Petition to Decriminalize Homosexuality.

Gay sex illegal : The fight continues.   The Supreme Court has set aside a Delhi High Court order which had decriminalised gay sex. The top court today said that the Delhi High Court’s 2009 order decriminalising homosexuality is constitutionally unsustainable. The question remains – Isn’t the verdict against basic human rights ?    In ancient India same sex marriages were quite common.However , the British colonial administration had criminalised gay sex terming it as ‘ carnal intercourse against the order of nature’ . While UK has done away with the law giving legality to same-sex marriage , we still haven’t moved ahead.    It was in the years preceding the historic 2009 Delhi High Court’s order that prominent personalities like Amartya Sen and leaders like Dr.Manmohan Singh and Oscar Fernandes had called upon people to have toleration for LGBT people. Eminent historian Ramchandra Guha has termed the recent judgement as a step backwards towards barbarism and medievalism. Jeffrey O’Malley, director of the United Nations Development Programme on HIV/AIDS , had argued in 2008 that decriminalising homosexuality would help India to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS. India has an estimated 2.5 million people living with the virus.   The onus now is on the Parliament to legislate on homosexuality and repeal Article 377. The movement to repeal Section 377 was led by the Naz Foundation (India) Trust, a non-governmental organization, which filed a lawsuit in the Delhi High Court in 2001, seeking legalisation of homosexual intercourse between consenting adults. After today’s judgement conviction carries a fine and a maximum 10-year jail sentence.   Activists say their fight will continue against the colonial mindset prevalent in the country. Coming days will be very crucial as the government will have to take a decision on this matter , a matter that is seen as a fight between ‘Culture’ and a ‘Modern approach’. It is the orthodox religious groups who have been continously averse to a broader approach to this issue , outrightly denying the rights and ostracising members who indulge in gay sex or same-sex marriage.   Now, the fight for this basic human right to chose one’s partner will continue with an escalated determination.

It is time that our country move past these old outdated notions about sexual orientation and what is natural or itsn't, we are living in the 21st century and by no means will we provide comical fodder for the historians of the next century. It's time to open up our minds and accept, not tolerate , but accept.