India has been quite quick in coming to terms with the issue. In the US, there are still debates, but then there are Christian sects which are as intolerant as the Taliban.

Why doesn’t the BJP decry the Victorian law and celebrate the liberal sanatan dharma? It should champion the cause of the young gay people. The Left is too prudish to do so and Congress very nervous. The majority of India’s voters are young and do not share these Victorian fears. Does the BJP not see that Section 377 is more of an opportunity to expand its base than Article 370? They should find something better soon since Liberhan is about to catch up with them. Here again it is der rather than andher.

If the UPA had any sense of responsibility, it would publish the report in a cheap edition and have a short summary prepared with translations in many languages. Let us have a national debate without prejudging the legal issues. But since the BJP is unapologetic about what happened, it should welcome the legal consequences. I have a very simple suggestion. It seems the senior leaders of the BJP-L.K. Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, ex-BJP/SP leader Kalyan Singh—are likely to be named as culpable. If they are, they should invite a legal process against them, and step down from their parliamentary seats while awaiting trial. This will show that they have the courage of their convictions and will submit to the legal process-something the guilty of the 1984 are yet to do.

... contd.