On 24th August, the Supreme Court of India ruled that privacy is a fundamental right because it is intrinsic to the entire fundamental rights chapter of the constitution. The ruling, although solely meant to decide whether the privacy of an individual was a part of their inviolable fundamental rights, is inspiring in that the repeal of Section 377 might be imminent. The court’s ruling that sexual orientation is part of privacy and that privacy is a fundamental right leaves very little scope to defend Section 377. Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which criminalises sexual activities “against the order of nature” was introduced in 1860 during the British Rule.
Even with Section 377 criminalizing the LGBT community, there have been no recorded punishments on its basis in the past two decades or so. The LGBT community, however, continues to hide, not for fear of legal punishment but of alienation from society. In recent times, people have become increasingly tolerant of the community in theory, but in most cases, continue to be disgusted if someone close to them declares themselves homosexual or of an alternate gender.
There is also widespread ignorance regarding the idea of sexuality and gender identity, especially with regard to the LGBT community. This often leads to them being discriminated against, leading to a depreciation of self-esteem and feelings of inferiority. With the aim of providing a safe space, and to start discussions on sexuality as well as gender identity, various support groups have emerged in recent years.
Anchor, the ‘Gender and Sexuality Cell’ of BITS Pilani was started in 2010. Its founder was openly homosexual and had approached a few professors as well as the then-Chief Warden to formally create a club. However, since he was in his psenti-sem during that time, he never managed to convince the Institute, and ever since then, the Anchor community has been in decline due to a lack of visibility. In an interview with the English Press Club, S.C. (name changed), a representative of Anchor shared his views on this sensitive topic.
Although the cell’s presence in Pilani is mostly online, the Goa and Hyderabad campuses have had better success in organising offline activities and starting a dialogue about the sexual spectrum. The cell attempts to help people accept themselves for who they are, assist members in coming out of the closet, and to combat possibility of depression and mental illnesses because of lack of social acceptance.
‘Religion plays a huge role in the social stigma surrounding homosexuality even though Hinduism is extremely open about the subject. Religion is often used as an excuse for homophobia, which makes it difficult for people to reconcile their sexuality and identity with their religion. A major argument of Christianity against homosexuality is that the Bible condemns it as a sin. However, the Bible also justifies owning slaves and stoning women,’ said S.C.
He also claimed that a large number of people believe that Indians can’t be gay, i.e., homosexuality is a Western concept. Although visibility of homosexual culture has increased in recent times due to acceptance in the West and liberal culture, most rural areas still have no knowledge of this, and thus, don’t believe in the existence of LGBTs. It is unfortunate that more people are not open towards LGBT culture or sensitive to the community’s needs.
Due to a lack of awareness, and Section 377, Anchor is not officially recognised by the institute, and remains an unofficial organisation. Other major institutes like IITs and IIMs, however, have similar official organisations that have contributed towards spreading awareness about the issue, and have joined up with Anchor for promotion recently.
Anchor – BITS Pilani’s Gender and Sexuality cell provides a safe space for members of the LGBT community, and aims to create a more inclusive environment on campus. Visit www.facebook.com/AnchorBITSPilani, or email anchoratbits@gmail.com