America
US legalises gay marriages: Indian LGBTs voice hope, apprehension
New Delhi, June 27
Those who logged onto
Facebook and Twitter on Saturday were in for a surprise as rainbow
profiles and heart icons dominated the social media. Indian social
media celebrated the US Supreme Court's verdict legalising same-sex
marriages as lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders (LGBTs) also
cheered the move.
However, they also expressed apprehension whether the verdict would translate into any concrete action in India.
Homosexuality
remains illegal in India after Supreme Court upheld Section 377 of the
Indian Penal Code in 2013 and refused to read it down to exclude same
sex relationships between consenting adults, calling the LGBT community
"miniscule".
Gay rights activist Harish Iyer said that the move
will have a ripple effect in the country, adding that the verdict
assumed more significance as US President Barack Obama had lent support
to the gay community.
"Any positive verdict like this will have
an impact everywhere. Legalising marriages will go a long way in the
acceptance of the community," Iyer told IANS.
Iyer's recent
matrimonial advertisement for a groom had generated debate across the
country and raised pertinent questions on rights of the LGBT community
and criminalising homosexuality. His ad was turned down by many
newspapers on the ground that gay marriages were illegal in the
country.
However, there were also voices of dissent in the
community on emulating the pattern of heterosexual marriages. Calling
the US move an agenda for a liberal image, queer activist Rituparna
Borah said that marriage should not be perceived as the ultimate
solution to problem.
"Rights related to property, adoption and
the like should be extended beyond marriage," said Borah. She also
argued that same sex marriages will make queer lives more invisible and
there will be an assimilation of homo-normative couples in the
mainstream.
For Praful Baweja, the US has set the beginning of a
social dialogue in India. Baweja, who runs marketing firm Conneqt, felt
that Obama has sent a clear message to the political machinery by
terming the verdict as one involving human rights rather than gay
rights.
"The inclusiveness versus exclusivity debate is going to
start soon. My feeling is that Section 377 is a British legacy. We
will be able to continue the dialogue in India despite legal status,"
Baweja contended.
For Nitin Karani, a gay blogger and activist,
legal rights which accompany marriages are imperative and the first step
in the direction is removing Section 377 from the statute. Pointing
out that marriage will give couples access to a joint bank account,
medical insurance and more benefits, Karani felt that state should stay
away from licensing marriages.
"I don't think the US legalising
same-sex marriages will have any impact in India. The talk about
marriage doesn't serve any purpose without decriminalising Section
377," Karani told IANS.
Although marriage is not on his mind,
Pallav Patankar, another gay activist, strongly pitched for the
decriminalisation of gay sex. Unlike in the US and Europe, India lacks
the political will and our politicians and bureaucrats are yet to take a
stand on LGBT rights, Patankar said, adding that legal acceptance would
give sanctity to relationships.