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Loading ...India: Gays are perverse
12.05.2008 8:51am EST
(New Delhi) India’s federal government has told the Delhi High Court that homosexuality is the result of a perverse mind and should not be decriminalized.
In a brief filed this week with the court, the government said that if the country’s sodomy law is overturned it could have a profoundly adverse impact on Indian culture.LGBT rights groups and AIDS outreach organizations told the court last month that the law is anachronistic, impedes civil rights and blocks AIDS groups’ abilities to reach out to gays.
The law against homosexual sex that dates to the British colonial era. The law, which forbids sexual acts “against the order of nature,” carries punishment of up to 10 years in prison.
In its submission to the court, the government said that the court should not interpret India’s Constitution in a way that would force foreign culture on the country.
The government also challenged the court’s right to question the constitutionality of the law.
“The court is not the authority to decide what should be the law or what should not be the law. These are the functions of the Parliament and the will of the Parliament is represented by its members,” the government argued.
“What are the laws and what could be the law should be left to the wisdom of the Parliament. Neither are the courts equipped nor is it the function of the court to decide what the law should be. The courts have only to interpret the law as it is,” the brief said.
Last month during oral arguments before the court the government said the law should be maintained because homosexuality was a disease which was responsible for the spread of AIDS in the country.
“AIDS is already spreading in the country and if gay sex is legalized then people on the streets would start indulging in such practices saying that the High Court has approved of it,” he told the court.
The remark brought a swift reply from the bench.
“Show us one report which says that it is a disease. A [World Health Organization] paper says that it is not a disease but you are describing it as a disease. It is an accepted fact that it is a main vehicle that causes [the AIDS] disease but it is not a disease itself,” demanded Chief Justice AP Shah.
India has an estimated 2.5 million people living with HIV. Even though the country recently has seen a modest drop in new infections the number of infections among men who have sex with men continues to grow.
Still, there are signs that homosexuality is becoming more accepted in India, at least in big cities. In New Delhi, gay and lesbian groups hold biweekly movie screenings and parties, and organizers say attendance is rising. Newspaper editorials have called for revisions to the law, and prominent writers and human rights activists have signed petitions expressing their support.
In June hundreds of people chanted for gay rights marched in three Indian cities – Calcutta, Bangalore and New Delhi – in the largest display of gay pride ever held in India.
A clear example of “internalized colonialism.” Homosexuality was not as widely condemned in India until a foreign power showed up (the Brits) and imposed their laws.
It is forgone conclusion that the high court is leaning towards declaring the sodomy law unconstitutional. The tone of the judges’ questioning throughout this process makes that very clear. This lastest submission is, quite frankly, a pathetic act of desperation to drum up “family values” on the part of a government that probably won’t last long anyhow (due to public outrage over how it has mishandled intelligence leading upto the Mumbai attacks).
RE gay guys spread AIDS
Early in the epidemic, we were arguing tongue in cheek that, if you want to use that logic on which to base your policy, then lesbians should be god’s chosen people.
The incidence of AIDS in lesbians is less than that in the straight population. Clearly, they are superior! 
It is time we began boycotting openly homophobic countries. We can pressure the federal government, state governments, and major institutions to take the same line that they did against South Africa towards the end of the apartheid period.
Recently the Vatican refused to accept the new US representative, because he is gay. Washington’s correct response should have been to say, “Fine, we’ll not send a representative. And you can now recall yours”.
Anyway, why do we have a diplomatic presence in the Vatican? The pope is only the head of the Catholic Church. We do not send a special representative to the British monarch, who happens to be the head of the Anglican communion. Let us put an end to special treatment for the Vatican.
And as for colonialism, let us not forget that the British displaced the Muslims, who were often not native to India. Native Muslims were Hindus, Jains and others who were compelled to convert. As we know, most Muslim countries are homophobic. In India, the rulers were also anti-Hindu, which accounts for the country’s continuing outbursts of ethnic and religious violence.
Quote:>>>“AIDS is already spreading in the country and if gay sex is legalized then people on the streets would start indulging in such practices saying that the High Court has approved of it,” he told the court.>>>>
The reverse is true. So long as gayness is condemned, same-sex encounters will continue to take place anonymously, which creates the desperation and promiscuity it had been known for in societies that condemn it. It’s better for all of society for gays to be encouraged to form committed relationships, sanctioned and supported by the community at large. This is upheld as the thing intended to temper sexual behavior for heterosexuals (it’s called marriage). As you try to marginalize a person out of society, you make him less interested in what how his behavior impacts society. Respect his equal position in society, and, being a fully-fledged member of it, he’ll treat it with more responsibility.
Chris Coleman Said: “It is time we began boycotting openly homophobic countries.”
I agree, though that would mean we should start with the United States.
It’s ridiculous that in this day and age the Indian government is still saying things like “homosexuality is a mental illness” and that it can be “spread” or “promoted”! Come on, guys, the Victorian Era has passed! India is no longer under British Raj!
What is even more outrageous is the fact that not only does modern psychology reject such archaic ideas but even ancient Hindu medical texts such as the “Sushruta Samhita” and the “Caraka Samhita” clearly state that homosexuality is inborn and cannot be changed or contracted. Neither was homosexuality punished in ancient Hindu India as it was deemed a particular nature that certain people were born with.
The Indian government should learn its own Hindu culture and religion!
Those societies that approve and destigmatize gay relationships have the best chance to get HIV/AIDS under control if gay and straight people alike are not afraid to seek help or treatment against AIDS and not afraid to openly organize a positive and compassionate response to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS.
People free to have openly gay relationships also improve the society by being free to contribute worthwhile talents and skills to that society instead of having their energy tied in worry that they must always hide under radar. And engage in furtive encounters fraught with danger and fear and lacking permanence.
The perfect way for HIV/AIDS to take over a society. Those stressful conditions lead to greater tendency of risky sex if there is no sense of a future worth living and striving for.
india with it’s cast system is hardly a good example of fair society.
gay are naturally born gay .e old colonial rule need to come down.
tell me what part of my gay body is unnatural or diseased! i was one year in India for work and had many gay Indian lovers we gays are 10% of the population in every country in the world so get used to see us around .
the 10% is an Alfred Kinsey number. My own belief is that while gays are in every country of the world, they are more like a 4 or 5% in say the USA. With number inflated higher than that if one factors in bisexuals. I’d think that the presence of gays visible as couples say on the weekend would be significantly higher in my area (DC metropolitan area and its Maryland suburbs) than they seem to be at present if they started at 10% before factoring in bisexuals.
So, I have a bit of a problem with the 10% figure. At 10% they’d be practically jumping out of the woodwork and my dating life would it be an almost instant success for sheer numbers of gay men to choose one potential husband from.
One wonders if homosexuality was the result of a perverse mind before the British imposed the notion on India?
And just what aspect of Indian culture does the government think will be adversly impacted if the sodomy law is overturned? It will certainly not be democracy or human rights.
10% in every country is not true. There are 50 million Yorubas, we don’t even have a word for homosexual. The only homosexuals we know, are from the US and Europe. And about India, homosexuals and Transexuals have existed for generations but not as part of the mainstream society, they were looked upon as freeks of nature and were not able to aspire to postions of importance in Royalty, military or religion. So claiming the British were the once who made Homosexuals outcasts in India is a lie.
fx–Sure, gay is a Western invention. Like the oil refinery. Guess Nigeria (and Iran) don’t believe in those either. Jeez…just how do you manage to find a GAY WEBSITE from that mud hut?
India’s HIV explosion has been fueled in large part by long-haul truckers, and by men who don’t use protection. It’s hetero transmission. Indian culture is also EXTREMELY conservative–remember the Richard Gere episode? Bollywood studios have shown no real interest in fighting censors and showing anything beyond a chaste peck on the cheek, or maybe some hand-holding. Go to Toronto or Vancouver and see how quickly that changes once people are out of that culture. Many Indians are intent on denying homosexuality because it requires public acknowledgement of sex.
Well I was feeling sorry for those Mumbai victims and their families, but now not so much. Bomb away.
drewski: How I found a gay website from my mud hut you said’. Well obviously you are too busy deluding yourselves in matters of sex and have not had time to get an education. I lived, worked and traveled in India for 4 years, also in Eastern Europe, the middle east, East AFrica and the US. If you want to talk about having a proper perspective on what is true about homosexuality outside of San Francisco, your ‘gay bars’ and blogsites don’t be so bigoted and close minded. The rest of the world does not run on Political Correctness like the US, we run on reality.