Hindu American Foundation, Human Rights Watch oppose Supreme Court decision on same sex

December 11, 2013 (Washington DC) -- Leaders of the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) announced their disappointment today with the Indian Supreme Court's decision to uphold Section 377 of the Indian Constitution, which criminalizes consensual homosexual conduct. In 2009, the New Delhi High Court rejected Section 377 of the Indian Constitution, a remnant code from the British Era, and decriminalized same-sex relationships. The Indian Supreme Court, known generally for expanding civil rights, chose to defer to the Indian Parliament to reform the provision.

"No law should interfere in a consensual relationship of two individuals behind closed doors," said Harsh Voruganti, Associate Director of Public Policy at HAF. "We had hoped that the Indian Supreme Court would have upheld the lower court's progressive decision."

Section 377, based on arcane, Victorian mores, does not reflect the understanding of many contemporary Hindu lay and spiritual leaders who emphasize the teachings of every individual's inherent divinity -- be they heterosexual or homosexual, Voruganti added. Adherents of other faiths have similarly expressed disagreement with the Supreme Court ruling.

"The essential core of Hindu teachings is that an individual's value is not based on his or her sexual orientation, but on one's ability to transcend the body, senses, and ego," said Swaminathan Venkataraman, HAF's Director of India Strategic Relations. "And unlike many interpretations of Abrahamic scripture, Hinduism does not provide a fundamental spiritual reason to reject or ostracize homosexuals," continued Venkataraman, also the primary author of the widely acclaimed article, Hinduism and Homosexuality, which appeared in Trikone magazine in 2009.

Hindu teachings about mutual respect and dignity have informed HAF's public policy positions, noted Voruganti. "HAF has repeatedly taken a stand in support of equal rights for LGBT individuals in the United States, from joining an amicus brief asking the Supreme Court to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act to advocating for the passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act in the US Senate."

India: Supreme Court Ruling Undermines LGBT Rights
Parliament Should Promptly Amend ‘Sodomy’ Law to Ensure Equality

(New York, December 12, 2013) – The ruling by India’s Supreme Court on December 11, 2013, that same-sex conduct between consenting adults remained a criminal offense is a setback for the rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) people, Human Rights Watch said today. The court reversed a landmark 2009 Delhi High Court decision that a colonial-era law infringed upon fundamental rights provided under the constitution.

The Indian government should immediately seek to decriminalize adult consensual same-sex relations, Human Rights Watch said. Currently, same-sex relations are subject to section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which punishes “carnal intercourse against the order of nature” with up to life in prison. The Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of section 377 and ruled that the Delhi High Court decision was “legally unsustainable.” It said it was now up to the legislature “to consider the desirability and propriety of deleting Section 377” of the penal code.

“The Supreme Court’s ruling is a deeply disappointing setback for basic rights to privacy, equality, and non-discrimination,” said Graeme Reid, director of the LGBT rights program at Human Rights Watch. “Now the government should do what it should have done in the first place and decriminalize consensual same-sex relations between adults.”

A nongovernmental organization, the Naz Foundation, had filed a petition against section 377 in 2001. In 2009, the Delhi High Court accepted its request to decriminalize consensual same-sex conduct between adults. Various individuals and groups, most of them religious conservatives, appealed the High Court verdict.

The Indian government had not appealed the Delhi High Court ruling. In 2012, the attorney general told the Supreme Court that the government found no “legal error” in the High Court decision and accepted it. The Naz Foundation could still appeal the Supreme Court judgment by filing a review petition, said Additional Solicitor General Indira Jaising.

The Naz Foundation judgment had become a reference point for many discussions both in schools and in public debates across the country, said Arvind Narrain, a lawyer with Alternative Law Forum in India. “It has unlocked spaces for openness to LGBT issues, lending a certain legitimacy to demand for more positive rights such as anti-discriminatory measures and socio-economic benefits, among others,” Narrain said.

A Supreme Court ruling upholding the High Court decision would have had a positive influence in the courts and legislatures of other former British colonies in Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean that have nearly identical “sodomy” laws, Human Rights Watch said. Although these laws are rarely enforced, they legitimize police extortion, violence, and discrimination.

“Section 377 is a legacy of British rule and it is disturbing that a postcolonial democratic state like India would hold on to colonial morality codes that blatantly violate human rights,” Reid said. “India should join countries like Australia and New Zealand that have already abolished this colonial-era sodomy law that they too inherited, and take the lead on ending such discrimination.”

Colonies and countries that retain versions of the British sodomy law include:

• In Asia and the Pacific: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Kiribati, Malaysia, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Myanmar (Burma), Nauru, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Western Samoa. (Governments that inherited the same British law, but have abolished it since include Australia, Fiji, Hong Kong, and New Zealand.)

• In Africa: Botswana, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Nigeria, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Swaziland, Sudan,Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Eleven former British colonies in the Caribbean also retain sodomy laws derived from a different British model than the one imposed on India.

Facebook Comments

Comments

Ninan Mathulla 2013-12-12 06:28:56

Gay Marriage- Digging Our Own Graves A few months ago a friend of mine visiting here, was discussing with me, the political, social and religious issues in his native place. My friend boasted that Pentecostals, to which he belongs, do not get to the street to protest or to hold banner for any political parties. I asked him why you do not get involved in the social and political issues in your community. His reply was, “This will affect our comfort and ease of mind”. To not get involved in the social and political issues facing the community we live in, if it is due to concern for our comfort, is it not selfishness? Selfishness is Sin. In Gita, the Hindu Scriptures, Lord Krishna advise Arjuna the warrior prince the same advice. Recently I was talking to a priest and friend of mine about the criterion used in declaring a person as a saint. The No. 1 reason is standing for a public cause, even in the face of threat to his/her life. Jesus says, “There is no love greater than giving his life for his brother”. In the Second World War, Americans and British and others were ready to sacrifice the life of their children for the sake of the freedom we enjoy now. Several races and ethnic groups including mine would have gone to the Gas Chamber if Hitler had won that war. When Hitler took one by one countries of Europe, the major powers were not ready to stand up against it, considering it not their problem alone, or didn’t see the consequences, or they didn’t want to get in to trouble with Hitler. Recently we had the issue of a definition for a legal marriage. By approving Gay marriages, we are digging our own graves. Gays have succeeded in manipulating public opinion by depicting the problem as biological, and that they have no control over it. Some came forward with research studies to prove it (not considering all the variables involved in it). If we take this argument, behavioral problems like prostitution and addiction have to be accepted as genetic tendencies. Behavioral problems need to be conditioned by disapproving such behavior. We are all conditioned as to how to express our genetic sexual instincts. We are digging our own graves here in adopting a different view. Family is the basic unit of society. What type of children a gay family can mould, and can we entrust our future to such citizens. Can we live here with dignity? I can understand the concerns of parents of Gay children. It is possible that one of my children can show Gay life tendencies in the future due to exposure to them. Let them live here and keep a low profile. They need not come to leadership positions in the community, and we need not esteem or reward such behavior. If not we are digging our own graves. The survival of our human species is in danger. A marriage is a union between a man and a woman. Gay marriage is against Nature. If abortion is killing, Gay life style also has the same result. Population growth can become stagnant and decline in the long run. Once we legalize Gay marriages, even if we want to we can’t take it back. You might ask why Gay and Lesbian life is immoral. To answer that, we have to consider the purpose of life. Science has nothing to say about the purpose of life. We have to turn to religion, where science has no answers. Before we proceed further we have to consider the age old question- Evolution or Creation. The Truth is only one no matter what you believe. Science could prove nothing so far. We have some theories that are the result of wild imagination. We need more faith to believe these theories than the faith to believe in God. If it is creation by God, there must be a purpose behind it, and we have to turn to religion for the purpose. If you take theology out of religion, all religions teach basically the same about moral and ethics. This life is not the end of it. If you indulge in such sinful behavior (sin against God's natural laws), it affect your long term future. There will be punishment for such sinful behavior. Our society will decline and set. This is the lesson we learn from history. Some argue that Gay and Lesbian behavior is a sin like any other sin the heterosexuals do. Sin is always a sin, no matter who commit it. The solution is to repent about the sin and try not to do it again. Homosexuals continue to stay in the sinful behavior, and so there is no room for repentance. Is it due to complacency or indifference that the majority are not getting involved in issues that affect their and their children’s lives here, and voice their concerns? Our society is a large family. Just like in our own family, parents won't allow child's all demands due to its consequence; homosexual choice also can affect his/her future and other children's future in the society. One danger in homosexual behavior is that my children can easily get attracted to it by contact with homosexuals, and my ability to prevent is limited. I see my generations perish due to this. Using drug is a choice that can destroy a person. Destruction does not happen overnight. Can you foresee the effect of approving homosexuality ten years from now, or twenty five years from now? It is disgusting to watch them kiss in the public. They were ashamed to show that off when society disapproved it. If it is legal, it will be everywhere. We can’t live here in dignity. If this happens in a state many might move to a state where it is not legal. If it is legal in all the states, many might move with their family to a different country where this is not legal. Our ability to raise tax dollars and investment can be at stake. This has not happened yet as its effect is not yet felt here. We are all citizens of this great country. You have to live in it, and take care of it, and claim it as your own. How you are going to claim this land for yourself? By taking care of its needs! Are you involved in your community? We have a poor opinion of people who get involved, and we call them politicians. Get involved in the Civic organizations in your community- Home Owners Assoc, School Board, City Council, State Legislature and Congress. Field candidates that hold the same values as you hold, and campaign for them, and get out and vote for them. We need watchmen in all these Civic Organizations. Some people call this politics. Whatever we call it, we are meeting the needs of people and the generations to come. All the hospitals, libraries, parks and public institutions of use we enjoy now are the selfless work of some behind it. We remember them, and blessed is the memory of the righteous. Homosexuals have people in positions of influence and they could manipulate the decision making process. Once homosexuals come to positions of influence, they fill influential positions with their own. With less than three percent of the population, how they managed to have their agenda adopted by Democratic Party Platform? Democratic Party is being used as a tool to get things from red glowing fire. In the name of being modern and progressive, we are going down. It is a sign of end time that people feel pride in things that are disgusting. Moving at this rate I am worried this will lead to the decline of our society and future of our generations. You might think that I hate Gays and Lesbians. I do not hate Gays and lesbians. I really love them. But I hate their actions against divine natural laws. In love there is rebuke and punishment. We punish our children with good intentions. I love Gays and Lesbians. I like to see that they and their generations have a good future, and are prosperous. It is your children that keep your memory alive. So children are your reward in life. I like to see that they have children that they can claim as their own flesh and blood to keep their memory alive. If you agree with the contents of this article, please forward to your friends, and do whatever you can to prevent Gays and Lesbians becoming the majority here, a grave danger to our future here. The above modified article is from “Metamorphosis of an Atheist- A life journey to the Truth’ by Ninan Mathullah (ISBN: 9780984304554) available at www.amazon.com, www.bn.com and www.BVpublishing.org. For more info visit http://www.youtube.com/user/Mathullah1

Anthappan 2013-12-12 11:45:10

Gays and Lesbians were there from time immemorial. If they like to have children, the current formula and process has to change and that is A lesbians egg + A Gays sperm = Child in the right environment A Lesbian + A Lesbian = No child only pleasure depending on how they perceive pleasure A Gay + A Gay = No children only pleasure depending on how they perceive pleasure There are can be consequences for all kind of copulations whether they are heterosexuals or homosexuals This social issue was there for all living beings and we don’t exactly what causes this. (There are lots of studies and researches going on this ) Please take religion and God out of it and see things from a scientific mind. If human beings are the expression of God then there is lots of freedom of choices one can exercise when they make decision. For me a Jesus was a reformist whose sexual orientation I am not sure about who included all the people in his Kingdom he was preaching (For me it is on earth) The definition for sin was different for Jesus as I understand What would you do if your child come to and tell that I am a Gay or Lesbian? Are you going to be shocked? Do you keep low profile? Do you seek help to see whether it can be corrected? Do you isolate them? Do you accept them? Would you agree with the society that it is ok to kick him or her from the society? There are thousands of other questions you can add into it or blame your helpless God you created. Society is going to have challenges like this always. Sodom and Gomorrah had problem and they introduced sodomy law to curb this. USA has problem and the laws are rewritten to accommodate them into the society. (Watch out Obama! He is going to make history) Pop Fancies said, “Who am I to judge if Jesus (Perceived by him as son of God) accepts Gays and Lesbians. (Watch out this guy! He is going to make history) God with freedom of choice is within everyone and the choice each one of us make will determine the destiny of the individuals (The plant kingdom and animal kingdom will perish in hell)

Hindu American Foundation, Human Rights Watch oppose Supreme Court decision on same sex

PATHRANGAL

US WEBSITES

EMalayalee Available in MediaAppUSA