Senior Living for Gays in India
In a historic decision the Delhi High Court struck down parts of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code on July 2nd 2009. Article 377 (and similar legislations) was introduced by the British in India and many other colonies in the 18th century. It criminalizes gay sexual activity. Since India’s independence from Britain in 1947 very few Indians have been convicted under this law (in fact no Indian has been convicted under Article 377 in the past twenty years). Indian societies attitude towards LGBT is mixed. On the surface many Indians would oppose laws favoring equal rights to gay and lesbians but culturally there is much more acceptance in India than in many other countries (read my article on Koovagam Festival in India).
Delivering the ruling Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court Ajit Prakash Shah and Justice S Muralidhar said that “If there is one constitutional tenet that can be said to be underlying theme of the Indian Constitution, it is that of ‘inclusiveness’. This Court believes that Indian Constitution reflects this value deeply ingrained in Indian society, nurtured over several generations. The inclusiveness that Indian society traditionally displayed, literally in every aspect of life, is manifest in recognizing a role in society for everyone. Those perceived by the majority as “deviants’ or ‘different’ are not on that score excluded or ostracized”. They went on to add “Where society can display inclusiveness and understanding, such persons can be assured of a life of dignity and non-discrimination. This was the ‘spirit behind the Resolution’ of which Nehru spoke so passionately. In our view, Indian Constitutional law does not permit the statutory criminal law to be held captive by the popular misconceptions of who the LGBT’s are. It cannot be forgotten that discrimination is antithesis of equality and that it is the recognition of equality which will foster the dignity of every individual”.
Since this decision the government of India led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has decided not to support the appeal process in the Supreme Court. The government has also indicated that it will abide by the decision of the Supreme Court of India. These decisions have emboldened the gay community in India. One of the prominent leaders of the gay community in India is Manvendra Singh Gohil. Manvendra is the Crown Prince of Rajpipla (former princely state of India). He has worked with community groups to help gays since the early 90’s but he burst on the national scene when he came out in 2006 (he has since appeared in the US TV show Oprah).
In 2000 he started the Lakshya Trust which is dedicated to HIV/AIDS prevention among gay men. Lakshya Trust is based in the state of Gujarat. Lakshya has recently announced that it will start operating a senior living community for gay men in the city of Vadodara by the end of the year. Initially this facility can accommodate about 50 individuals and will cost about $5.4 million to build.
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Category: Culture & Religion