Indian ban on gay sex condemned by Bollywood stars

Dec 11 2013
Written by Joseph McCormick

The stars of Bollywood have spoken out to condemn the reintroduction of a law banning gay sex by the Indian Supreme Court today.

Stars including Anuska Sharma and Farhan Akhtar spoke out today in criticism of the reinstatement of the law which was overturned by the Delhi High Court in 2009. It reinstated the 153-year old law which makes gay sex punishable with up to ten years in jail.

The decision was made on World Human Rights Day and makes India the 42nd Commonwealth nation to make same-sex activity illegal.

The actors took to Twitter to complain of the reinstatement of the law. Sharma said: “So disappointed with the [Supreme Court] verdict. Freedom is such a deceptive term. Rights are an ambiguous mystery.”

Akhtar also commented, saying: “The Supreme Court got it wrong today.”

Another singer and actor Shruti Haasan said: “11.12.13 a day that reminds us how blatant regressing and oppressing someone has become – plan b move bedroom to another planet and time… (It is) frightening how someone else decides how when and who you should love – basically freedom of choice isn’t legal anymore”.

Filmmaker Anand Gandhi also commented, saying: “Only a highly uninformed mind can have [the] arrogance of assuming that consenting adults having sex is any of their business.”

Last February, Supreme Court judges hearing the case for reintroducing a ban on gay sex in India have warned the government for making contradictory statements about homosexuality.

Wednesday’s decision has also been met with criticism from a growing number of politicians in the country.

Dr Purna Sen, former Head of Human Rights at the Commonwealth Secretariat and chair of the Kaleidoscope Trust, also condemned the decision.