A Matter of Sexual Freedom

Over the past few days I have seen a lot of excitement, rage, disappointment, disgust and several other feelings poured over the historic Delhi Hight Court ruling that decriminalizes same sex among consenting adults in the city. Now with Baba Ramdev publicly coming out against homosexuality, the debate is only going to get intense...

Even though I have taken potshots at how the new public display of affection among gay men (not women, curiously) turns me off, this post is not about my sex preferences or about Baba Ramdev's supposed powers to "cure homosexuality".

This post is simply about being progressive, rights-oriented and, in the spirit of the current buzzword, "inclusive". The new world order that we now see is one in which more people than ever before in history can make choices -- about how they live, whom they vote, what they wear or eat, among other things. And it's essential that this order include more and more people (still stuck in repressed regimes or who otherwise live on the fringes of fear and deprivation) for our continued physical, emotional and spiritual evolution. As a free citizen of a democratic country (however pathetic the democracy currently is, I still prize it) I believe that each individual has the right to choose his or her sexual inclination -- so long as he or she is not enticing minors or forcing others against their wishes. The government's job is -- should be -- to protect people from cutting each other's throat, not from cutting ice in what can be a mutually agreed and meaningful relationship.

At the same time, if Baba Ramdev wants people to approach him or his ashram and be cured of their "wayward sexual leanings" -- and if there are indeed people who do that or are willing to do that -- then we must also respect their choices and opinions. As long as we all get to exercise our choices with dignity and impartiality, it should be fine.

I only hope the courts all over the country (and the big daddy Supreme Court) do not get entangled in political opportunism of various groups -- but instead make further rules that facilitate adult informed choice while continuing to protect children and punish criminals (the real ones).