Section 377

Published on 16th September, 2018, in The Indian Express. First, they said it was unnatural. Then zoologists revealed that same-sex intercourse is seen in over 500 species of animals. Then they said it was against culture. Then sociologists, anthropologists and literature students revealed over 50 words in Sanskrit, Prakrit and Tamil that referred to non-heteronormative genders and sexualities used in Hindu, Buddhist and Jain literature. They pointed to temple art and rituals that used queer metaphors to explain metaphysical ideas. In Goswami Tulsidas’s Ramcharitmanas, composed 500 years ago in Awadhi, they found couplets spoken where Ram tells Kakabhusandi, “Nar, napunsak, nari, va jiva, chara-char koi; ..

Published on 8th Sep, 2018, in The Economic Times. Will India Inc hire Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, a company today valued at trillion-dollars? Or will the Human Resource Department turn down his application on learning he is openly gay? This is a question that India Inc needs to ask itself in the post-377 era. With Supreme Court of India decimalizing homosexuality in no uncertain terms on 6th September 2018, will companies include ‘sexuality’ as part of their diversity policy? Few show signs of implementing the NALSA judgment of the Supreme Court that recognized transgender as third gender. So theoretically a talent will be turned ..

Published on 7th September, 2018, in Mid-day. Five years ago, on December 11, 2013 - my birthday - I was awaiting happy news that the Supreme Court would endorse that homosexual activity be decriminalised, upholding the judgment of the Delhi High Court. Unfortunately, I got the worst gift of my life. The SC, in a surprisingly immature and shocking order, struck down the Delhi HC judgment. For the first time in my life, I think, I felt my heart break, and I felt loss of faith in the country. I couldn't believe that this had happened; that I had been reduced to a miniscule minority ..

Published on 7th September, 2018, on Quartz India. The following are ideas based on karmic faiths that can be used to affirm the dignity of queer people: 1. There is no concept of judgement day in any karmic faith. God is no judge. There is no such thing as eternal damnation for anyone, which includes queer people. 2. Nature/God is infinite (ananta). Infinity has no boundaries (rekha), no divisions (khanda). It is fluid like a river. It includes the queer. The human mind is finite and limited and so cannot understand everything. We have to accept even that which makes no sense to us, with ..