INDIA GAYS vs RELIGION
Mumbai,
Friday, July 3, 2009
www.dnaindia.com
epaper.dnaindia.com 9
WE ARE HAPPY, WE ARE NOT
Religion no bar, say gays Highlights of the Delhi high court judgment Gay is bad, chorus
son the right to full person- antithesis of equality. It is the
Section 377
1 ‘Accept as Christ would have accepted’
L Romal M Singh sexual relationships because as a
that considers gay sex among
consenting adults a criminal
hood
A person below 18 years
would not be able to give con-
sent to such sexual acts. Adult
recognition of equality that fos-
ters dignity of every individual
A provision branding one sec-
maulanas, saffron
journalist, a Christian
do not speak as
structured organisation it has believed
in their ‘deviance’. The religion looks
at the institution of marriage with a
rather one-minded approach of pro-
offence is violatative of
fundamental rights
The penal provision will apply
means anyone above 18 years
The verdict decriminalising
homosexual acts between con-
tion of people as criminal
based wholly on states’ moral
disapproval of that class is
against equality guaranteed in
brigade & Church
I an authority on
Christianity but
as a Christian who
creation and since most such suppos-
edly unnatural alliances cannot create
life, they are deemed useless and
even sinful. Several interpretative
to non-consensual penile non-
vaginal sex and penile non-
vaginal sex involving minors
senting adult partners would
not have retrospective effect
Any discrimination on the
the constitution
The provision of section 377
runs counter to constitutional
Deepak Gidwani & Puneet
Nicholas Yadav. LUCKNOW, DELHI
Religious leaders are not
defines his life Section 377 denies a gay per- basis of sexual preference is values pleased with the Delhi high
through his faith. readings of certain passages in the
Bible are often used as the basis for court order. Interestingly this
,
Religion to me is a is one rare issue maulanas,
way of life, and my this biased reasoning.
saffron brigade and the
choices, ethics and Churches will agree that Christianity Church seem to agree on.
beliefs are built is defined as a religion of fellowship, Lucknow’s Naib Imam and
around the core of but they seem to forget that it is a member of the All-India Prakash Sharma,
Christ’s teachings. more importantly defined as a reli- Muslim Personal Law Board national convener,
Christianity, as I have understood it, gion of personal faith. I believe I am (AIMPLB) Maulana Khalid Bajrang Dal
is a religion that teaches you love is at peace with my personal faith Rashid Firangi Mahali quoted
supreme. As long as two people are and my sexuality and hence if the Soorate Houd, verse number 88
“The judgment is
convinced they are in love and are people I fellowship with or the of the Quran, to say those who unfortunate... this is
not negatively affecting anyone else’s church that I worship at have an practised homosexuality in a Congress
existence by being in love, they ought issue with my sexuality, I will not times of Hazrat Houd became
to be allowed to continue in such a think twice to disassociate myself victims of divine wrath.
conspiracy... it
relationship. The faith has always with either. The choice at the end Bajrang Dal’s national con- seems some top
called for acceptance and tolerance, of the day is accepting as Christ vener Prakash Sharma said: Congress leaders are
always preferring the former. would have accepted, or creating “The judgment is unfortu-
nate... this is a Congress con-
gay. We will go to the
The Church has been against homo- rules based on general biases.
spiracy... it seems some top Supreme Court, even
Congress leaders are gay .” take to the streets, if
2 ‘Many Muslim saints were homosexual’ “Homosexuality is an of-
fence under Islam and there are
need be.”
Saleem Kidwai This discrimination is just 100-150
years old but Islam has a older histo-
very few nations that have le-
galised it,” the Maulana elabo- the name of radical thinking
ry. I can quote numerous examples of rated. He termed it unnatural, would be like committing sui-
author of Same Sex
Muslims, including saints and poets, ungodly and against Indian cul- cide. Even medical science has
Love in India, a Muslim
who were venerated even though ture and moral values. “Sanc- proved its harmful impact on
he judgment they supported homosexuality or tioning it should not be tolerat- human civilisation.”
T is historic. It
is the
fruition of the
were gay themselves. Mir Taqi Mir is
one example.
Look at Sarmat Shaheed aka ‘Hare
ed. Legalising homosexuality
would lead to an increase in
sex-related crimes, especially
Maulana Naimuddin, sec-
retary, Islamic Centre of In-
dia, said Islam allowed physi-
struggle of count- sodomy where children would
, cal relationship between man
less unknown who Bhare Shah’ whose grave is at Delhi’s be victims,” he said. and woman only “Rest of the
.
have waited long Jama Masjid. Thousands of Muslims “The Centre is giving un- gair fitri (unnatural) bonds
for this day. In a sense, this makes go there to pay respects though due attention to this non-is- are strictly prohibited.”
our system more democratic. As far Shah’s homosexuality is well-known. sue... there are so many other “This verdict will spoil the
as the contradictions between Islam important things which de- future generations,” Kamal
What I am saying is that this is nor-
and gay rights are concerned, let’s serve the government’s atten- Farooqi, another AIMPLB-
mal and we should have our rights. tion,” the Maulana said. member said.
not mix the two. Sharia is the law of a Whether people accept it as normal
religion, but the law of a secular, Sharma said: “We will fight “Homosexuality is not an ac-
or not is up to them. But there can be this (court order). We will go ceptable behaviour. This can’t
democratic country is a different
no discrimination against us only to the Supreme Court, even be treated as a matter of legal-
thing. This country can’t be run as
per the Sharia. because we are gay. take to the streets, if need be. ity alone, it’s highly immoral,”
If things are left to clerics to decide “The government should Father Babu Joseph, spokesper-
If a Maulana says homosexuality bring an ordinance to ban ho- son for the Catholic Bishop’s
should be banned because Islam says as per the Sharia, then Sania should
mosexuality on one hand, we
... Conference of India, said.
so, I consider this a Talibani demand. not be playing tennis, the entire
are spending crores on AIDS Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev
If I am not forcing anything on any- banking system should be changed
prevention ads and on the said, “The verdict will encour-
one, how can I be defying Islam only and stock markets should close other, we legalise gay sex.” age criminality and sick men-
because I happen to be a Muslim and down. But thankfully that’s not the Mufti Mohammad Abdul tality. This kind of thing is
have a different way of life. way our country is run. Khalik Madarsi, deputy vice- shameful and insulting. We are
chancellor of Dar-ul-Uloom blindly following the West in
3 ‘It is not against Hindu culture’ (Deoband) is alarmed at the
“contemptible move likely to
corrupt the gullible in socie-
everything. This is breaking
the family system in India. Ho-
mosexuals are sick people, they
Harish Iyer, homosexual acts. There are gods we
worship ‘who prefer the company of ty”. He warned the govern- should be sent to hospitals for
men’. ment “not to pander to the treatment. If the government
gay rights activist, a Hindu wishes of the sinful few”. brings this law, I will take to the
Lord Ayyappa is the progeny of Lord Mufti Mohammad Arshad streets of Delhi in protest.”
believe culture, Shiva and Mohini, a nymph who was an Farooqui of the fatwa depart- The Shahi Imam of Delhi’s
I tradition and
religion are
interpretations,
‘avatar’ of Vishnu. Shikhandi in the
Mahabharata is neither a man nor a
woman. Arjun had to disguise himself
as Brihannala, a woman, while in exile.
ment of Dar-ul-Uloom said, “A
joint forum of Hindus, Mus-
lim and Christians should be
Jama Masjid, Ahmed Bukhari,
said, “This is such a dirty issue.
I have decided I will not even
and interpretations set up to check legalisation of speak about it because if I do,
are conditioned by However, all this is not interpreted as homosexuality. In a country it will be an insult to our belief
society. ‘sexually deviant behaviour’ because it with five million HIV-affected, and me. The government can-
makes society uncomfortable. sanctioning homosexuality in not dare to make this legal.”
I too could take it
upon myself to But this too shall pass. Society is con-
stantly changing. To quote a dialogue
‘interpret’ my exis-
tence as god’s that might sound filmy, I would like to Gays, activists welcome landmark judgment
blessing. In a world battling popula- say I don’t think religion can come in
tion explosion, homosexuality could the way of or define love, whether it Ashok Row Kavi, Scott Long, director Susan
be perceived as a tool to fight it. It all is between two men or two women or gay rights campaigner of New York-based Timberlake,
Human Rights Watch’s head of UNAIDS’
depends on how you interpret it. between a man and a woman. human rights and
“I will return to India as Gay rights programme
The fact is, you can twist and turn I’d like to ask people who are dead law team
religion the way you want. And that is against accepting homosexuality as a a free gay man ... free
“This legal remnant
precisely what is happening. reality: Would they prefer gay men from extortion, violence “We think this
of British will set an
I have been ridiculed and slander remaining in closets and getting mar- and blackmail from the
ried? Wouldn’t that result in a bad Wendell Rodericks, Celina Jaitley, actress colonialism has been important
campaigns have been run against me.
fashion designer
police, free from
marriage? used to deprive
People do come up with arguments discrimination and free “It’s great not to be precedence
such as ‘homosexuality is against Many a time we make an issue out of “I feel very proud to be to access all health people of their basic throughout the
criminalised for what you
Hindu culture’. I’d like to ask them to nothing. We (homosexuals) are as
an Indian today.” services.” do in your bedroom.” rights for too long.” world.”
examine the scriptures closely. The natural as anyone else. What’s the
temples at Khajuraho openly depict big deal?
Centre might A life of dignity from now on Home min contradicted health min Inmates happy
New Delhi: The gay community feels the judgment is New Delhi: The home and health ministries took con-
change view progressive and will help gays be accepted for being tradictory stands in the high court. Home wanted at Tihar jail
Anil Anand. NEW DELHI themselves. “The decision marks respect for human section 377 retained as it is invoked in allegations of Yogesh Kumar. NEW DELHI
rights — irrespective of one’s sexual orientation,” child sex abuse or for complementing lacunae in
Even before the high court legalised ho- A bunch of young prisoners in Tihar Jail
mosexuality the Centre had been contem-
, said Anjali Gopalan of the Naz Foundation, the NGO rape laws, not just homosexuality. The ministry said had an unusually-large grin on their faces
plating reviewing its stance vis-a-vis the af- that had filed the PIL in the Delhi high court. the provision is necessary or it would open the when they heard of the landmark judg-
fidavits filed by the ministries of home and ment decriminalising homosexuality .
health before the court in this case. Said Michael Kirby, Australia’s longest serving and floodgates of delinquent behaviour. Believed to be Asia’s biggest prison, Ti-
The possibility of a change in the think- har is overcrowded with over 15,500 pris-
ing of the UPA-II government on the con- openly gay judge,“With this verdict the LGBT will The health ministry said that section 377 hampered oners. Separated from their partners and
tentious issue was reflected in home min- no longer live in fear but stand confident and HIV/AIDS prevention efforts. Naco said the fear of denied conjugal rights, a significant num-
ister P Chidambaram’s implied admission ber of the inmates are homosexual, jail
on Wednesday that the new set of the rul-
proud.” In India, homosexual rights are supported harassment leads to sex being hurried. Since these sources told DNA.
ing coalition government could bring in by Amartya Sen, Vikram Seth, Swami Agnivesh and groups lack a “safe place”, they use public places “There are 11,000 men and 4,500 women
“new thinking” on the subject. He was
responding to whether the Centre would
Soli Sorabjee, among others. and do not have the option of safer sex practices. prisoners. Sex in the jail is consensual,
so authorities never get complaints,” a
stick to its stand of maintaining status senior jail official said. Sources said the
quo on IPC section 377, as conveyed to the over 1,500 inmates aged 18 to 21 years were
Homosexuals can now hope for better healthcare
court through the affidavits. elated with the news. But jail authorities
Chidambaram said PM Manmohan are worried the judgment could result in
Singh had directed him, health minister a surge in homosexual inmates forcing
Ghulam Nabi Azad and law minister themselves on others. “Now, we have to be
Veerappa Moily to sort out the issue. Vineeta Pandey. NEW DELHI Since homosexuality is illegal under lesbians in the country. The highest nected with NACO’s programmes. more sensitive,” another jail official said.
In the previous UPA government the IPC 377, not only the MSMs but many concentration of homosexual men in Among the gays it is the kothis (the Jail authorities blamed “overcrowd-
ministries had concurred to oppose any The National Aids Control Organisa- of our health workers are also arrest- India is in four major states — Maha- receptive partner) who are more at risk ing” for the prevalence of homosexuali-
change in section 377. The home ministry tion (NACO) feels that the Delhi high ed by the police for abetment of crime. rashtra (48,000), Tamil Nadu (30,000), of STDs and HIV/AIDS. Our package ty. Some cells even lodge 20 prisoners.
had justified the section and stated that court verdict on legalising homosexu- As I result a lot of MSMs go under- Delhi (28,000) and Gujarat (26,000). How- on MSM involves behaviour change They share toilets and sleep together.
Indian society could not accept this kind ality will have a far reaching impact on ground and are reluctant to seek med- ever, only 70% of the MSMs have iden- and prevention. Under this the health The jail has roped in several NGOs for
of behaviour. The health ministry had op- its intervention programmes against ical intervention. The HC verdict will tified themselves and are involved with workers provide them condoms, get prisoner welfare and health check-ups.
posed change on the plea that the subject HIV/AIDS. help MSMs come out in open and ac- NACO’s intervention programmes. Of- them tested for HIV/AIDS and help “The prisoners air their queries about sex
should be dealt with in view of the grave “From the public health point of cess healthcare,” said K Sujatha Rao, ficials in NACO said that about 30% of them with access to medical aid. Peer at sessions held by NGOs,” the jail official
danger posed by the spread of AIDS. The view this is a very positive step as it director general of NACO. MSM is a them are still not covered. educators among the MSM communi- said, adding, “But now I think the jail au-
judgment could become an alibi for the will help us reach out more and more medical term used for the gay . “Our programme is based on self ty are also used to generate awareness. thorities must ask the government to in-
Centre to change its views. men having sex with men (MSMs) in According to government estimates, identification. About 70% of the MSMs We hope to expand our programmes to stall a condom vending machine here.”
our endeavour against HIV/AIDS. there are about 25 lakh gays and 1 lakh have identified themselves and are con- 200 now,” said an official.