It was close to dawn while waiting to catch a train at the 116th St subway station in New York that I first saw two men openly expressing their attraction. The couple was across the platform, hugged in a tight embrace and was kissing passionately. While their public display didn’t really qualify as such, because there were only a handful of passengers spread across the length of the platform, to me it was an eye-opening, thought-provoking sight.
The homosexual couple was too intense and completely self-engrossed. The men were as carefree and careless as anyone else “ as any straight individual to be precise - in a courtship. While I had always believed that sexuality is personal business, I never really put in much thought to understand the emotional conflicts of those in same-sex relationships. That night, seeing that couple, I felt that it is all but one love: that categorizing relationships based on gender-sexual preferences is perhaps demeaning the mysterious, infinite scope of love.
The men were holding hands, talking animatedly one moment and whispering in each other’s ears the next. Seeing them, I was convinced that if a man loves a man or if a woman loves a woman, their love doesn’t become any less, any more or any different than a “normal” straight love. The passion I saw that night could have put any straight couple to shame.
This memory always comes back whenever any debate regarding Section 377 “ that makes homosexual sex an offence punishable by life imprisonment, or jail up to 10 years and/or a fine. The recent recommendation of the three-judge Bench of Chief Justice of India T.S. Thakur and Justices Anil R. Dave and J.S. Khehar to forward the Section 377 deliberations to a five-judge bench infuses hope in the LGBT community.
Interestingly, Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code is a colonial gift; it was inserted in the constitution in the British Raj. While it decriminalised homosexuality way back, United Kingdom went ahead and approved same-sex marriage in 2014. The Netherlands (in 2001), Belgium (2003), Canada and Spain (in 2005), South Africa (2006), Sweden and Norway (2009) and USA and Ireland (2015) are some of the other countries were same-sex marriages are legal. Countries like Turkey and Albania, with majority Islamic population, are the few that do not criminalise homosexuality. Laws in Sudan, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Yemen punish homosexuality with a death sentence.
In India, with its huge cultural and religious diversity, the gender-identity and sexual preferences debate is admittedly in nascent stages of getting such wide-scale socio-political approval. The issue requires delicate, compassionate and unprejudiced handling to do justice to the lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender minority. Just because their beliefs, mores and actions do not conform to popular societal norms, doesn’t mean these groups can be hounded into a life of secrecy. Author Vikram Seth has openly talked against Section 377. His mother, Justice Leila Seth, who was the first woman judge to preside over Delhi High Court, spoke about the pain and indignation she felt about the law at a talk at Sunaparanta, Goa Centre for Arts in March 2014.
There is hope. Christian clergy, even in India, are portraying a more lenient stand. Pope Francis did something unprecedented when he said, “If someone is gay and searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?” when asked about gay priests in July 2013. In contrast, Islamic and Hindu religious leaders have been far less forthcoming in acknowledging the LGBT community.
There are many arguments used to reject homosexuality. The most common argument promoted by naysayers is that same-sex is unnatural because it does not lead to procreation. Well, for starters, life itself would most certainly become unbearable if its sole aim was procreation. Second, ability to procreate must not become a marker for determining the “natural” quotient. There are many heterosexual couples who cannot “ or who choose not to “ have kids and they live happy and fulfilling lives to the best of their capabilities. So can the homosexuals. Third, homosexuality is not limited to humans and there are evidences of it elsewhere in nature. Studies have found homosexual behavior in penguins, ostriches, flamingos, sheep, dolphins, orangutans and Japanese macaques to name a few.
Listing birds and bees in support of homosexuality seems silly, but with the kind of random and inflexible opposition that the LGBT minority mainly faces, every bit counts. It is saddening that a matter of personal choice, privacy and dignity is dragged on a national platform and individuals are forced to furnish “ or contest “ scientific evidence. Forcing any individual to prove the sincerity of their feelings is base. What are the criteria to determine “acceptable love” anyway and who decides these?
In the end, I leave with another rather audaciously hopeful memory. It was the convocation day at Columbia University and a classmate made quite a picture when he walked up to collect his degree. Highly humourous, talented on the piano, a wizard with video production and editing, he was also openly gay. When his name was called out, he came dancing up the aisle, and took the stage waving a huge rainbow flag over his head. He was from Russia that also has repressive laws against homosexuality.
Gauri Gharpure studied journalism at Columbia University, New York, on a Fulbright grant. She is the coordinator of the mass media department at Don Bosco College, Panaji and makes paper jewellery on the side. She tweets at @gaurigharpure
