One of the most debated topics in many countries is the provision of legal rights to gay and lesbian couples. With America legalizing gay and lesbian marriages a question arises that do human rights differ on the basis of geographical location? Today when people have reached beyond galaxies and stars and planning to start a life on moon are we Indian’s still stuck in the age old paradigm of gay and lesbian rights?

India has an ancient history related to the domain. The ancient scriptures of manusmriti, the oldest code of human conduct in Indian society mentions homosexuality as something to be regulated. Any human engaging in an unnatural sexual act whether with any human of the same sex or an animal was punished accordingly. Women faced a punishment that was more severe as compared to men. On contrary, Kamasutra did permit such homosexual acts under certain castes but not others. Rig Veda symbolizes the sexual acts among women as revelations of feminine world.

Technically speaking, homosexuality is still a crime in the country. Though people of many big cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore have started adjusting to gay and lesbian communities but still it is kept under covers. The situation in smaller towns and cities is still very critical. Politically none of the parties have endorsed the rights of such communities under their agenda till now. An old statute from British era (1860) known as Section 377 of Indian Penal Code criminalizes ‘carnal intercourse against the order of nature.’ Convictions under this act are very rare as a matter of fact there have been no convictions for homosexuality in India during past 20 years. This section now is only applied in cases of rape, bestiality and pedophilia (attraction towards prepubescent or child). IPC continues to hold homosexuality as illegal in books though practically the law is only applied by some people to humiliate, threaten and harass homosexuals. Recently when Canadian Prime Minister visited India, a journalist asked the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh about his views on the recent law passed by Canadian Government that legalized gay marriages. He replied that considering the cultural differences of the two countries such a law would hold no appreciation in India.

Looking from a homosexual individual’s view point there relationships are much more tense. They are challenged from the society and hold no legal rights. Such couples have similar dominance issues like any normal couple would have. However, there is a lack a legal commitment that binds the two individuals together formally known as the ‘wed lock’. These couples do have a high degree of emotional bonding however many of them are under such societal pressure that they ultimately suicide. Since they can not marry they can also not enjoy the rights that a husband or wife would enjoy over each others belongings. They are also limited in matters related to representing their partners in many legal matters. They also go through a lot of insecurity that relates to loss of their partner ultimately leaving them alone to fight the atrocities of society.

From a humanitarian outlook is it not mandatory that such minority groups also receive legal rights for leading a life that is less mentally and socially torturous?

Please read for more insight:

Gay Marriage: The Arguments and the Motives

Same-Sex Marriage: A Selective Bibliography of the Legal Literature