THE ABOVE declaration is partly true in practice in our day-to-day life. We have an orthodox mindset by virtue of which we find many things unusual in our surroundings. Yes, I am talking about homosexuality and want my countrymen not to turn a deaf ear to this particular issue.
Chapter XV1, Section 377 of IPC, also known as Anti-Sodomy law, was incorporated into Indian statute by the British parliament in 1860 and it penalises sexual activity “against order of nature”. It states, ‘whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years and shall also be liable to fine’.
Homosexuals have been challenged before the Delhi High Court. Our country has not yet recognized their rights. They are subject to harassment by police because of these laws. A previous government argued that if their rights were recognised, more people could be victimised by them. So, we have a law instead to victimise gays and lesbians. Before coming to my point, let’s have a look into the origin of homosexuality which is ‘not a curable disease’ (as observed by Mayur Suresh, a bespectacled young lawyer).
Homosexuality is a developmental problem which usually occurs because of problems in family relations, particularly between father and son. Because of failure in establishing friendly relations with the father, the son does not fully internalise the male-gender identity and develops homosexuality. This is the most commonly seen clinical model. (Joseph Nicolas’ Reparative Theory of Male Homosexuality, 1991).
In 2001, the journal Archive of Sexual Behaviour published a study entitled ‘comparative date of childhood and adolescence molestation in heterosexual and homosexual persons’. The abstract for this article states the following:
“In research with 942 non-clinical adult participants, gays and lesbians reported a significantly higher rate of childhood molestation than did heterosexual men and women, 46 per cent of the homosexual men in contrast to seven per cent of the heterosexual men reported homosexual molestation. 22 per cent of lesbians in contrast to one per cent of heterosexual women reported homosexual molestation. This research is apparently the first survey that has reported substantial homosexual molestation of girls.”
Thus, we find our society, which ridicules and discriminate homosexuals, liable for the harassment. Some people have come forward to (put forth their) voice against this fully discriminated group. In September 2006, Nobel laureate Amartya Sen and acclaimed writer Vikram Seth came together with scores of other prominent Indians to demand this change in the legal regime. On July 23, 2008, a Bombay High Court judge Bilal Nazki said that India’s unnatural sex law should be reviewed. In August, 2008, Indian Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss expressed his support for legalising homosexuality. The Indian Constitution on the one hand gives right to equality in its fundamental rights; on the other hand it takes away this right from homosexuals by enforcing section 377. This part of our society is not acceptable to us. We see such people with hatred in our eyes. We forget our social behaviour, viz., to treat everyone equally. Homosexuality is considered a taboo subject because of India’s overt emphasis on reproduction. People (heterosexuals) live in fear that if section 377 of IPC is reviewed then chances of rape and pederasty and AIDS will increase.
If our government can make laws against smoking in public places and act strictly on it then why can it not review section 377 and take some astute steps against rape and pederasty? More awareness programmes are required so that precautionary measures could be taken to deter the rate of AIDS. This issue could be tackled by hard and fast action on the part of the government and our moral support will help us contribute towards the uplift of this part of our society.
