Through Love’s Great Power - A Poem by Vikram Seth

Vikram Seth just sent this to the Times of India. It's a poem on the Supreme Court ruling on Section 377, recriminalizing homosexualilty in India.

Through love’s great power to be made whole
In mind and body, heart and soul –
Through freedom to find joy, or be
By dint of joy itself set free
In love and in companionhood:
This is the true and natural good.

To undo justice, and to seek
To quash the rights that guard the weak –
To sneer at love, and wrench apart
The bonds of body, mind and heart
With specious reason and no rhyme:
This is the true unnatural crime.

Vikram Seth

Forward it to those who matter.

http://krishnakumarv.tumblr.com/post/74921327602/through-loves-great-power-through-loves-great

DNA article

A post from my blog got published in today’s DNA. I’m happy and proud. Here’s the link to the original post.

Mr. Azad–really, really?

I can’t quite believe that Mr. Ghulam Nabi Azad said it. The whole world heard and is making fun of India. And the ministry. The Health Minister said these words “Men having sex with men is a disease!”

Shallow, callous, stupid, archaic, unscientific… I’ll run out of adjectives to describe the statement. I’m ashamed and appalled. I don’t know how I can show my face around.

Strangely, this coincides with my 4th anniversary of meeting Vinokur. Happy anniversary of friendship, Vinokur!

Shame on you AMU and TOI

All of you might have heard, read, analysed, and formed opinion about the shocking news from Aligarh. Aligarh Muslim University's (AMU) Modern Indian Languages Department's Chairman Dr. Shrinivas Ramchandra Siras has been framed by a local TV news channel for having had consensual sex with an adult man (a rickshaw puller). Apart from the fact that he was framed for doing nothing illegal (as the Delhi High Court ruled last year), it's shameful that the unversity has condemned Dr. Siras and his 'actions' and has played along with the sting operation. They have asked Dr. Siras to vacate the campus and have given him a week to do so. Dr. Siras has apparently offered to resign considering that he was close to retirement anyway.

There are so many questions that need to be answered. There are so many things which have been dealt with in the wrong manner. I believe that Dr. Siras shouldn't have offered to resign - instead, he should have filed an FIR for invasion of privacy and defamation. He chose to not do that, perhaps due to some personal reasons that we aren't aware of. I believe it is the responsibility of the rest of the educated society to help Dr. Siras regain his pride.

I happened to know about this scandal a little late - actually, I wasn't even aware until my colleague and gay rights activist SM asked me whether I had seen the article on the frontpage of TOI. I was shocked when I read the news and was even more shocked to see the sensationalistic biased coverage given to the story by TOI. I have a few friends who are working with TOI, and I am perfectly aware that they can't control what comes on the frontpage of a newspaper that seems to have chosen to be joker in the media circus.

Two days later hence however, I am happy to see the story on Hindustan Times about the strong support given to Dr. Siras by the academicia, one of whom is a dear friend of mine. Another story by Indian Express, which seems to uphold the values associated with unbiased news reporting, not only states the facts clearly but voices the opinion of a few sensible gay activists including those of a TOI/ET writer Vikram Doctor.

Please read these articles and help us to protest against the unethical and unjust treatment given to Dr. Siras.

'Now that we are legal, make it illegal to harass us'

This is an article that I wrote for DNA which got published on the Sunday DNA (Mumbai edition, Page 9). Read the text version here.

Here's a JPEG version.

(Thanks to Vinokur for all the help!)

"Don't repeal section 377: Homosexuals"

I was startled to find this headline to an e-mail to the GB mailing list and was even more startled to find out that even the Times of India article that the e-mail was referring to also had the same title. Guts, courage, balls... are the adjectives that came up in my mind for the gay community. Why? Because I thought they were mocking the responses to the earlier story.

But, that's not the case as I found out when I read this.

While the homosexuals in India have welcomed Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss' statement seeking the removal of provisions in Section 377of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) that classifies sex between two men as a criminal offence, they do not want the repeal of the section to protect the boy child from abuse.

I must say that I don't really see the point of the headline. Of course, I know that those who commented on the topic like Nitin didn't have a choice with the headline at least. But, isn't it weird? I mean, we sound like we are actually fighting against what we are fighting for?

On second thoughts, I felt that most people who are interested in this topic would be reading it because of the headline. And those who condemn homosexuality might even realize that we have hearts and souls and we care for others, something which they obviously overlook when they say nasty things about us. What do you think?

(PS: This story doesn't have a single comment until now. On the TOI page that is.)

Why India wouldn't legalize homosexuality

Thanks to our dear friend Fly, I managed to get a juicy topic to post on. This time, I didn’t need to do a lot of thinking. I just needed to copy excerpts from a few of comments which the TOI had got on its website for it’s frontpage story about Dr. Ramadoss’s statement for legalizing homosexuality.

(Statutory warning: The following is dangerously, insanely comical. Please hold on to your seats!

B. N. Singh, Dalmianagar (Bihar): ‘It is an absurd & slap on the face of our Indian old heritage and culture.’ ’

salmantaj (Mumbai): ‘It is very disappointing that TOI is supporting homosexuals. TOI is a respectable newspaper and should maintain its standards. ’

zeena (Kuwait): ‘HOMOSEXUALITY is a sickness of mind can be cured by proper guidance and support.’

Sami Uddin (Kuwait): ‘You are moving back!! ’

Johan (Canada): ‘Why not, with the Indian desire of wanting sons and aborting daughters, make it legal? ’

Irfan (India): ‘Anyone who goes against this natural law will have to face its consequences (AIDS). ’

TSR (Kumbakonam): ‘LET US INDIANS AT LEAST CONTINUE TO BE CIVILIZED HUMAN BEINGS. ’

Rao (Canada): ‘Do not entertain such homosexuality in India. Teach good habits and good civic sense to the upcoming children so that they can become good and productive Indian Citizens. ’

Very Angry Indians (US): ‘HE IS CERTAINLY BRIBED AND BOUGHT OUT BY U.S. THAT HE IS DOING EVERYTHING AMERICAN WAY AGAINST THE NATIONAL INTEREST OF INDIA. HOMOSEXUALITY AND IN INDIA..........? ’

DR. SIDDIQUI (JEDDAH): ‘NEXT THE HOME MINISTRY MAY COME WITH LEGALISING NAXALS AND POLITICAL PARTIES MAY MAKE IT LEGAL TO ACCEPT BRIBES FOR PUBLIC BENEFIT! ’

Chandrasekar Ganesan: ‘So now that HIV epidemic containment is showing improvement he want HIV to spread faster. ’

A very concerned Indian (Hyderabad): ‘Homosexuality is one of the prime reasons for the spread of HIV, and how on earth does Ramdoss think that legalizing this unnatural trait can control the epidemic. I request all the readers to protest against this and save our country from this self-destroying folly.’

Mind you, there were very vocal supporters for the right cause in this hilarious debate. Very commendable, vehement replies! Amongst them, one stood out for sheer logic.

Srinivas (Madra): ‘Friends, please understand that if homosexuality for homosexual people is illegal/unnatural then, heterosexuality for heterosexual people is also illegal/unnatural. Please think scientifically. Homosexuality is not a choice of perversion.’

Make homosexuality legal!

Yesterday evening, I was checking out my e-mail on my phone whilst my band was taking a break from our meeting. I was surprised to see the e-mail from a senior member of GB claiming the above title. I was startled to understand that it was from our Minister of Health Ambani Ramadoss at the International AIDS Conference in Mexico. I was not sure about his stature as a minister and about the impact that it would have.

Today's Times of India has a frontpage story about this. It even has a Times View where the paper confirms ts stand to be supportive of legalization of something which is a basic right for over 10% of population. Indian express has this story and have a poll on their website which is slightly in favor of who say no. Maybe some of you can change that by voting here. DNA has this article and Mumbai mirrors article is not accesible via the web.

Suddenly it seems that another of our dreams is going to come true; something which shouldn't have been a dream, something which is our right, something which has been denied to us for a insanely long time. I feel confident and buoyant. But this isn't all that we require. What about some social empathy? Are these promising signs on the legal side indicators a massive change in the social horizon as well?

It's happening!

I just read about this on the GayBombay yahoo group. A couple of days before, in the Bandra GB Sunday meet, someone jokingly said that the Section 377 was seeing its last days. Maybe it's not a joke anymore. Check out what the Prime Minister of India and a senior minister from the Indian cabinet had to say during a press conference.

"This calls for support for minority communities affected by HIV/AIDS, including homosexuals, and says that legal barriers that prevent services reaching them should go." - Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India

"Section 377 needs to go. This is something we really need to move forward on." - Minister of State Oscar Fernandes

Maybe, just maybe, AV and I can be safely settled in India in the future!