OK, kiddo! Here are all the fantastically amazing posts tagged with India
Indian Health Minister Talks Gay Decriminalisation
Anbumani Ramadoss, India’s Union Health Minister, has garnered praise from the Indian gay community after publically advocating the decriminalisation of homosexuality in the country.
Homosexuality is illegal in India, falling under the infamous Section 337 of the Indian Penal Code, which has been reproduced in several other British colonies. Speaking as part of an official address at this year’s International Conference on AIDS in Mexico City, Ramadoss said that Section 377 “must go.”
Indian gay rights activists, such as Aditya Bandhopadhyay, praised the health minister for his statement, hoping that cabinet members will eventually heed the message:
In spite of section 377, homosexuals have continued to live, love and have sex in India, so it is really immaterial to the IPC act. It has only stigmatised and made homosexuals more vulnerable, thereby increasing their risks of contracting HIV, which ultimately is a public health concern.
The health minister’s condemnation of Section 377 comes only weeks after it was striken from Panama’s lawbooks. Several other countries still enforce it.
- Gays upbeat over Ramadoss’ support [Hindustan Times]
India Rejects Canadian Diplomats
Two Canadians have been barred from receiving diplomatic status in India because they’re gay. The gay man and lesbian woman would ordinarily receive diplomatic-spousal status, but homosexuality is illegal in India and government officials declared spousal recognition out of the question.
So, basically, diplomatic immunity is an impossibility because being gay violates Indian law. Neat.
Interestingly, the Canadian government is refusing to comment on the situation, though a Foreign Affairs spokesperson said that the New Delhi embassy had contacted them in regards to the matter.
- Indian government bars two gay diplomats [Edmonton Journal]
The Fake Gay Influx
Canadian Embassies are on the look-out for straight guys in sheep’s fabulous, designer clothing, as young men in India have been pretending to be gay in order to immigrate to Canada. The crazy scheme uses India’s discriminatory ban on homosexuality as a basis for visa applications. Since Canada is one of the few countries that treats same-sex couples equally for immigration purposes, it’s an easy target.
While this pink-is-the-new-scheme appears to be relatively harmless at first glance, some of India’s gay activists are worried. “This may force the embassy to put a blanket ban on immigration on such grounds, which will affect genuine persons,” said one Indian gay rights lawyer, adding that “international sympathy for the same-sex marriage movement may get diluted.”
So, basically, Indian guys: If you’re actually gay, be sure to turn up that “flame” of yours; the Canadian embassy is starting to get suspicious of your hetero counterparts, and you don’t want to be mistaken for straight now, do you?
- The “Pink Trail” to Canada [Asian Pacific Post]
