Hotly Contested Debate of Same Sex Union in India

One of the most important cases going on in the Delhi High Court at present is a PIL filed by a group of NGOs fighting for the rights of gays. Their basic plea before the Hon'ble Court is decriminalization of private consensual sex between members of the same sex; It would amount to some amendments in in the much talked about Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code 1860. The contentions advanced by the NGOs is that the sexual orientation of the persons is uncontrollable. One cannot chose or change this sexual orientation. Persons who are attracted to the same-sex have been segregated in the society and looked down upon by the majority of the population since long. Living in a country which spekas of equal protection of civil rights for all citizens of the country and endeavours made to bring the unequals to the equals, they have been given step-motherly treatment and are loathed by the society. In this modern era of globalisation and liberalisation one needs to provide a healthy atmosphere for co-existence of people and thus gays should have equal rights and not be forced to live under a social srigma inviting the wrath from the society.

The counsel for the Union Of India opposed the contentions of the Petitioners on the following grounds: (a) People inclined towards same sex union are such persons who are against the order of nature and efforts should be made to diminish these inclnations. (b) People having same-sex union are under a risk of serious health disorders as men having sex with men would have higher prevalence of HIV, Hepatitis B and C virus, cancer etc. and that the State is not equipped to tackle with these diseases (c) In the larger interest of the society for the healthy co-existence of people this practice of same-sex union should be discarded and not recognised.

The Hon'ble Bench of Judges put a few valid questions before the Union of India: One was that when the Union of India represents the people of the country as a whole and speaks of co-existence of people in the society, then is it justified in discouraging/forcing the section of the society to stop having inclination towards members of the same-sex instead of educating the other members of the society about the existence of such persons in the society? The other question was that whether the Union of India is justified in ignoring the existence of homosexuals, bisexuals in the society which has a considerable population in the country?

The other question put forward was in view of the statement given by NACO which stated that as per their studies the rate of infections among the homosexuals is not so high that cannot be confronted with given the statistical history of such cases?

The case is yet to take over more interesting turns over the next couple of weeks. I shall update on that.

Now with respect to my opinon on these aspects first i would point out about the views in a few religions with respect to the same sex union. Christians and followers of Judaism are of differing views with respect to the same-sex union. Some temr them as against the order of nature and that the Bible strongly despises against such unions. The other half supporting the homosexuals state that the Biblical passages are not applicable to the homosexual relationships as we know them today. Some Conservative Jews reject recognition of same-sex unions as marriage, but permit celebration of commitment ceremonies, in part as an expression their belief that scripture requires monogamy of all sexually active couples.

The first same-sex union in modern history with government recognition was obtained in Denmark in 1989. The recognition of same-sex union was followed by Norway by passing a legislation in the year 1993. Other countries granting legal recognition to the same-sex union are Netherlands, Belgium, South Africa, Spain, Canada. Same-sex union is recognised in a few regions of USA (California being the latest one), Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico.

The countries of Aruba, Israel, France, Netherlands, Antilles, United States(NY) recognize foreign marriages of the same sex.

As per my opinion legal recognition of marriage is based upon the government's interest in encouraging stable, committed relationships. There is no difference in the ability of same-sex and opposite-sex couples to make commitments and care for each other. Some proponents of same-sex marriage stress that they seek equality as opposed to special rights. Quite rightly so, they are entitled to equal rights and equal protection before the law. The arguments that it is against the order of nature and natural law goes for a toss in the light of ancient scriptures depicting the existence of same-sex union in India since medieval times.

Now coming to the Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code which states that all persons having carnal intercourse with any man, woman, or animal against the order of nature is illegal and punishable upto life imprisonment. Some proponents for same-sex union argue that in criminalizing homosexuality in sec. 377, the classification between natural sex and unnatural sex is that those sexual activities that are performed for procreation are natural and those that are not performed for procreation are unnatural. This argument does not hold good as if this were taken to be right then there would have been no need to incorporate Section 375-376 IPC (rape).

However, Section 377 is unconstitutional in the sense that it violates Article 15 of the Constitution Of India which provides prohibition of discrimination on the basis of sex, or gender. Whereas Section 377 discriminates the homosexuals on the basis of their sexuality.

It is also violative of the right to personal life and liberty of an individual as envisaged under Article 21 of the Constitution of India as the homosexuals have the personal liberty to choose their union with the same sex. Article 377 is also discriminatory in nature violating Article 21 of the Consitution which provides equal protection of the people before the law. The fact is that there is a substantial segment of people in India who have sexual orientation towards the same sex and their rights need to be considered at par.

However, as per my opinion Section 377 does not need to be scrapped completely. It just requires an amendment with respect to allowing private consensual sex between members of the same sex. Its time that we opened our eyes to see and accept the dynamic society taking shape and make some more space in the water tight compartment of our traditional values.

T20MANIA

Back into action after a long time!!
Cricket fever is gripping the nation at present...more precisely the IPL fever...this format of the game is really exciting- this 3-hour game is more grasping than a movie. I went to watch the match between Delhi Daredevils vs Kings XI Punjab at Ferozeshah Kotla, Delhi. I was completely enchanted by the electrifying environment out there. Not even a single seat was empty at the stadium. The most interesting thing was that the spectators had a balanced crowd belonging to all age groups which is a rare occasion for any other form of cricket. The whole crowd was so enthusiastic that each spectator used to be on the edge of their seats on each and every ball. With the Mexican Waves formed after each over and regular chants of the batsmen in form, there was hardly any moment of boredom. Even the intermittent rainfall did not dampen the spirit of the audience. During the interruptions due to rain people were singing and dancing merrily. I am fortunate enough to be a part of such an audience.
And yes my favourite team for the tournament is the Mumbai Indians. Hope they go on to win this event...

Close Encounter with "MAN" "KIND"

I was taking a stroll in the market area window-shopping...just to my horror i saw a scooter skidding in the middle of the road. The driver's leg was trapped under the scooter. The groceries which he was carrying fell on the road. A couple of passers-by including me went to his rescue...we first lifted the scooter off his leg and then tried to lift him up...his leg seemed to be badly injured. When I tried to take the scooter off the road in order to avoid any traffic chaos being created over there the injured retaliated in a rather astonishing manner and said " I dont need your help...i can do it on my own..." he shouted at another person who was helping in picking up his groceries and snatched the stuff from him.
His attitude forced the people to leave him alone. I left his scooter in the middle of the road; The other dropped his stuff from where he had picked it up; we left from the spot fuming- no one else came to assist the injured person.
Hope such species are not existing in large numbers.

Just dunno what to do

My mind is not at peace...feeling as if I'm traveling in troubled seas. I am just not able to concentrate in my work. I dont feel relaxed when I try to relax. I lose my temper at the most trivial things. Dunno why, how, from where this gloomy phase has crept into my life.
I just hope it goes away soon.

My First Blog :)

Okie - so here I go... My debut in blogging - I would like to state about one of my encounters in my profession. I along with my friend met with a prospective client who wanted us to handle his plethora of cases against his ex-wife regarding maintenance, custody of children etc. He kept on telling his side of the story how a good husband and father he was but things didn't work out and ultimately his wife obtained a divorce from him through the process of law. All said and done, the bone of contention between the estranged couple till date has been on maintenance. But with regard to the child,the father states that he does not want to hamper his child's future so doesn't want the ill-effects of their relation to fall on the child , hence, he doesn't want to take the child away from the custody of the mother and also doesn't try to meet his child too often also . On the other hand, the mother had stated submitted her grievances before the court that the father is not taking up the custody of the child which he should do so. We somehow managed to refuse to represent him in his case....