Bringing homosexuality out of the closet

By Kriti Gupta

Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.”
Section 377, Indian Penal Code

The acts “against the order of nature” according to this definition are anal sex and masturbation. While this law applies to everyone; in practice, it generally implies homosexuality. This renders homosexuals vulnerable and is often used as means for blackmail and extortion. Though efforts are underway to change this law, the case is still pending in the Supreme Court.
This poses a problem as India has a thriving underground gay community. Kinsey Study, the most comprehensive research about sexual orientation, states that ten per cent of men and seven per cent of women between the ages of 16-55 are predominantly homosexual. This community has become more and more vocal, in the recent years. A phenomenon clearly exhibited by the recent gay pride parades held all over the country (like Delhi, Mumbai, and so on)
Jonathan Luther, a 20 something active homosexual man living in Delhi believes that India is suffering from a colonial hangover. “The Britishers introduced this law into the Indian Constitution. India itself has a history of accepting homosexuality. We need to get over this colonial hangover. Bharat chhodo 377!”
While discovering his alternate sexuality, Jonathan had a hard time. Continued on Page 4
“Being a Christian, I had major religious guilt. Christianity had been fed to me ever since I was a little boy. I had to go through five years of misery and torture. Then one day I realized – you cannot turn to God for everything. God is a construct that humanity needs to survive. To explain things that cannot be explained. Back then, I used to cry myself to sleep every night. Now, I have come to terms with who I am.” This is evident, as he is the only person who did not request a name change for this article.
Suhail Agarwal* has a different perspective.
As a Hindu, he did not face the religious guilt that Jonathan had to go through. In fact, he has not been subject to negative reactions from his friends and family. Despite that, he still prefers to stay in the closet. He believes that homosexuality is not a badge to be worn on your shoulder. “If straight guys don’t go around proclaiming that they are heterosexual, why should I have to do it?”
His take on Section 377 is that people need to be sensitized about the issue. Gay bashing still carries on in various parts of the country and vigilantes need to be suppressed. The police needs to be made aware of the problem. While attempting to explain 377, he said, “It kept going back and forth between the High court and Supreme Court. But I’m guessing as everything with the Indian law, the case is still pending.” He further added that if it were to become legal, at least it would no longer be a crime thereby reducing the stigma attached to it.
While on the one hand, Facebook type networking sites like www.guys4men.com ,a rage in India. On the other, there is still an alarmingly large number of cases reported where people kill themselves because they are forced to marry people of the opposite sex. In a study conducted recently, it was found that 45 gay couples committed suicide between 2001-2006. NAZ Foundation Co-ordinator Anuradha Mukherjee says that the figures are higher in reality, “It is hard to estimate the actual figure as families prefer saying that the girl committed suicide due to harassment rather than homosexuality.”
“Repealing 377 would make it easier for homosexuals in the lower classes to assert themselves. People in higher classes are insulated to a large degree. Parents bashing and friends ostracizing is a more prominent phenomenon with the lower classes,” remarks Jonathan. Suhail agrees, “There aren’t enough resources available with the poor to find out or even understand what they are going through.”
Rohit Kakkar*, a typical straight guy, comments on the community and his views on the same – “The class differences causes disparity in every field. So, to single out homosexuality is not justified. While I do not understand it, I know it happens. The best thing to do is to accept it and try and integrate it with society. There should be no judgement on you based on who you like.”
Perhaps the biggest challenge the Indian community faces today is to integrate homosexuality into the Indian society and culture. Hetero-normativity as a social construct is a farce that needs to be shattered. When asked about why he hasn’t come out to his parents, Suhail narrates the time his mother (who has a vague idea about his sexual orientation) said to him warningly, “Different people are not accepted in society. So you should think before you go down an unlikely path.”
Revoking Section 377 would be a step towards that.
* Names have been changed on request.