Decoding Perceptions: Homosexuality and India
'History owes an apology to the LGBTQ' - Indu Malhotra
These words mark a grand legal victory for those who relentlessly strove for equality and respect irrespective of one’s sexuality. But legal appreciation is only the first step towards meaningful redressal. Social integration of the LGBTQ must become a priority for the Indian populace. This article attempts to highlight the journey of the concept of homosexuality in India, question why we continue to reject and disrespect it and to identify areas of the social life of the LGBTQ community that require further legal backing.
Since before the advent of the word ‘sexuality’ in the late 18th century, the topic has been considered a taboo in India. We live in a country where advertisements on TV about AIDS and condoms are hurriedly changed, met with awkward silences and glowering eyes of parents. Given this background, it seems ironically logical that homosexuality is seen as abnormal, obscene and illogical. A homosexual relation is simply a romantic or sexual attraction between members of the same gender. According to different surveys conducted over the last decade, around 7–10% of people of the world have openly identified themselves as homosexuals. This percentage remains almost the same for different countries with minor deflections.
THE GENERAL PERCEPTION OF THE INDIAN SOCIETY
Ideological differences in culture, tradition and faith are often blamed on generation gap or on the influence of western civilisations and are hoped that ‘Cometh the hour, Cometh the man’. But the general perception of homosexuality has only become complex over the years.
Traditional religious narratives such as the Vedas, Mahabharata, Ramayana and Puranas as well as regional folklore contain tales of sex-change, homoerotic encounters, and intersex or third gender characters. Few significant examples include –
1. The union between Lord Shiva and Mohini, an enchantress and the only female incarnation of Lord Vishnu gave birth to a child — Ayyappa. The famous Sabrimala Temple is dedicated to Lord Ayyappa.
2. Homosexual encounter between the two wives of King Dilip after his death manifested a child who grew to become the great king Bhagiratha and brought River Ganges from the heaven to earth.
3. The Kama Sutra compiled around the 4th century has special chapters dedicated to the third sex (tritiya-prakriti). The second part of both Eighth and Ninth chapters give a detailed description.
Interestingly, temples from across time periods of Indian history feature plethora of sculptures and many of them depict sexually explicit encounters among different sexes. The Khajuraho temples, Sun temple at Konark and Modhera, Tripurantaka temple in Karnataka and the Lingaraja temple in Bhubaneswar are among the many famous temples that display a series of erotic homosexual sculptures. This implicitly confirms that the Sanatan Dharma was embraced differences and considered homosexuality to be natural. But perhaps the selectively religious nature of the people led to the adoption of only those virtues which they considered appropriate.
Criminalisation of homosexuality further discouraged people from accepting, practicing and professing the concept. With the advent of Mughals came the mandated set of punishments for Zina (unlawful intercourse). These ranged from 50 lashes for a slave and 100 lashes for a free infidel to death by stoning for a Muslim. The British Raj criminalised sexual activities a“gainst the order of nature”, arguably including homosexual sexual activities, under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which entered into force in 1861.
It was only on 6th September 2018 that a 5-judge constitutional bench of Supreme Court of India read down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code making homosexuality legal in India. But the legal acceptance has not yet struck a popular chord among the Indian populace. Several public figures have issued statements in favour of retaining the Indian Penal Code’s section 377.
Some of the most egregious ones are –
- Yogi Adityanath, now the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh — In December 2013 (when he was a member of parliament) said — ‘Homosexuality is dangerous to social morality. If social norms and boundaries are done away with, then there is not much difference between man and animal…’
- Ghulam Nabi Azad, leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha — In July 2011 (when he was union minister of health and family welfare) said — ‘Unfortunately, this […homosexuality…] disease has come to the world and to our country where a man has sex with another man. This is completely unnatural and should not happen, but it’s happening. In our country, too, the number of men having sex with men is high…’
It is truly ironical that most people prefer to live in a shell and refuse to progress in a century characterised with major technological advancements, globalization and liberal thinking. Even more alarming is that we have democratically elected such people to represent and lead us into the next decade. They influence a large number of people from different communities and such statements inject homophobia into these communities.
WHERE TO NEXT?
Justice Indu Malhotra, a part of the 5-judge constitutional bench of Supreme Court of India that invalidated part of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code said — ‘History owes an apology to the members of the LGBT community and their families for the delay in providing redressal for the “ignominy” and “ostracism” they have faced through the centuries.’ These words will probably remain etched in activists’ minds for years to come, and perhaps even mark their one of their biggest victories.
Legal appreciation, though, is only the first step towards redressal. Next comes the social responsibility to change our existing orthodox perceptions and guarantee the LGBTQ community the respect and the rights they deserve; an environment so supportive that for the people coming out of the closet, the realisation of their sexuality mustn’t become a matter of depression or shame, rather remain a trivial and natural phenomenon. Legal allowance for the LGBTQ to adopt children, get married, and lead a normal family life must follow next.
A nation is judged by the people who live in it and this era urgently demands that we broaden our minds and embark on a journey to a more progressive tomorrow.
