India in LGTB} It’s a Foolish Government When It Goes In Circles Before Making A Decission
Forget the specific issue for the moment - although it's ridiculous that our government is still debating whether the bedroom choices of consenting adults should be considered criminal.
There's a bigger problem here: negligence and/or indecision that borders on malice.
When the Supreme Court is hearing an important matter of civil rights, you'd expect the government to come prepared.
Indian Eunuch Laksmi (pictured right) kisses another member of the LGBT community as they celebrate the court ruling decriminalising gay sex
There might have been internal disagreements about the issue - whether it is gay rights or, say, the detention of a terror suspect. But when it comes down to it, that too after being handed a whole three years to come to a decision, the government ought to be clear.
Otherwise you'd have the farcical situation that came up in the Supreme Court on Thursday, when one of the lawyers representing the Union of India spent hours on a tirade against the 'immorality' of homosexuality.
Right afterwards, another government lawyer got up and said, essentially, 'um, no, not quite.'
If you were being charitable, you could just blame this on bad communication.
When the Supreme Court is hearing an important matter of civil rights, you'd expect the government to come prepared
But then the MHA went and released its statement that's basically a massive cop-out; the government is 'not taking' a position - shielded by the 2009 cabinet decision that said the same thing.
Here's where negligence turns into indecision that is entering malicious territory.
It's fine if the government doesn't want to be the arbiter of society's morals. It is, however, by definition responsible for what counts as 'illegal.'
When the case returns to the apex court, the government will have yet another chance to take a clear, unequivocal stand on Section 377 and this time it will have to be proactive. To do anything else would be, well, criminal.
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