WHY IS THE INDIAN GOVERNMENT AGAINST SAME-SEX MARRIAGES
March 13, New Delhi – Indian government is against legalizing same-sex marriages.
April 3, SC, New Delhi – finding in the Context of Marriage Equality Petitions were presented in the Supreme Court.
Being born in India, every Indian dating couple looks up to marriage as their destination for starting a life together. And same-sex couples are no less in looking at marriage as a major event in their love life.
Homosexuality has weak roots in Indian society and it’s just in recent times that they are getting recognition. A few years ago, same-sex couples gained recognition from the Indian government, a few months ago the supreme court was approached by a few petitioners presenting a request to legalize same-sex marriages.
The supreme court set a five-judge panel to hear the final argument and that will start on April 18. The LGBTQIA+ community expressed that they are having high hopes about the supreme court not disappointing them.
The request was looked into and when it was for the Indian government to express its viewpoint, the Bharat Janta Party (BJP) led government called it off saying they’d oppose the idea of making same-sex marriages legal.
The ruling party aka the BJP is firm with its Hindu roots and the Hindu notion, saying that the sole definition of marriage is a union between two people of the opposite sex and that this definition should not be disturbed or diluted.
While the government already made its point clear, gay rights activists are still making efforts to make the supreme court understand what they are facing and why they need same-sex marriages to be legalized.
In 2016 a petition was filed challenging section-377. Section 377 in the Indian penal code criminalized sodomy which means any sexual intercourse again the laws of nature are punishable. A group of petitioners approached the supreme court with requests to cancel the section.
Supreme Court ordered the Indian government to respond to the petition and awaited its response till 2018. It was the first time when LGBTQIA+ people came forward individually by themselves to file a petition to take down the sodomy law saying that they don’t want to live a life under the criminal umbrella.
On September 6, 2018, section 377 of the Indian Penal Code was dismissed by the five-judge bench, making consensual intercourse between same-sex legal.
Now the question is why is marriage opposed?
Marriage is how we Indians define a long-lasting relationship, that is the end and the new start we look to in a relationship be it a straight couple or a homosexual couple.
The petitioners explained that they want same-sex marriages to be legalized not just because of their social and personal reasons but also for legal reasons. Same-sex couples seek the same freedom and rights as straight couples.
In India and nearly in many countries there are many legal rights that depend on our personhood. When you sign a policy, it is Who do I do it with? When it is life insurance, it is who do I nominate for the benefits after I leave? We as humans always want our loved ones to be a part of these benefits and schemes.
But when a same-sex couple seeks the same legal rights and when they have to select a person with whom they’d share these rights – they don’t have the freedom to say that their partner is legally the right holder with them. And that is just because same-sex marriages are not legalized.
If same-sex marriages are legalized then it gives a legal base for every LGBTQIA+ person to claim the rights of their personhood without being questioned or objected to. They will be given the freedom legally claim their lover to be their spouse.
Let us hope that this will be given a solution soon. More updates are awaited and will be brought to you as soon as possible.