In a historic judgment, the Delhi High Court legalised Homosexuality in India among adults. The amendment in Section 377 will decriminalise gay sex, said the Delhi HC. Gay rights activists across India have hailed the judgment.
They dare to dream... for an identity... for being able to marry and live with those they love... for society to realise that good parenting has nothing to do with sexual orientation... for the workplace to be free of bias and discrimination.
Yet, all these dreams have been stifled. For, fettered by a draconian 140 year old law, Section 377 of the IPC sexual minorities in India, including homosexuals, bisexuals and trans-gender individuals, were actually living a nightmare.. but now there all worries are no more as Section 377 of IPC stands cancelled from today onwards and Homosexuality gets Legal in India.
A bench of Chief Justice Ajit Prakash Shah and Justice S. Muralidhar said that if not amended, section 377 of the IPC would violate Article 21 of the Indian constitution, which states that every citizen has equal opportunity of life and is equal before law. Section 377, a law from the British Raj era, says homosexuality and "unnatural sex" is a criminal act.
Where now Muslim religious and political leaders of Indian Muslims have issued a statement strongly condemning what they called attempts by the Central Government to make homosexuality legal.
There are reports in the media that UPA government is considering repealing Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. Drafted in 1860, Section 377 is also referred to as 'Anti-Sodomy Law' punishes for any un-natural sex between man, woman, and animal.
Muslim leaders in a joint statement said that it not simply a question of repealing an old law but "an attack on the very moral and religious fabric of our society." The leaders argued that all religious communities of India are "unanimous that homosexuality is a sin and a social evil."
The statement endorsed by leaders from Jamaat-e-Islami Hindi, All India Muslim Personal Law Board, All India Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat, Tamilnadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam, Jamiat Ulama-e Hind and others urged the government not to give in to the demands of the "miniscule minority."
Movement for the repeal of the law is led by Naz Foundation, a Delhi based NGO that works in the area of HIV/AIDS and sexual health.
The statement by the prominent Muslim leaders of India warned the the government not to "test the patience of the silent vast majority of the country which abhors such behaviour." Though the statement ends by a compromise and asks for a debate before changing the concerned law.
