Indian Youth’s take on homosexuality and article 377 in India.
It is only in recent years that some people, especially the youths, are blatantly coming forward to vociferously for speaking on the topics of Homosexuality and Article 377 in India. Otherwise, what to talk about the rights of homosexuals, they have not only been subjected to utter public ignominy and ostracization but have been also categorised as the persons with disease and hormonal disorder.
Despite many socio-economic reforms since independence, India still continues to be a conservative society in multiple aspects where sex and sexuality are still considered a taboo. Section 377 of IPC, which criminalises homosexuality, is a colonial archaic law introduced British. Even the British have done away with this law in their own country decades ago, yet we haven’t been able to strike it down due to the protest of the religious bodies and the ones who deem homosexuality as a criminal offence.
There are people who consider every text of scriptures, written aeons ago, as gospel truth. And, if you question their claims and ask them for any logic or evidence for justification, they would always come up with only one argument that their religion doesn’t sanction the homosexual activities, hence it is a crime and completely condemnable.
What they don’t try to understand is that it is the nature of the evolution of human civilization that certain customs and norms, which could be very much relevant and opposite at times of their inception, but have now become obsolete and redundant, need to be inevitably terminated with the passage of time to make the fabric of society more adaptable, inclusive, and progressive so that it can mete out the requirements of the present day people and ensure them a life full of respect and self-dignity.
It is quite disheartening that we as a nation criminalising the homosexuality and looking down upon the homosexuals make a small yet significant chunk of our population feel ashamed of their sexual orientation and preference, over which they don’t have any control.
We make them feel a lesser human being, which they aren’t. And, the time has come when we need to understand and concede the fact that this is the way they are born, they didn’t choose to be one. It’s just the difference in the sexual orientation, else they are as human, wise and sensible as heterosexuals. They are best selling authors, successful entrepreneurs, charismatic leaders, popular actors and directors, and what not. There are many such instances of homosexuals clinging the ladder of success in various fields and thus contributing to the nation-building in a way more capacity than that of those heterosexuals who look down upon them and trivialise their existence.
If we put ourselves into the shoes of the homosexuals for a while, then we can realize how much of physical, mental and emotional agony, distress and torture they have to undergo (or we make them undergo) on day to day basis in some way or other, which they don’t deserve.
They deserve a life without any social stigma, a life with freedom to love and marry the person they want to, and a life with dignity wherein they don’t have to suppress and hide their sexual desires and feel ashamed of their identity, rather they could feel pride in and enjoy the way they are.
Currently, I am pursuing B.A(H) Political science from Satyawati College, Delhi University.
I like public speaking, writing and reading in my leisure.
