Relationship…….a taboo!!!

The last time i wrote something about relationship was my take of on platonic relations which also have romantic twist to it (Relationships puffed up…). This time, the story is old, but the issue is contemporary. This was one of my first serious writings. This is also my take on those relationships which are usually pushed under the rug.

“…They dare to dream… for an identity..for being able to marry a live with those they love… for the society to realize that good parenting has nothing to do with sexual orientation… for the workplace to be free of bias and discrimination.”

- Rajendra Mohan, Gay activist.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Long repressed in the west, equality of sexual minority has started taking its own forms. Where as the indian sexual minorities including lesbians, gays, bisexuals & trans-genders (LGBTs), are still living in nightmare. The taboo against them is their homosexuality, which in discriptive terms is “morbid sexual patterns between the members of the same sex” , a few classic example would lead us with a few eyeopening facts regarding this forbidden world…

To begin with, India’s colorful history has plenty examples of homosexually in different forms. Probably the best known are the Khajuraho, where one can find couples of the same sex entwined in ecstasy alongside the regular coupling of members of the opposite sex.

Among the earliest examples, there is a reference in the great Indian epic, Mahabharata when Arjun one of the five Pandava brothers chose to conceal his identity in the guise of the ‘kinnar’. When the five brothers were sent into exile, they had to go into hiding for a period of one year, assuming identities of ordinary mortals. While the others opted fr professions like cook, advisor to the Kin and cowherds, Arjun became a dance teacher, for which he assumed the identity of a eunuch. This one of the earliest known records in the Indian history that illustrates a clear-cut case of transvesite tendency.

In South, one of the most popular deities Lord Ayappa was born from the union of Shiva and Vishnu . The story goes that a demon called Bhasmasur won a favour from Shiva through prayers. Shiva through prayers. Shiva granted him a boon by which whatever he touched with the palm of his hand would burn and be reduced to ashes. Bhasmasur turned the tables on Shiva, as he wanted his wife Parvati for himself. In his desire for Parvati the demon set off to destroy Shiva with the same power he had blessed him with.

Meanwhile, Parvati tuned to Vishnu ti intervene for the sake of Shiva. Vishnu assumed the form of a beautiful dancer named Mohini who captivated Bhasmasur with her seductive oerformance. Mohini emulate her dance movments untill she placed her hand on her head. When the latter copied the movement, the power of his hand destroyed him for good. A peculiar problem arose when it became clear that Shiva himself had been bewitched by Mohini’s beauty. This led to liasion between Shiva & mohini, which produced the birth of a child, who went on to become Ayappa.

Coming closer to present day, the law that outlaws sex between 2 members of the same gender came not from religious fanatics of anykind, but surprisingly, from the British, during the days of thier rule in India. It was then that the series of laws prectised by British rulers in India were drafted in Indian constitution. Among them was the one banning homosexuality in any form as a criminal activity. The issue was never the right if individuals to persue their sexual preferences. But it centered the apparent violations of section 377 of Indian Penal Code, which outlaws homosexuality. According to this law, no human being can have sex or any kind of physical relationship with the human of teh same sex. This is considered as “against the order of the nature.”

A few years ago, Delhi witness a determined effort by the well-connected gay activists and rent-a-cause liberals to turn perversity into victim-hood. In backdrop of a grisly double-murder in a posh South-Delhi colony, a campaign of intimidation has been mounted to force both the police and media into meekly acquiescing to bizarre notions of political correctness. At one level, the seemingly ritual killing of Pushkin Chandra & his so-called ‘companion’ Kuldeep is a plain crime story that can, at best, arouse fleeting local interest. Yet, it was apparent from the outset that this was more than just another murder. The Pushkin story grabbed popular interest because of what it revealed about the unpleasant base of what passes for alternative sexuality in Delhi.

Despite this law, what people get unto in privacy of the bedroom is of little interest to most people other than pseudo-sociologist and voyeurs. Contrary to what indignant activist would not have us believe there is neither a moral police in existence nor is society is fundamentally intolerant of gays.

There are enough open gay couple that dot the society pages. They may be considered somewhat odd and, at times, bohemian, but we haven’t heard of cases of gay bashing. Indeed, so great is the lure of the Pink Rupee that many restaurants and bars have begun to discreetly organise gay evenings for this neglected clientele. As such, the accusations of witch-hunt of gays leveled by activists are somewhat far-fetched and self-serving.

What the Pushin case suggests, however, is that there is another dimension of gay life, which is both sordid and verges of the criminal. There is nothing remotely normal about well-heeled gays routinely picking up young boys from deprived backgrounds for the purpose of sexual gratification. Gay criminality wasn’t the whole problem, but it certainly part of the problem & Pushkin’s case certainly highlighted that.

These are the exploitative relationships that would greeted with social disdain if it involved a man & a woman. What would our reaction be to a rich man who takes a vulnerable woman from neighboring slum as his occasional companion? We would perceive it as a crude power relationship based on lust. Is there any reason to view it differently just because it centers on two or more males? Nor is there any reason to put a stamp of approval on reckless promiscuity just because it involves gays.

IT is not necessary to comment on every piece of fanciful theology or is it necessary to claim everything that has a history and there is no doubt that homosexuality and lesbianism have had their shadowy presence of the ages as heritage. Yet, that is precisely what is being done in the name of freedom and enlightenment. It is a problem that should agitate society as a whole. And that includes gays who see their sexuality as a purely privately matter and not as a badge of superiorirty or a publicity cause.

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