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Three cheers, there is a bit of ‘gay’ in all of us!

Don’t deny those ‘gay’ moments in your life! There are times when you admire someone of the same sex, to the extent of hero worship.

Shivangi Singh
Don’t deny those ‘gay’ moments in your life! There are times when you admire someone of the same sex, to the extent of hero worship. You try to dress like him, you talk and behave like him and follow his moves diligently – he may be a superstar, a well known celebrity or may be the head boy/girl of your school. Yes, all of us are a part of the ‘gay’ crowd only they love differently. And there the difference ends! Our society is so full of hatred that love is looked down upon! Low class people stink, dark complexioned girls are ugly, and homosexuals – they are subhuman, a third gender (referred to as ‘it’), who are born to live in derision, contempt and scorn – just because they find love in the same-sex. We have been taught that hatred is evil, then why is it that love gets punished? Gays are ‘it’ for a majority of us. “Look at ‘it’. Oh my God, look at the way ‘it’ is behaving. Look at the dress..the colour, the costume. ‘It’ is laughing, how cheap. ‘It’ should not be allowed at decent public places. The society is getting infested with ‘it…very shocking,” - this is precisely how we react as we kill them by our disapproving glances just because they dare to be a little different. Whenever a film requires buffoonery – a gay character is thrown in doing tomfoolery. They are the butt of satire in books, on TV..their life becomes a never ending joke. Forsaken by family, relatives and society at large, most of the homosexuals find refuge in some shoddy place with their partners emerging when there is no one to make fun of their love. And there are others…inhibited, scared…who do not want to get marginalized. So they go with the norms of the society in the morning, revealing their real self only by nightfall. Then they dress up, express their feminine side with their masculine partner and live life for a few hours. We force them into the dual existence and sigh with relief that we are not gay. But don’t we adore people of the same sex – as a brother or sister, a relative, a friend, a celebrity? We live but we do not let them live. How wrong, when they are a part of us…only they have a different sexual preference. Do you think Greek philosophers Socrates and Aristotle, the Macedonian ruler Alexander the Great, the British King Richard the Lion-Hearted, the Italian painter-scientist Leonardo da Vinci and Italian pope Julius III should have been banished from society? They were homosexuals, who changed the world, and history is incomplete without them. Even ancient India celebrated homosexuality, Khajuraho temples are an example. So, as Delhi High Court legalizes consensual homosexuality, all of us should applaud, rejoice and cheer in unison. For years, homosexuals have been denied their rights and have been forced into a doomed existence. But credit goes to the Indian Judiciary for being humane and just, finally. It’s a historic and proud moment for all of us as we join hands to celebrate the victory of love! How gay sex among consenting adults became legal in India * 2001: Naz Foundation, an NGO fighting for gay rights, files PIL seeking legalisation of gay sex among consenting adults. * Sept 2, 2004: Delhi High Court dismisses the PIL seeking decriminalisation of gay sex. * Sept, 2004: The gay right activists file review petition. * Nov 3, 2004: The HC dismisses the review plea. * Dec, 2004: Gay rights activists approach the apex court against the order of the HC. * Apr 3, 2006: The apex court directs the HC to reconsider the issue and remands the case back to High Court. * Oct 4, 2006: The HC allows senior BJP leader B P Singhal`s plea, opposing decriminalising gay sex, to be impeded in the case. * Sept 18, 2008: Centre seeks more time to take stand on the issue after the contradictory stand between the Home and Health ministries over decriminalisation of homosexuality. The Court refuses the plea and final argument in the case begins. * Sep 25, 2008: The gay rights activists contend that the government cannot infringe upon their fundamental right to equality by decriminalising homosexual acts on the ground of morality. * Sep 26, 2008: The Court pulls up the Centre for speaking in two voices on the homosexuality law in view of contradictory affidavits filed by Health and Home ministries. * Sep 26, 2008: Centre says that gay sex is immoral and a reflection of a perverse mind and its decriminalisation would lead to moral degradation of society. * Oct 15, 2008: The High Court pulls up the Centre for relying on religious texts to justify ban on gay sex and asks it to come up with scientific reports to justify it. * Nov, 2008: Government in its written submission before the High Court says judiciary should refrain from interfering in the issue as it is basically for Parliament to decide. * Nov 7, 2008: High Court reserves its verdict on petitions filed by gay rights activists seeking decriminalisation of homosexual acts. * July 2, 2009: High Court allows plea of gay rights activists and legalises gay sex among consenting adults.