Sexuality in India: Black and White?
Modern India is witnessing a sea-change in its perceptions, outlook and values. Social insecurities can no longer dictate the law unopposed. A fundamental and heartening role-reversal greets the twentieth century Indian: progressive legislation and justice have taken charge of guiding public morality.
377. Unnatural offences: Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.
Explanation: Penetration is sufficient to constitute the carnal intercourse necessary to the offence described in this section.
Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, verbatim. The section, modelled after the Buggery Act of 1533, criminalizes unnatural sexual intercourse of any kind. While it does not give an explicit definition of ‘against the order of nature’, it is widely understood to include within its ambit, but not being restricted to, sexual activity between same-sex individuals, serving as an indirect refusal to accord legal recognition to the non-binary of sexuality.
This all changed in a series of events forming part of a larger domino effect: renewal or initiation of judicial review on several off-shoots stemming from the inclusion of the right to privacy as an Indian’s fundamental right. In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court partially read down section 377 to decriminalize consensual, private, sexual activity between same-sex adults, recognizing the rationality previously buried under layers of social stigma and prejudice. Ironically but as the case usually is, the Blind Lady became the guiding light for millions of consciences of sighted men and women, nudging and shaping our perception to the benefit of a greater degree of acceptance. But the question still stands: are we ready for this change?
In Religious Narratives and Folklore
Indian folklore is replete with instances of gender fluidity and diversity. There are numerous findings of men turning into women and women into men. Ancient Hindu scriptures speak of the eroticism of the Gods, and of Kama, the beautiful God of love who unites people that are meant to be together irrespective of social appropriateness.
The Krittivasa Ramayana, the most popular Bengali version of the Ramayana, gives an account of the birth of Bhagiratha, the king who brought down the mighty Ganges. According to the fourteenth-century poet Krittivasa, Dilipa, the king of Ayodhya, had died without an heir. His two wives, Chandra and Mala, aggrieved by the untimely death of their husband and burning with desire, embraced each other and indulged in a love play blessed by the Gods. It was then that the great king Bhagiratha was conceived.
According to Tamil folklore, Aravan, the son of Arjuna, volunteered to sacrifice himself to ensure the victory of the Pandavas in the Battle of Kurukshetra. He, however, asked Krishna for three boons, the third of which was to not die a bachelor. Since no woman consented to marry a man who was ordained to die in a day, Krishna disguised himself as a temptress called Mohini, married Aravan and spent the night with him. The story of Krishna-Mohini is re-enacted every year by members of the transgender community called Aravanis during an 18-day long festival in Tamil Nadu’s Koovagam.
In Ancient texts and architecture
The Kama Sutra is a fourth-century Hindu text dealing with sexual desire and love. Quite unlike the Western classification of sexuality based on attraction felt by an individual, it labels men with feminine attributes and women with masculine characteristics as ‘third gender’. The text dives deep into the customary professions of the members of the ‘third gender’, masseurs, barbers, flower-sellers, among others; and goes on to give vivid descriptions of forms of oral sex (fellatio) between men. Vatsyayana, the author of Kama Sutra, recognized the bond of love, trust and friendship in a homosexual marriage.
The Kama Sutra was contemporaneous with the resurgence of Vedic Hinduism through the construction of temples that bore intricate carvings and inscriptions depicting, openly celebrating at times, human sexuality in general, with occasional sightings of homosexual experiences. Among these, the stone carvings at Khajuraho and Konark are of prime importance.
While these examples may be sufficient to deduce the existence of homosexuality, in one form or the other, in Ancient India, and dismiss it as a modern construct, it is, however, equally critical to note the implicit condescension, the disdainful tone with which homosexuality was generally dealt with. Chandra and Mala have been described to have resorted to intercourse out of desperation and grief. Krishna’s transformation into Mohini is understood no more than an act of subterfuge; a divine intervention to set the plot in motion. Vatsyayana disfavoured homosexual practices and the third gender. Homosexuality was often portrayed and referred to, but it was seldom approved, and ultimately discouraged.
Medieval Era
Unlike homosexuality, which refers to the chronic sexual orientation of an individual, homoeroticism describes more transient and less permanent homosexual infatuations. Homoeroticism was widely prevalent among the male elites of the Muslim dynasties that ruled the Indian Sub-continent. Sultans and Emperors often kept male, besides female, sex-slaves called Ghilman for sexual gratification. Ghilman were described as beardless boys with blue eyes and soft skins.
Castrated male servants, called eunuchs, were often considered ideal for filling roles involving physical access to the rulers. Sterilized at an early age, eunuchs had few familial allegiances, partly because they were generally ostracized by their own families and also because they had no in-laws or offspring; and owing to the hormonal imbalance in their bodies, no significant sexual inclinations. They were seen as loyal subordinates having little interest in usurping power and, thus, fitting for carrying out functions that put them in close proximity to rulers, including making their beds, giving them baths and looking after their queens, or serving as sex-partners, among others. At the same time, they could easily be disposed of, killed, because of their eroded social standing.
It is rumoured that Alauddin Khalji, the second ruler of the Delhi Sultanate, entered into an affectionate, possibly sexual, relationship with one of his eunuch slaves, Malik Kafur. Malik was captured during a conquest in Gujarat; historical records speak of his bewitching form, how he rose through the ranks in Khalji’s court owing to his wisdom and beauty, and how Alauddin had foolishly vested significant political power in his ‘sodomite’ by the time the former died.
Babur, the first Mughal Emperor, confesses in his memoir, Baburnama, about his love for a teenaged boy, Baburi, whom he met in the markets of Kabul. Their union made impossible by political and social factors, Babur passionately writes about his love:
“Nor power to stay was mine, nor strength to part; I became what you made of me, oh thief of my heart.”
What is interesting to note here is that sodomy and homosexuality were generally frowned upon in Islam. Different jurists prescribed varying degrees of retribution for such acts. The dominant Muslim ideology in the Mughal Empire, Hanafi, however, was much more lenient on this subject; even the mild penalties recommended for such offenses therein were scarcely invoked due to the dearth of irrefutable evidence, required for conviction, in the form of four faithful eyewitnesses testifying to penetration, essentially camouflaging homosexuality practiced in private precincts from the lens of law.
Recent track record
With the onset of the colonial era, Imperial powers systematically replaced incumbent, tolerant, rather indifferent albeit not embracing, Indian views and laws encompassing homosexuality and sexual orientation by their European counterparts, that borrowed heavily from Christian principles disfavouring gender diversity. The Indian Penal Code was brought into force in 1861, containing section 377 that essentially outlawed homosexuality.
AIDS Bhedbhav Virodhi Andolan (ABVA), an AIDS activist movement, filed the first petition challenging the draconian section 377 in the Delhi High Court in the 1990s. The issue at the centre of the controversy: denial of condoms to the Tihar Jail inmates despite the known prevalence of homosexuality in the prison. The case was decided in 2009, but the outcome was well worth the wait: the Delhi High Court partially struck down 377 and legalized consensual sexual intercourse between same-sex adults in private.
The judgment was appealed in the Apex Court, which set aside this decision in 2013 in what was seen as a major blow to the evolving sensitivity and acceptance of homosexuality. 5 years down the lane, here we stand.
Changing Attitudes
The World Value Survey is one of the few compilations of nationally representative samples of surveys and studies aimed at cataloguing the gradual shift in value systems of people in about 100 countries. The study presents useful observations in the Indian context:
Respondents were asked to select the group of individuals they would not like to have as neighbours, from a list of groups. The share of respondents who mentioned homosexuals went down from 91.4% to 28.8% from 1990 to 2004 but has been on an upward trend since.
A comparative analysis of the proportion of respondents in various age strata who mentioned homosexuals in the survey question reveals a positive change in the attitude of Indians of all ages as regards homosexuality. It also hints at the uniformity of opinion on the subject.
The following graph represents the proportion of respondents who felt homosexuality is never or always justifiable. Homosexuality was seen to be never justifiable by roughly 90% of the surveyed audience in 1990–1994, which came down to nearly 50% in 2000–2004. It reveals a general downward trend of extreme hostility towards homosexuality.
Closing note
Alternate sexual orientations have been historically viewed as psychological malfunctions, diseases that need to be arrested. Only recently have nations and human rights organizations begun to realize that the so-called ‘deviant’ gender identities are ingrained in individual personalities and don’t need correction; that the outliers of the male-female binary of sexuality deserve equal rights and representation as their male and female counterparts.
It is equally important to understand that gender diversity speaks much more than male, female, gay and homosexual. There are scores of other sexual orientations waiting to find their way into mainstream media. It is vital that these gender expressions not be left out in the engineering of an all-inclusive definition of gender.
The recent developments in the Indian context are heartening. With its outspoken rejection of anti-gay propaganda served to it by various religious outfits, the Indian judiciary has underscored the essentiality of discerning and discarding false logic as it comes. It has reiterated itself, unfailingly and with much force at that, as being the custodian of citizens’ rights, the light in the dark.
Talk to a gay-rights activist, and the optimism that fills them will be evident. The next push, they say, will be for the legalization of gay marriage and adoption by gay couples. Now that variant gender expressions have the force of law, it will be easier to steer the mass-conscience towards greater tolerance and eventual acceptance.
Reader’s Takeaway: The Gender Glossary
As responsible writers, we firmly believe that a sound theoretical basis is an absolute requisite for a mature and well-rounded understanding of the subject matter. It is what marks the difference between a cursory examination, where boundaries are hazy and definitions merge into each other, and a meticulous exploration of the content, which floats fine lines of difference to the surface. We feel dutifully bound to underline the distinction between terms that are commonly encountered when dealing with this subject, and that are often erroneously interchanged.
- Asexual: The term asexual refers to people who do not feel attracted to any gender.
- Heterosexual/Straight: The term heterosexual, up until the 1930s, meant perverted or morbid sexual passion for the opposite sex. The current implication of the word, normal sexual attraction to the opposite sex, only surfaced in 1934.
- Homosexual/Gay: The term homosexual equivalently referred to morbid sensual cravings for the same sex. Modern connotations of the term are generally milder and convey attraction felt by a person for the same sex.
- Bisexual: Bisexual people feel attracted to both men and women.
- Polysexual: Polysexual people are attracted to multiple, but not all, sexual orientations.
- Pansexual: Pansexuality is the attraction to an individual irrespective of his or her gender.
- Lesbian: A lesbian is a homosexual woman.
- Cisgender: Cisgender people feel at ease with their biologically assigned gender identities.
- Transgender: Transgenders are those who embrace gender identities that were not biologically assigned to them at birth. This often involves medical procedures that facilitate the transition.
References and Suggested Reading
LGBT History in India | Homosexuality in India | Did Homosexuality exist in ancient India? | Hinduism on LGBT | Bhagiratha | Kama Sutra | The legend of Bhagiratha | Iravan | Mohini | Homosexuality under the Mughals | How did the Mughals view Homosexuality? | Fluid Sexuality in the Mughal era | Homoeroticism | Eunuch | Malik Kafur | An Emperor with foibles | Colonialism and Homosexuality in India | Section 377 | ABVA | The Quint | The Apex Court Verdict | Homosexuality in India: What data shows | World Value Survey | LGBTQIA Glossary | Heterosexuality and its historic connotations
