South Asia Citizens Web

One of the posters of the campaign against 377 carried the sentence in the title within quotes. Notwithstanding the fact that there may be ideological questions raised about whether there should at all be a sexual category called ‘straight’, I use this poster quotation in the literal meaning to indicate how meandering, complex and conflictual -as opposed to smooth, unidirectional, straight - a legal journey it has been . But I use it also in the symbolic meaning that the struggle for equality is for everyone, irrespective of one’s sexual orientation. One of the first impressions one gets after going through all the 98 pages of the SC judgment on S 377 (Suresh Kumar Koushal v Naz Foundation) is that this is a good text for teaching how not to write a judgment.

Calcutta, the so-called ‘cultural capital’, has demonstrated the increasing emptiness of the epithet, yet again. Taslima Nasreen, one of the most famous Bengali authors alive, had scripted a TV serial named ‘Doohshahobash’ (Difficult Cohabitations) portraying three sisters and their lives— standing up to kinds of unjust behaviour that are everyday realities for the lives of women in the subcontinent. Nasreen has long lent a powerful voice to some of the most private oppressions that women face, often silently. The private channel where the serial was slotted ran a vigorous and visible advertising campaign— Nasreen’s name still has serious pull among Bengalis and the channel knew it. Nasreen had made it clear that the serial had nothing to do with religion. However that was not enough for the self-appointed ‘leaders’ of the Muslims of West Bengal who issued warnings to the effect that the serial not be aired.

The Indian fisherfolk leaders have also asked their government to unilaterally and unconditionally release the Pakistani fishermen held in Indian prisons and their boats. The Pakistani fisherfolk will make a similar plea to their prime minister if they could gain access to him.

Poster announcing Talk on the Politics of Aadhar organised by PUCL in Chennai

Authors have also been selective about historical facts. In describing the events of 1971, Prof. Nayyar says “Our textbooks put the entire blame on Hindus of East Pakistan, and never mention the atrocities committed by the Pakistani military and its collaborators.”