June is Gay Pride Month and the celebrations in various countries have just started. This is usually a month that is peppered with celebrations and marches across the world to take pride in your sexuality. This is a huge relief for people who live a closeted life and even for those who are looking to come put in public.
The Gay Pride month has hit a dampener the past 2 years but there have been online versions of the event happening across the internet. The marches and demonstrations are not only intended to be an event where one can be who they are without being judged by their peers but also a social event to meet people who are going through the same things in life.
In India, the celebrations are a little more subdued with only major cities like Mumbai and Bengaluru having open parades. Even in these cities, the parades are more symbolic and not extravagant events like in the USA or Europe.
With the Supreme Court decriminalising homosexuality in 2018, it brought an end to a draconian law set by the British in 1861. The British were appalled by the free-spirited Indian society and passed laws that appealed to their “refined and cultured sensibilities” and branded the progressive Indian society as backward and primitive.
Tearing down Article 377 was one of the most progressive acts of the Supreme Court and we need to credit the government for not opposing it. The cancellation of this law meant that Indian citizens are no longer criminals for “indulging in sexual behaviour against the order of nature.” A gay man or a lesbian has the same rights as any other Indian citizen and their sexual orientation is no longer “illegal”.
All was not smooth after the Supreme Court verdict though. Multiple sections of society were up in arms against this decision as they wrongly believed that it was meant to tear up the very fabric that binds the Indian society together. Some opposed it on religious grounds while others on the grounds of morality. With the government and the courts turning a blind eye to these protests, they have died out over time.
Religious groups like the Muslims and Christians have opposed this rule from day one as it goes against the fundamentals of their religious beliefs and believes that a legal justification can be used by its believers to indulge in these practices.
An upcoming politician from the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh has claimed that the abrogation of Article 377 was an attempt to convert Muslims and Christians back to Hinduism, similar to the whole Ghar Wapsi campaign that had gained steam a few years ago.
Read the full article at: http://thedailyvanilla.com/2021/06/03/muslims-are-a-victim-of-gay-jihad-in-india-claim-up-politician/