Barely a few days ago, Law Minister Veerappa Moily made noises about the repeal of IPC Section 377. That was followed by a colourful gay parade in some cities. And now the Delhi High Court has spoken. There is already great commotion in the media and certainly an outburst of sentiment in the gay community.

Earlier, Moily’s announcement had met with much resistance from both within the ruling UPA as well as the opposition BJP. Moily has himself since backtracked on his earlier statement saying that he was misinterpreted. Curiously, Moily in his statement had specifically referred to consultations with and approval of the “Christian Churches” before a final decision.

Not surprisingly, even before he set out with his task of consulting the churches, reactions had already begun to pour in. The first one to oppose the repeal came from the all-important Islamic seminary, the Darul Uloom of Deoband, followed by other Muslim organisations such as the All India Muslim Personal Law Board. They plan to get other religious bodies on board to oppose the same. Certain Christian groups have also joined the chorus — though not as vociferously.

It is not yet clear whether the difference of opinion that has cropped up within the Congress on the issue is the result of religious minorities raising objections or because they genuinely believe that such a move will be offensive to the “general public”, which in India usually means the Hindus. While Moily might have had his own reasons to refer to the churches’ views, he would have done well to have included a wider section of society rather than singling out one particular religious community which is often wrongly presumed as a killjoy by the gay community.

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