Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code

[CyberPunk]

First thing first, what is this section 377? IPC's (the main criminal code in India) section 377 states. Unnatural offences: Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine. According to this, homosexuality is a punishable offense in India. Why am I bringing this up? Quite a few reasons, but I'll try to narrow it down.

A couple of weeks ago, one of the members of the parliament (equivalent to a senate member of congress in the US, I guess) brought in a bill for decriminalization of homosexuality, in essence doing away with the stated section altogether. The travesty was that his bill was laughed at and wasn't even discussed in the parliament. He had tried bringing this bill for discussion earlier as well, but it was voted down. Members of the parliament are not even ready to discuss the bill properly. In 2008, One of the high courts in India had taken one of the most historic decisions by decriminalizing homosexuality, but the decision was overturned by the Supreme Court in 2013 stating that amending the section should be up to the parliament and not the judiciary. The fact that all the religious leaders of India welcomed this verdict was sickening, calling it against Indian culture.

What happened a couple of weeks ago pissed me off. The biggest problem is people can't even have a proper discussion about it. Whenever this topic comes up for discussion, people change the subject or look the other way. People laugh at the notion of homosexual relationships in this part of the world, still consider it unnatural and it drives me nuts. There's a law which was introduced in 1860 during the British rule of India, and we are stuck with it? And it may seem like a problem of only this country, but it goes beyond it.

Even in a country like the US, hate crimes against the LGBT community happen to this date, but at least the law protects them. What do you do when your lawmakers have outlawed an entire community? Do you think LGBT communities would ever be accepted by the society without any prejudice?

 

[Jack-Hammer]

It's difficult for me to comment with any real degree of authority on Indian culture as, like many, I'm not hugely familiar with it but I can't say that I'm at all surprised by this as there's a strict caste system in operation that has been in practice for thousands of years and has been operating in its current, definitive form, for the better part of the past 1,500 years. While it's a complex and controversial subject, from what I understand, it holds sway over just about every aspect of life. Those who are of the Brahmin caste specialize in the priesthood or teachers. The Kshatriya caste traditionally constitutes the ruling and military elite who's purpose is to protect the society in wartime and to govern during times of peace. Those of the Vaishya cast are traditionally involved in agriculture and breeding cattle, though it's possible for them to, eventually, become money lenders, landowners, involved in trading, etc.. Those of the Shudra caste essentially act as servants to those who're of the other three casts, which are all of a higher social order. Lastly in the social order are the "Untouchables", who are basically considered the dregs of society, outcasts, those who have medial jobs or do the jobs that no one else wants. I guess my point in this miniscule peek into Indian culture is that this is something that seems completely outmoded to most Americans and that if this is the common way things are run in India in 2016, then I'm not at all surprised that homosexuality is viewed as a serious crime.

I might be wrong, believe me I'm not try to come off like some sort of grandiose expert or anything because I'm not, but much of Indian culture is intertwined with religious beliefs, including the caste system and laws. There are many countries, such as those in the Middle East, for example, who's aspects of everyday life regarding conduct, employment, attire and, most especially, laws that are heavily influenced by religious doctrine. Just about every major religion in some way, shape or form condemn homosexuality and India seems to be, at least based on my limited knowledge, a country where religion and government are all but one in the same.

The United States, like every other country and culture, has its faults and it's become quite commonplace and easy to focus on the faults and to sometimes exaggerate them. Compared to much of the rest of the world, the U.S. is quite young and comparatively speaking, our views on various subjects have changed faster than those of much of the world; not faster than everyone else, of course, but things do change. This summer will mark 240 years since the Declaration of Independence and in that time we've gone from a country filled with people who believed that supernatural peril lurked around every corner, a country who believed in the rights of white men to own men of a different skin color as property, etc. to a country where people of any skin color, religious belief, philosophical beliefs and even different sexual orientations can work together, live their lives, get married, etc.. I mean, in the passage of time, 240 years doesn't even count as the blink of an eye. We have our faults and some of our past is so shameful that you can't help but squint at it in disgust when you see it written out on a page, but we are at least moving or trying to move in a direction that can one day allow us to realize our promise and potential.

 

[Navi]

Like JH I'm no expert on Indian culture and have no in depth knowledge of your customs and religious doctrine, which I believe is ingrained into your daily lives.

All I know is what I read, see on TV and hear from friends who are from that part of the world. I do know that you have a system of hierarchy which your born into, and you don't marry or have a relationship outside your class. I have also been told that women for the most part, are basically regarded as second class citizens, and that is true for most middle Eastern countries.

They have to cover their hair and in some places their entire body, so not to entice men, I have also been informed from friends that there are special holidays that are for men only, and women can only attend the festivities if they have a brother or male cousin who is going.

So in a country that is geared more towards the male segment of our society I'm not surprised that homosexuality would be frowned upon and not even openly discussed. And quite honestly I don't think it will ever happen. Believe me I'm not trying to sound racist here, but most of the Middle East is see to be a bit behind the times. Until they catch up with the rest of the world it will always be this way.

 

[CyberPunk]

I understand where both of you are coming from. Yes, the Indian society has a strong caste system, and the social divide was very wide though things have changed in last few years, especially in urban India. However, and this may surprise you, Hindu religion doesn't condemn homosexuality. In fact, compared to west, Hindu religion is more pragmatic. Many ancient Hindu sculptures show homosexuality being rather common in that time. In fact, sex as a taboo is more of a modern phenomena than we tend to believe. From the limited research that I've done on this particular subject, Hindu society was more liberal compared to the west o this matter. It can be argued that the shift in the views regarding homosexuality in India is more of a Christian influence. Unlike church, Hinduism neither promotes, nor condemns homosexuality. Not only that, Hindu mythology has mentions of important transgender characters in holy scriptures who played important part in said mythology.

I am no expert on religion or sociology or history; however, the pseudo-Hindu nationalists who condemn homosexuality have no idea about their own religion's take on the subject. Unfortunately most Indians educated here passed through a Christian orientated educational system which inculcates Anglo-Saxon-Victorian values.