(Photo Courtesy: Google)
Right now the whole universe along with India is mesmerized
with the happiness & pride and painted in the colour of Love. Everyone is
now running by taking the pride of scraping section 377 by the Supreme Court in
the past days. Social media and newspapers are filled with conversations and
reports about Section 377. Everyone looks happy, is filled with pride and is
feeling Gay suddenly. But before dancing on any song, we should know its beat,
so that becomes easy for us to shake our legs according to the song beat.
(Photo Courtesy: Youtube)
History has been made and I guess it’s not an illegal or
criminal offense to be Gay in India anymore.
There has been a huge uproar throughout the country with
people supporting the striking down of section 377 of the Indian
Penal Code, 1860 (IPC). When people talk about section 377 of the Indian
Penal Code, people generally think it just criminalises homosexuality (sexual
attraction to the people belonging to the same sex) and violates the rights of
gay people.
This is the section against homosexuality. Chapter XVI,
Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code 1860, criminalises sexual activities
"against the order of nature", arguably including homosexual sexual
activities. This is also known as unnatural offences.
What does the law say?
Section 377 of the Indian Penal code makes carnal
intercourse, or any non-procreative sexual act between a man and a woman
illegal, punishable with up to 10 years in jail and/or a fine.
Though it doesn't apply only to homosexuals, it is widely perceived
as the anti-gay sex law. It only penalises carnal intercourse against the order
of nature. This covers homosexuals and heterosexuals alike.
So until now, you must have some basic and rough idea what
Section 377 is about, and why everyone is painting their happiness by
expressing gratitude and love!
But here is the main question that has been raised. Is really
India changing?
Many people must agree that Yes, finally the Son has risen in
India after a long wait and a historic judgement touches millions of lives.
We’ve been discriminated against for ages. And this is the real Independence
Day for the Queer citizen of this country. The whole country is celebrating and
rejoicing in that celebration of the verdict against Section 377 which criminalised
homosexuality.
Yes, this is the one bright part which shows that finally,
India is stepping into the shoes of modern culture which makes India brighter
and shiner. But what about the other side of the coin? India is changing. But
what about the society? Is society changing? Has society accepted the way of
living of LGBT community? Are they still struggling to face the challenges and
consequences in India while living with normal people like us?
(Photo Source: Hindustan Times)
It’s not only about LGBT community, but also about the Love
of a human being for other humans. LGBT plays a vital role in it since it took
many years to understand the Supreme Court and its judiciary that falling in
love and having a sex with the same gender is not criminal activity now. But
here, we fail to understand that the society or the people who you are living
with are not ready to accept the fact and reality check of falling in love with
the same gender, holding hand of Muslim girl, sharing your soul and life with
your spouse who is way older/younger than you, being the part of family who is
on a way to his/her second life (marriage), accepting his/her kids. Thus,
transgender is still considered as a taboo in India.
We’re still living in that country, where parents are ashamed
of calling their son or daughter gay or lesbian or falling in love with other
castes. It’s struggle for them and the constant feeling that their world could
come to end at any moment. Society has progressed, but many members of our
community hold onto self-hate and shame from an earlier era, with sometimes fatal
consequences.
When people go against these rules made by society, they face
some serious consequences and they have to give up on their love life ultimately.
When it comes to acceptance between different castes and communities and same
the genders then it is like a taboo for most of the people. But it is believed
by various social reformers that in order to remove this barrier of caste and
religion, it is very much necessary that inter-caste love, homosexual,
bisexual, transgender love must take place. Love is regarded not only as a
social institution in India but also as a sacrament.
Somewhere I hear the image of this conversation happening in
society.
"You
must be so proud. You have such a perfect son."
Dad smiling
wide. Mom smiling wide.
They are
calling me perfect. Why do I feel guilty then? Like I am hiding a dirty secret
inside?
Let's face it - our society needs a massive makeover. Today,
homosexuality and queer identities may be acceptable to more Indian youths than
ever before, but within the boundaries of family, home and school, acceptance
of their sexuality and freedom to openly express their gender choices still
remain a constant struggle for LGBT community.
In a society, bound by a rigid mind set of social and
cultural norms that dictate the terms and conditions of education, career, and
marriage, the lack of family support, the intolerance of society and their
disrespect can prove to be a big blow to the mental and physical health of LGBT
people. A queer person has multiple struggles in all aspects of life. The
society and family can make these people’s lives much easier if they don’t add
to these struggles. The fundamental problem is that society has a hard time
accepting the people as sexual beings. So, any talk of sexuality and sexual or
gender identity is foiled and wrapped in shame. This is where the guilt and
confusion begins. If people ask uneasy questions, most people hush and silence
them. The family needs to learn to listen and let their children open up about
difficult issues.
If someone has to live while hiding integral aspects of
themselves, then one is as good as dead and nobody talks about the dead people.
Now India has legalised same sex marriage because we understand the need of
having the freedom to love and the freedom to marry whoever you want. Everyone
has the right to marriage since marriage is all about love and not gender or
caste. We should be allowed the freedom to choose our life partners. For how
long will this chaos go on? When will society take a step to finish off these
evils? This social evil has destroyed many lives and unfortunately, it still
continues. Today these people are unable to live a normal life, just because they
chose to marry for love, outside their caste or same gender.
We have to come closer to bridging the gap between reality
and a truly inclusive society. We will consider this country to be free when
society no longer differentiates in its treatment of people who may be lesbian,
gay, bisexual, transgender or straight.
Yes, India is changing, but somehow society has to come out
of their narrow shell and accept the definition of Love, be it in any form.
Don’t ever be afraid to show off your true colours.
Somehow we’ve won the battle but not war.
This video indeed captures the feeling that Love is!
(Video: Youtube)
