came after years of ostracism and victimisation for them. Overcoming the social taboo is quite another thing, but this is a brilliant start. Gay rights activist Lesley Ashley said on NDTV today, "When I grew up, it seemed to me that I was the only (gay) person." She added, "Today, our nation has taken a huge step to being more of a liberal democracy."
As expected, religious spokespersons from all around the country have reacted strongly against this ruling. The Deoband School of Islam has been quick to declare that homosexuality is a sin and is "against the tenets of any religion, not just Islam." (note the sudden solidarity with other religions here..... lesser evil and all that, I guess.) Spokespersons from the Catholic Church have found the decision to be "shocking and disappointing." They said that "Indian society" would face the repurcusions of the decisions soon.
This confidence of the Catholic Church in "Indian society" and its inevitable rejection of today's ruling is interesting, given that the Church itself has come under fire recently over sordid tales of rampant sexual abuse and corruption.
6 comments:
Very rightly pointed out that all religious leaders have come together on this issue. This is a positive step as the government has no business of knowing what is going on in the bedroom's of people. Hopefully the violent protests that have been promised by not only the Deoband seminary but also various church groups will not force the government to come out with another 'Shah Bano' in this case.
If I could I would ban religions of any kind.
@Kaber: :) Surely you don't mean that, my friend. Religion might be the opiate of the masses.... but it os also an exceptionally powerful rallying point, and the life-blood for billions of people around the world..
the thing is.....when the court has said that....article 377 is not as per our constitution....its just the arrow mark for the road ahead.its not just the only step..,the govt has to pass a law regarding it,and considering the situation of todays politics,its not hard to think that the parliament might amend some rules against it.,besides if someones takes it to the supreme court it may be overruled...,
dude here comes baba ramdev challenging the decision of delhi high court at supreme court....on the basis that right to equality as stated by the constitutions article 21 and 15...is not applicable for this matter as...its based on a issue of morality....natikta in baba ramdev terms...he is also citing the surveys in the west...which have shown that..gay relationships are not good for health
Baba Ramdev has also said that praanayaam can "cure" homosexuality.. :) He has gone beyond the point where people can take him seriously...
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