There is nothing proud about pleading that what two consenting adults do in the privacy of their bedroom is a fundamental right, not a criminal act liable for life imprisonment under Section 377 of the Indian penal code. There is nothing proud about protesting that a gay man is as unlikely to be a paedophile as a heterosexual one. There is nothing proud about being the AIDS control program’s poster boy, “supported” by so-called “liberals” at pains to point out that homosexuals are indeed entitled to human rights — not because they are human, of course, but because they are a “high risk group” that could infect our society with a deadly disease.

There is nothing proud about arguing that homosexuality is “genetically determined”, and cannot be “helped”, somewhat like being a hapless victim of a congenital defect. Or that it is demographically constant, and therefore “normal.” There is nothing proud about informing sniggering employers and colleagues that being gay is not a professional liability, nor does it put homophobic males at risk of being sexually harassed. And there is nothing proud about loneliness and lies; about beseeching your own family and friends to accept you for who you are.

In short, being gay in India is not about pride but about pathos. How pathetic that in a country where babies are butchered because they belong to another god, thousands are murdered because they belong to another caste, and hatred is the official language of leaders, an act of love between two consenting adults should be “criminal.” How pathetic that while nine out of ten rapists go scot-free and millions of marriages are alibis for legalised rape and violence, the government wants to “protect” us from law abiding citizens by criminalising them as potential paedophiles!

How pathetic that almost a quarter of a century after most civilized nations have legalised homosexuality, and 61 years after India pledged herself to liberty and equality, the 42nd report of the government law commission opines that Indian society is “not ready” for the practice of homosexuality, and that “social disapproval is strong enough to justify it being treated as a criminal offence.” (Interestingly, it never asked if we are “ready” for equal rights for women and concessions for backward castes. Obviously, society’s approval does not count on some matters).

How pathetic that our health minister recently had to “concede” at an international conference that “structural discrimination against MSMs (men who have sex with men) must be removed if HIV prevention, care and treatment are to succeed.” Smart. But surely AIDS control is only the corollary, not the postulate! Surely the real reason why this unspeakable law must be scrapped is because it violates the fundamental right to equality , freedom and personal liberty. But then, in many ways, India is a queer country.

farah.baria@expressindia.com