[Reader-list] message by a.khanna

[Iram Ghufran]

message by akshay khanna, ifellow 2006-07

urgent request for help

> hi all,
>
> this is akshay, one of the new independent fellow types. this time
> around i'll introduce
> myself as a queer activist - this is not my 'first posting' about my
> project, this is an
> invitation to a protest.
>
> a few days ago a group of men were arrested in Lucknow for being
> members of a gay
> internet group. the FIR claims that they were caught having sex in a
> public park. the
> independent fact finding team suggtests this is a fabrication, that
> this is a case of
> entrapment. either way, this is the first time that Section 377 of the
> indian penal code
> (which says that anyone who has 'carnal intercourse against the order
> of nature' may be
> imprisoned for life - 'against the order of nature' in 1860, when this
> law was framed,
> would have included using a condom, but which today means anal or oral
> sex whether
> between people of the same sex or of the 'oppostite' sexes)- has been
> applied to mean
> that being homosexual is a crime. thus far the interpretation has been 
> that it
> criminalises particular sexual acts.
>
> these actions of the police have significant implications for the queer
> movements in
> india.
>
> pasted below is an invitation for a protest taking place at noon on
> thursday. please try
> to make it and forward it to other people...i think there are issues
> here that link up
> with concerns on many on this list.
>
> hope to see people there.
>
> best,
>
> akshay
> ....................
> Protest against police atrocities under Section 377 in Lucknow
>
> Date: Thursday, 12th January, 2006
> Time: 12 noon
> Venue: Outside UP Bhawan, 5, Sardar Patel Marg, New Delhi-21
>
> WHY:
>
> 3rd January: four men were arrested in Lucknow for being a part of what
> the Lucknow police called a “gay racket” and charged under Section 377.
> The arrests were made on the grounds that these persons are allegedly
> members of an internet based service that enables gay men to meet other
> like-minded persons.
>
> In other words, these people have been arrested simply because they are
> homosexual – something that is not a crime!
>
> They have since been held in police custody and charged under Sec 377 –
> an archaic British colonial law that criminalises adult, consensual
> same-sex sexual behaviour and is currently the subject of a legal
> challenge in the Delhi High Court. Yet even Sect 377 does not
> criminalise being homosexual, but only certain sexual acts which were
> NOT committed by any of the charged parties when they were arrested.
> More importantly, the law violates the fundamental and human rights of
> Indian citizens to freely take consensual decisions about their sexual
> preferences and live lives free of violence and discrimination.
>
> In the FIR Police have mentioned 13 more people's names and mobile
> phone numbers,
> exposing them to discrimination and harm in their personal and
> professional lives and
> fundamentally violating their privacy.
>
> Other sources indicate that the FIR does not contain all the facts
> behind the arrests.
> Family members of one of the arrested parties have reportedly said that
> he was illegally
> detained by the police days before the other three and was taken away
> for interrogation.
>
> The police have stepped outside of the law and have violated the
> fundamental right to
> life and liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution.
>
> This has created fear and panic in the Queer community in Lucknow -
> many people have gone
> underground and this has severely damaged the outreach work of NGOs 
> providing
> HIV/AIDS/sexual health services to homosexual/bisexual men in Lucknow.
>
> The actions of the Lucknow police are in direct contravention of the
> government’s own National AIDS Control and Prevention Policies, the
> objective of which is to create an enabling environment by protecting
> the human rights of marginalized sexualities.
>
>
>
> WE DEMAND
>
> § Immediate release of the arrested people and to drop all charges.
> § Immediate suspension of Police Officials involved in these arrests.
> § Punishing the guilty Police Officials after conducting an
> immediate enquiry for their illegal and unconstitutional actions
> including keeping people in illegal detention, filing false charges and
> for violating 'Right to Privacy'.
> § UP Government to take urgent steps to protect human rights and
> to stop moral policing
> § Complete implementation of the NACO policy recommendations to
> ensure effective HIV/AIDS outreach with men who have sex with men in an
> environment free of discrimination
> § Repeal Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code as it serves as a
> tool for the police to harass the sexuality minorities
>
>
> Voices Against 377 is a coalition of Delhi based groups working on
> women’s rights, human rights, child rights and the rights of same sex
> desiring people including lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered
> people. This group seeks to draw public attention to section 377 of the
> Indian Penal Code, 1860 – the law that penalises “carnal intercourse
> against the order of nature” and effectively criminalises same-sex
> sexual activity between consenting adults, in private. It is a colonial
> law that has given legitimacy to gross and sustained human rights
> violations against lesbian, gay, hijra, transgender and bisexual
> people, thus negating the constitutional claim of equal citizenship and
> protection for all.
>