Some Just Enjoy the Rickshaw Ride

Dr. Shrinivas Ramchandra Siras was just your regular professor sort of guy, who (like anyone else) liked a little something-something on the side. Some of his students did not seem to stomach their professor's dalliances too well and set him up to be captured on tape having sex with a male rickshaw-puller. Professor Siras' situation is complicated by the fact that he teaches at Aligarh Muslim University, an all womens', Islam influenced college.

The school deems the mishap a "scandal that no institution of repute can overlook." Siras, who was on the verge of retirement, has since been suspended from the university. However, we at Queeristan are curious about what particularly defines this as a scandal-worthy.

- professor sex scandal (+1)

- older indian dude caught having sex (-2)

- pre-martial sex in India (+3)

- caught with a guy (+10)

- caught with a rickshaw-walla (+17)

- threat of an MSM professor at a womens' college (-5)

- above at a Muslim women's college in India (+12)

- sex act recorded by media who broke into his house (+43)

total: 79

Let's be honest, the "anal sex" factor only plays a supporting role in this scandalous/intriguing story. We seriously question the ethics of Aligarh's media news, there is so much going on that we cannot separate the absurdity from fact. Regardless, we hope that Siras can now enjoy his afternoon delights in peace.

Decriminalisation of Homosexuality in India's Capital? Say Wha?!

Links:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090702/ap_on_re_as/as_india_gay_rights

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-8645.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8129836.stm

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2009/0702/breaking29.htm

Slowly but surely, times are a-changin'.

Just hope that we won't have to wait 466 years..

"NEW DELHI (AP) — The High Court in New Delhi is so behind in its work that it could take up to 466 years to clear the enormous backlog, the court's chief justice said in a damning report that illustrates the decrepitude of India's judicial system.

The Delhi High Court races through each case in an average of four minutes and 55 seconds but still has tens of thousands of cases pending, including upward of 600 that are more than 20 years old, according to the report.

The problems of the Delhi High Court, which hears civil, criminal, and constitutional cases, is more the standard than the exception in India. The country's creaky judicial system has long been plagued by corruption, inefficiency and lack of accountability, often making the rule of law unattainable for all but the wealthy and the well-connected.

The United Nations Development Program says some 20 million legal cases are pending in India.

"It's a completely collapsed system," said Prashant Bhushan, a well-known lawyer in New Delhi. "This country only lives under the illusion that there is a judicial system." "

Indian Court is 466 years behind schedule

For Queer Dummies: Section 377 Ruling

"In order to understand where we are now, how the Indian population will respond to the debate and what future prospectives exist, [Pura. A queer invader] has asked Vikram Doctor [a journalist of The Economic Times and gay rights activist] to answer the following questions and he has kindly responded by email.

1. Vikram, when should we expect the verdict of the High Court?

Any day now. We don’t know for sure because the High Court will only let us know the day before that they are posting a decision. So it depends on how long the judges take to do their decision. The arguments have been thorough, this is quite a high profile case and the judges are known to be independent and conscientious, so a decision should be due soon. But we don’t know when.

2. If it is positive and welcomes the requests of the associations what effects will it have?

Strictly speaking the decision, whatever it is, will be a limited one - it will be limited to the state of Delhi, and will probably also be limited in time too, because it will almost definitely be appealed to the Supreme Court for a final decision. If it is positive then our opponents who include an AIDS denial group and a right wing nationalist, possibly supported by India’s Home Ministry, will almost definitely appeal it to the Supreme Court, which could apply a stay order. If it is negative, the queer rights groups could appeal it (but we haven’t really got a firm strategy for this yet).

But this is technical. If we win it will be a really big symbolic win, because it will be the first time a really high court in India is pronouncing on the subject of homosexuality. Also, among the High Courts in India, the decisions of the Delhi, Bombay and Chennai High Courts are often given particular importance because they are particularly well respected courts. The decision will probably not be binding on other courts, but it will send a strong signal to the legal community on the direction that queer rights in India should take.

We already have evidence of how this case is affecting the law, even before it is decided. About a year or two ago, a young British man called Desmond Hope was accused of violating this law in Goa. The High Court of Goa gave him bail on the grounds that the fact that this case was being fought showed that attitudes towards homosexuality are changing in India.

3. Will the crime of homosexuality as stated in article 377 be abolished in all of India?

As I stated, no. The decision will be limited to Delhi, but its effect will be felt across India. Also, I should make it clear we are not asking for Section 377 to go, but are only asking for a very narrow change - we are asking to courts to declare that it does not apply to consenting adults. This is because the law still has use in cases of child sex abuse and male rape. Ideally there should be a new law to deal with these, but in its absence we hope the courts will use their power to exclude consenting adults from this law.

4. How do you think the majority of the Indian population feels about lgbt people’s civil rights?

I don’t think the majority of India’s population feels anything about LGBT people, positive or negative. I think there is less overt homophobia here that in Europe and certainly the US, though that doesn’t necessarily translate into automatic acceptance.

Part of the homophobia is simply due to less visibility and understanding of homosexuality - so once that increases, there will be more homophobia. There is awareness of forms of alternate sexuality that have long been part of Indian society, like the hijra community. There is acceptance of this, but it comes with very definite prejudices some of which are extended to the gay community.

In some cases we have leapfrogged a bit, so elite groups, for example, like those in Bollywood or the media, are often gay friendly because they’ve picked it up from abroad. But its a form of acceptance that comes with its own stereotypes that can be a problem. Also, there is a general fear of people being too open - you often hear parents telling their kids that they are OK with them being gay, but they don’t want them to march on the streets for it.

I think there is some truth in that Indian society tends to be fairly tolerant, though its easy to make too much of this. But homophobia in its formalized form is a Western imposition on Indian society in the form of Section 377, and I do think, optimistically, that once it goes, progress in India will be rapid.

5. For us Europeans it is difficult to understand Indian society: multi-ethnic, multi-religious, secular and democratic. They seem like unexplainable paradoxes. In what way will the quality of life improve for lgbt people in India?

But “multi-ethnic, multi-religious, secular and democratic” is a pretty good description of Europe itself, in its totality. India is easily understood in such terms - all you need to do is substitute a bureaucracy in Brussels for a bureaucracy in Delhi (we just don’t have a revolving Presidency!). So to extend the analogy a bit, life will definitely improve for people in some places, not as much for people in other places (Poland!) and be mediated by local cultural factors. There will be an overall improvement, but probably not as fast and as clear cut as journalists and activists would like. "

Read the rest of the Interview at Puta. A queer invader

Weekly Mix Masala

Looks like New York's Senator replacement for Hillary Clinton is not too gay friendly
The Daily Dish

A new way for doctors to identify if someone is suffering from domestic violence by the pattern of fractures around the face
Jezebel

Facebook as political activism? Hello, we were totally on top of this trend circa 2006 (go check out our facebook group, Queer and Trans Desis (South Asians))
Jezebel

Iran has sentenced two internationally renowned Irani AIDS physicians to six and three years of prision for their plot to overthrow Iran’s Islamic regime. Sounds like some shady governing to me.
365gay.com

Eunuchs in da house! Eunuchs in India seek quota in jobs, government.
NDTV.com

In US schools, gays of color are at the highest risk for violence
365gay.com

At a photography session with Prince Mavendra Singh Gohil
asianwindow.com

New cases registered under section IPC 377:
Man booked under 377 for sexually assaulting an under-aged girl
Times of India

Teenaged boy says cop in uniform sodomized him for refusing to get liqour
Indian Express

And my personal favorite...
Murdered homosexual man posthumorously booked under 377 because he allegedly came on to the man that murdered him. How the hell is he supposed to defend himself if the only witness to his crime was his murderer? Does this not prove that Section 377 needs to change??
Express India

Weekly Mix Masala

Nepal signs onto UN's 1st Gay Rights Statement -- America remains disturbingly silent.
The Advocate
Pink News

Pro IPC 377 government: Gays, not lack of education, should be blamed for HIV
Times of India

Trans in Trinidad, an interview with Jenny Jagdeo.
Jamaican Forum for Lesbians, Allsexuals, and Gays (JFLAG)

Gay Westerners travel to India in search for surrogate mothers.
Times of India

2nd Edition of Vanita's Same Sex Love in India released -- desi queer message more applicable than ever
Wall Street Journal

Mayor of Pune lends an ear to trans woes
Times of India

John Abraham speaks again on Dostana and shockingly reveals large gay populations in San Francisco, LA, and Miami!
But sadly, he misses the mark on gays:

“This is an option people have chosen for themselves or are born with; we should respect that.”

Times of India

An Intimate look at the Lawyers fighting against Section 377

"It makes no sense. Corporate lawyers in India are paid upward of Rs 12 lakh a year; American law salaries (even post-Lehman) are close to a crore. And these are just starting salaries. Why, then, should India’s brightest young lawyers—the world at their feet—be working at minimum wage, even free, arguing for the decriminalisation of homosexuality in India? It just makes no sense.

A team of highly educated young lawyers has committed its time to this case. These young lawyers, four of whom are profiled here, are only a small slice of India’s horde of activist lawyers, many of whom have fought for years against Section 377.

VASUMAN KHANDELWAL, 27

‘The argument for decriminalising homosexuality is a mainstream one’

MAYUR SURESH, 28

‘Why is it the state’s business to regulate love?‘

SHIVANGI RAI, 27

‘We’re not just activists. We are first and foremost lawyers‘

SHRIMOYEE NANDINI GHOSH, 29

‘As a feminist, I understand the sheer wrongness of Section 377‘

Even these four have disparate stories. One is a hard-nosed Supreme Court lawyer, driven to the case by the obvious constitutional irregularity the cause. The others are more activist: a gay lawyer who wants to help his community, a feminist driven by middle-class guilt and pleasure, and a small-town girl hoping to empower herself and the world around her. But what links these stories is that all four could be anywhere else, earning far more. The global options available only highlight the choice they have made. The socially conscious lawyers of the 1970s fought on passion and belief. Version 2.0’s passion is matched by rigorous legal skills. This is their story."

Learn more about these 4 lawyers at 377 arguments, 4 Voices

Weekly Mix Masala

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Terrorist Attacks on Mumbai
||26.11.08 - 29.11.08||
Summary of Attacks -- Wikipedia
Sequence of Events -- BBC News
Recent Developments -- NYTimes
Wear White on 12/1 in Solidarity -- Facebook Event
================================================


Gays in India fear rules, blackmailers
The Washington Post

AIDS Sutra released this week, watch readings via webcast
SAJAforum

Dostana is (still) shaking up Bollywood
Bollywood films enter brave, gay world
Straight.com

Dostana in Pakistan
Pakistan Paindabad

John Abraham asks men to step it up
XPress


More Bollywood Gay News
Amisha Patel defends boyfriend's sexuality -- and no one cares
Bollywood News Blog

Konkona Sen Sharma jumps on the rainbow bandwagon
India Forums


Prop 8 News
Minorities fear trend from CA gay marriage ban
Reuters

A queer desi reaches out to LGBT Mormons
2015Place.com


Something Inspiring
All-girl rock band shakes Saudi Arabian establishment
NYTimes
Accolade's MySpace

Voices From The Community: Fighting for Human Rights or Battling Ethnocentricism?

I come on Queeristan to read for news on Section 377. I notice a lovely debate posted by a fellow blogger (http://queeristan.blogspot.com/2008/09/getting-ball-rolling.html). It made me question myself and my thoughts on decriminalising homosexuality in India.

I would love to say I am for human rights, but I’m also a huge fan of respect. Sometimes I find myself making very ethnocentric remarks, like “In Canada, such discrimination is illegal, I don’t see why they do that here” or “North America has a different opinion on this topic and it seems to work better for us”. They really are ethnocentric remarks, because my experiences are solely Canadian. And those experiences temper my judgement and consequently my actions.

Human rights are important to me, but to what extent can I fight for them in another country? It reminds me of those groups worldwide boycotting the Olympics in China, or even the US’s War in Iraq. Granting democracy in another country is a very ethnocentric ideology, because the ‘if it works in my country, it will work in yours too’ phrase is reverberated exponentially to prove ‘my country works better than your country’.

What I’m trying to say here is that as much as I would love to see my Indian homosexual brethren to live happily as who they are in their own country, the laws must reflect society. The video posted by Samsaricanu featured a panellist who said: “in 2000, there was a survey conducted in 41 countries that should homosexuality be accepted in society… in India the results were 7% for [decriminalisation of homosexuality] and 63% against [decriminalisation of homosexuality]…” If 63% of responses believe that homosexuality should not be legalised, then why should I say that they are ‘wrong’? Laws should reflect society’s views. Human rights, as much as I hate to say it, differ from country to country. What I see as a human right back in Canada or here in Germany could be different from that in India or China or any other place for that matter.

With my background and environmental upbringing, I can see, as a Canadian through our legal and freedom system, that decriminalising homosexuality is undoubtedly the way to go, hands down, no doubt about it, etc. But I’m not Indian. I am not a citizen and I really do not know exactly how culture is, how it is defined, and how the overall population feels about certain issues. So when I make a comment that “homosexuality should be decriminalised in India”, am I making a statement for human rights? Or am I just being ethnocentric?

The Home Ministry ain't real friendly

The Home Ministry of India dealt a devastating blow to the gay rights movement earlier today. P.P. Malhotra, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) and lead counsel for the ministry, declared that they were not going to overturn IPC 377:

"Obviously, we will take a stand against the scrapping of Section 377 IPC that classifies sex between two men as a criminal offence. We object to their plea."

The discrepancy between Health Minister Ramadoss' progressive politics and the Home Ministry's regressive attitude is unsettling at best. Although the petition of the Naz Foundation does not have the complete support of the state, the final decision is still in the hands of the Delhi High Court.

Fortunately the bench has some clear problems with the state's anti-IPC 377 arguments.

"To Malhotra's argument that Section 377 is required to contain spread of HIV virus, the bench said: 'Why don't you ban sexual intercourse (involving HIV infected person) if you want to contain the spread of HIV?'"

We hope the judges continue their non partial investigation of this case and we are waiting anxiously for their final verdict.


Centre against scrapping of law outlawing homosexuality

Gay ban: Court makes moralist government squirm

Getting the Ball Rolling!

NDTV ran a segment about two weeks ago on the decriminalization of homosexuality. Some good arguments are raised and most of the panel (and the host) seems to be in our favor. Check it out!

The Moment of Truth

The final (let's hope!) hearings for the argument against section 377 started in the Delhi High Court this Thursday. Justices A.P. Shah and S. Muralidhar are being much, much more receptive to hearing our case than the previous Bench was, listening to Anand Grover's (of Naz India) arguments and not giving as much attention to the opposing lawyers. Which serves them right, as one of them had the audacity to state that HIV doesn't really exist. Vikram D., who has been updating us with first-hand accounts of the case, writes:

"What is also encouraging is the sense that the judges are keeping their focus firmly on the fact that the petition does NOT ask for the law to be scrapped, but instead asks for it to be modified, or 'read down', so that it does not apply to consensual adult. This is important because people keep getting this wrong, sometimes quite wilfully as in the case of Amod Kanth and perhaps the Law Ministry, and then arguing that the law needs to stay because it guards against paedophilia.

Which we were always clear about and that is why at no point do we ask for the law to go, but just for it to be changed so as not to apply to consenting adults. But its true that while one is in full flow arguing against 377 its easy to get carried away and sound as if you want the whole law to go. Anand apparently came close to doing this a few times and everytime the judges brought him back to the 'reading down' part and not asking for wholesale scrapping. The hopeful interpretation of this is that the judges want to make sure that the case that is being made is quite solid and watertight and not confused by arguments of paedophilia or male rape. Keep the focus on 'adult' and 'consensual'."

Mr. Grover finished his arguments at around 5pm on Friday. The case will resume later this week!

Weekly Mix Masala

More Reviews of A Jihad for Love
Arab American News
Bay Area Reporter
San Fransico Bay Times

Behind the veil lives a thriving Muslim sexuality
Sydney Morning Herald

Victims blame Nepali PM for floods
SindhToday.net

HIV positive Indian boy wishes to be sent back to Pakistani jail
Pakistan Daily
The News

Gay and Democracy- how queers are becoming more involved in politics.
Times of India

Carriers of HIV ignored in India
NDTV

Activists want British apology for IPC 377
The Independent

Essay on homosexuality in India
CounterCurrents.org

Health Minister Ramadoss champions gay rights
Sahara Samay

How to combat distance in fighting India's war against HIV/AIDS
Reuters India

UAE contradicts itself in terms of lifestyle
International Herald Tribune

Sanjaya, from American Idol, returns!

Mark your calendars - Sept 18!

The IPC Section 377 case is scheduled for Sept 18-20th. Hopefully this date sticks! Although it has not really been used to charge or arrest LGBT folk, Section 377 must go! As long as it remains part of the Penal Code, queers will be harassed, blackmailed, and extorted by others who threaten to reveal their sexual "misconduct". Section 377 also presents many legal hurdles, as illustrated by the following:

A gay-rights activist at the Alternative Law Forum, Ponni Arasu, says gays and lesbians who live together are sometimes charged with other crimes, such as kidnapping, by disapproving parents.

"We have gone to court many times where we actively cover up the nature of the relationship between two women because we do not want to complicate the case. You just want to get rid of the kidnapping charge so they can go on and live their lives. And that is because of a law like Section 377. If we were not actively criminalized by such a law, then we would be able to go to court and say, 'They are lovers. They are adults. And they have the right to live with each other,'" said Arasu.

Indian's anti-gay law set for biggest court challenge

Underground Social Justice (...literally)

A few weeks ago we told you about the publication of an awesome compilation of stories dealing with those living with HIV/AIDS in India. Well, the same people releasing AIDS Sutra are sponsoring a 15-day photography exhibition in Delhi's Rajiv Chowk Metro Station. Avahan, an NGO sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, hopes the public will absorb the works and begin questioning the stigma attached to this disease. The photos are actually taken from AIDS Sutra, they illustrate each of the sixteen chapters in the compilation. The works have been enlarged and captioned, they highlight sex workers, hijras, IV drug users, MSMs, and other groups considered at high risk for HIV.

The exhibit was opened by Indian Health Minister and Anti-IPC 377 ally, Ambumani Ramadoss. In recent months, Ramadoss has become increasingly vocal in the people's fight to repeal the British artifactual code criminalizing homosexual behavior. He cites structural issues (like IPC 377) and social stigma as the biggest obstacles India must overcome before the nation's HIV epidemic can be controlled. Rajiv Chowk is India's second largest financial, commercial and business center, thousands of people pass through its metro station daily -- talk about some great exposure!

Weekly Masala Mix

MUMBAI PRIDE 2008 -- pictures and reviews

The Times of India

Ottawa Citizen

365 Gay

DNA

Boston's MASALA garners attention at their booth during the Independence Day festival!
New England Blade

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation funds the world's first condom ringtone in India to promote safer sex
Softpedia
Listen to the ringtone here!

Delhi study finds abused wives at heightened risk for HIV
The Telegraph

NGO launches project Sankalp, an HIV prevention program in Karnataka
Mangalorean.com

Director, Madhur Bhandarkar, tosses around idea of a "Bollywood Brokeback Mountian"
Times of India

India's second candidate for an HIV vaccine reaches a milestone
The Telegraph

My Big Fat Straight Wedding - Andrew Sullivan explains why gay marriage is not really "gay" marriage
The Atlantic

An HIV-positive woman who has never shown symptoms of the virus might provide insights into HIV/AIDS vaccine development!
KaiserNetwork.org

Daivd Gere, brother of Richard Gere, subject of documentary on being a gay family in India
Out In India—A Family's Journey
The Times of India

India launches first HIV health insurance
Only Insurance

Health minister stressed need to scrap Section 377
Indian Express

UK study shows that ethnic minorities with similar sexual behavior show different rates of HIV infection
AIDSmap

Manipur's work to eradicate TB is threatened by the state's rising HIV infections
Panos London

Weekly Mix Masala

Queeristan would like to wish India and Pakistan very happy 61st birthdays! We hope everyone is enjoying the celebrations all over the world!



Profile of Hanif Kureishi, screenwriter of 1985 queer flick, My Beautiful Laundrette
NY Times

Minister Ramadoss' statement gives gays hope in India
Hindustani Times

Review for A Jihad for Love
Los Angeles Times

HIV and homosexuality in Pakistan research report
AidsPortal

Fellow Queeristani, Naful Khan, comes out!
The Times

A profile of novelist, Manju Kapur
Jabberwock (from August's Elle)

Weekly Mix Masala

A Mumbai Pride march is being planned for August 16th! More information at Queer Azaadi

Following the example of India's 18th-century Mughal rulers, who used castrated men or hermaphrodites to guard their harems, the government of Bihar plans to post eunuchs as guards in girls dormitories, colleges and hospitals.
Globeandmail.com

Glad to be gay (but a bit shy about it) - Indians are more afraid of their relatives and friends finding out than they are about the law
Economist

Indian Penal Code Section 377 FAQ - all nicely summed up
Nonstop Goli Blog

Nepalese army 'sacks' lesbian for misconduct.
BBC News

But hey, Nepal is also hosting the first South Asian LGBT workshop! Two steps forward, one step back.
The Advocate

Uh oh. Actor-director Sajid Khan, from the show Sajid's Superstars annoyed actor Ritesh Deshmukh by asking if he is gay.
Yahoo India

More Deportation Dilemmas: Azerbaijani Muslim poet's request for asylum in Britain has been rejected
Therion

Irshad Manji on honor killings
Huffington Post

Muslim woman implements her innovative concept of an all-woman jamaat (a court-like assembly)
Times of India

It appears that British marriage registrar Lillian Ladele has won her religious discrimination claim following her refusal to perform civil partnership for a gay marriage
Usefully Employed

Okay guys, let's drown out this crowd with our own people - Anti-gay pride parade in Brooklyn, August 31
Gay City News

Choreographer Nakul Dev Mahajan exposes Bollywood-style dancing to the world on the hit show So You Think You Can Dance. This guy is going to go far!

UPDATE: Whispers from the Delhi High Court

So rumor has it that the case to repeal Section 377 has been (wait for it...) delayed once again. What is it this time, you may be wondering. Well, the roster of judges that sit together was changed over the holidays, meaning that the justices that were hearing this case- Sikri and Midha- are no longer paired together. Since the case had been recorded as "part heard" by Sikri and Midha, they will continue to hear the case on the days that they sit together, which will now only be every Friday instead of every day. And that means that the case could take much, much longer than originally planned. Not to mention that hearing the case once a week instead of continuously could seriously hurt our chances of getting 377 repealed.

Lawyers for Naz India and Voices are trying to resolve this issue by requesting another bench to take on the case so that it can be heard continuously, due to the urgency of the matter. This request will be heard by the Chief Justice and Justice Muralidhar on July 21st.

Why are we not surprised?

The hearing to repeal Section 377 that was supposed to continue on July 2nd has been postponed till Friday. Unfortunately, this isn't the first time, nor the second that this hearing has been delayed this summer. C'mon High Court, get your act together!