Saturday, August 16, 2008

A welcome change

I normally take in Anbumani Ramadoss' acts of executive activism with a indifferent, if not discouraging, ear. But he got the pitch just right last week at an AIDS conference when he called for scrapping of Section 377, which makes sex between men illegal. The law, enacted in 1860 and never amended thence says:
Section 377 Unnatural Acts
Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.
The change, if it ever actually comes about, is long overdue.

Sidenote
: The inability of major Indian newspapers to provide a comprehensive background to a developing story amazes and frustrates me. I found the best history, context, and coverage of this story from PinkNews, a British gay news service.
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