Mumbai’s Kranti Maidan saw a gathering of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender activists on August 16, 2008 for a “queer” rights march—the first of its kind to be held in Mumbai. According to media reports, what made this march special was the good number of “straight” supporters who joined in to show their solidarity for the socially ostracized people, in their struggle for acceptance into mainstream society. Apart from some members of the general public, friends and family members of the gay and transgender community and human rights activists like Flavia Agnes and Anand Patwardhan, there was a contingent from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences that marched as an official group with its faculty’s permission. The hopes of those activists who participated in the Queer Azadi March must have soared when the Union Health Minister Dr.Anbumani Ramadoss recently observed that homosexuality would have to be de-criminalized in India in order to facilitate health interventions especially in preventing the potential killer HIV/AIDS.

Concurrently, according to the Union Home Ministry in India, the law enforcement against same gender sex is upheld in view of the Indian social ethos and moral values. Section 377 of Indian Criminal Code brackets homosexuality with bestiality (sex with animals) and pedophilia as an “unnatural” offence that can punish a person with a jail term of up to 10 years. In 2005 the Union Home Ministry in India dismissed a petition to have the law changed, citing examples of other countries in Asia, the Middle East and Africa where homosexuality was considered illegal. While dismissing the petition to repeal the law the Ministry declared,
“Public opinion and the current societal context in India do not favor the deletion of the said offence from the statute book.”

The Central government is currently entangled in the crucial question—to allow or to continue to disallow gay sex. The Delhi High Court last week censured the Central government for speaking in two voices on the issue of same gender sex among consenting adults. The Union Health Ministry has proposed the abolishing of penal provision that can incriminate homosexuals and lesbians, and members of the transgender community because it drives such people underground fearing consequences and hampers health interventions in serious cases like HIV/AIDS. The Health Minister has suggested legalization of homosexuality as a way to help in better treatment of people suffering from AIDS. The Union Home Ministry on the other hand has told the Delhi High Court to ignore Health Minister Ramadoss’ views on allowing the practice and requested the court not to de-criminalize gay sex on moral grounds. Latest news is that Health Minister Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss is piqued by the Union Home Ministry’s observation and is to take up the issue with the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh soon after his return from foreign visit. Guess the Indian public will just have to wait and watch what emerges from this tug-of-war between the Union Home Ministry and Health Ministry in India.