My take on the Supreme Court verdict on Sec 377

Gay sex is a criminal offence - so says Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. This
Supreme Court ruling is viewed as the deceleration of the Indian mindset, putting us
exactly where we were 150 years ago. The prime rationale behind criminalizing
consensual homosexual relations is that such sexual activities are "against the law
of nature". Going by the utilitarian concept, if the sole purpose of sex is procreation,
then any form of intercourse that does not result in reproduction should be branded
as unnatural. By that logic, every Indian indulging in any form of sexual activity for
any reason other than conception should be criminalized. So should be all those
companies producing birth control pills and condoms, as their products eventually
intercept in the natural outcomes of sexual activities. We boast of the worlds
largest constitution. Ironically, the worlds largest constitutions legal framework
antagonizes the very fundamental rights of its citizens. Whether or not the Supreme
Court or the homophobic individuals in our society like it, lesbians, gays, bisexuals
and transgenders are as much the citizens of India as their straight counterparts.
Albeit a minority group, they too are entitled to the rights of equality, liberty,
privacy and dignity. This regressive law not only deprives homosexuals of their
fundamental rights, but also paves way for a life of assault, harassment and shame
in the eyes of the very society which they are a part of. This law grades them as
second-class citizens who cannot lead life the way they want; they must again hide
under the covers of the so-called normalcy, ending up in unhappy marriages or
being laughed at and assaulted for attempting to be themselves. The Supreme
Court, in its contention that the ruling would be a step to curb the spreading of
HIV/AIDS, safely ignores the fact the United Nations intervention programmes in
this matter have been highly successful in the BRIC nations - Brazil and China, and
India too could be an example of such success. Instead, our legal system chose to
make criminals out of consenting adults wishing for a life of freedom irrespective of
their sexual orientation. In the era when technology and network have shrunken the
world into a smaller entity, India becomes a prominent symbol of hypocrisy and
injustice, and the whole world gets to mock at us for this leap into the Dark Ages!