Never Mind Yaar: A Fine Balance

Showing posts with label A Fine Balance. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Deja Vu? Writing on the Wall?

This is an excerpt from Rohinton Mistry's, "A Fine Balance". What struck me was the chilling resemblance between Indira's Emergency days and now.

A conversation between Maneck and a taxi driver.

To repeat some chilling lines from above,

"...she was helping one group make trouble for the state govt. Afterwards the group became so powerful..." Sound familiar?

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

SECTION 377 REPEALED

Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code was an archaic Victorian law, introduced in India in 1861. It stated, rather vaguely, that, 'unnatural sex' was punishable by law.

First overturned in 2009 by the Delhi HC, it was re-instated by the SC in 2013. Section 377 was back with a vengeance, especially since all religious leaders came together to support the SC ruling.

In 2017, Justice Chandrachud stated that the right to privacy is a fundamental right for all, whatever their sexual orientation. Section 377 was still not repealed but the strong arm of the law couldn’t invade someone’s bedroom, as they had started doing.

Finally, on 6^thSeptember, 2018, the law was repealed. The bench termed the 'tyranny' of section 377, "irrational, indefensible and manifestly arbitrary.”

The LGBTQ community of India and its supporters erupted with joy. "Yayee!!" said one, adding a thank-you to, and a quote from, the bench.

“Majoritarian views and popular morality cannot dictate constitutional rights. We have to vanquish prejudice, embrace inclusion and ensure equal rights.”

Pages

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Deja Vu? Writing on the Wall?