Anbumani Ramadoss



Recently Anbumani Ramadoss has commented that it is about time India recognised its gay population. Responding on the grim reality of AIDS in India, he has emphatically spoke in favour of scrapping Section 377 of Indian Penal Code that effectively makes alternative sexuality a crime, and also sympathised with homosexual men and transgender community. Coming from the Union Minister for Health, such words attain immense significance.

Previously Anbumani Ramadoss succeeded in almost eradicating onscreen smoking. His strong verbal attacks on leading actors smoking on screen (and off screen as well) made him unpopular among fans but fearing negative publicity many switched to chewing gums, at least on screen. Several studies and surveys have proven the fact that smoking on screen by celebrated actors inspires the youth to take up to smoking and also gives smoking a respectable varnish To the extent that in the 30s and 40s leading Hollywood stars such as John Wayne were on the payrolls of tobacco companies for smoking their particular brand on screen. Widespread anti-tobacco campaigns in the US in the 70s almost put a stop to this practice and today in Hollywood the smokers are depicted as either bad guys or emotionally disturbed characters. Anbumani Ramadoss did to Indian cinema and youth what Hollywood began to practice decades ago. It is difficult to tell just how much our Health Minister's initiatives helped society due to absence of verifiable statistic methodologies with us.

Today, his support for legalising alternate sexuality has shaken up the courts and the power centres in Delhi. Media houses are busy churning out debates and essays on the topic and the Attorney General has reluctantly dissuaded court against it and, in order to appear both culturally and intellectually right, he passed the responsibility stating repealing Section 377 should be the discretion of the courts.

The figures are staggering and one indicates that there are around 3.7 million gay people in India. That's about a million less than the population of Singapore. Those among them who are infected with HIV may not even know that because a health worker counselling or doctor treating a gay could be arrested under Section 377. Socially ostracised and legally sent underground, the homosexual community's trauma is simply worsened with the threat of HIV infection. How much impact it negatively causes society is dangerously unknown.

Talking about homosexuality itself is taboo in India and talking in favour of it far worse. A Union Health Minister doing so may have serious electoral consequences for the party he belongs to. The open support by Anbumani in strong terms despite all that must be highly lauded and appreciated. His statement may not help repealing section 377 immediately. But the debate has been commenced and this would help melt the taboo hopefully soon make India come out of the heterosexual closet.

POTA is not the answer



When India attained Independence, she embraced socialism because it seemed to be the wise thing to do. With capitalist America struggling to emerge out of depression and socialist Europe and Communist Soviet emerging victorious, adopting socialism for a just born country was thought of as a logical step. In the late 80s when the socialist part of Germany broke apart and Soviet crumbled, Capitalism was thought to be the saviour.

The political think tank, devoid of cultural imagination, is doing exactly the same with respect to countering terrorism. When the right-wing BJP government brought in POTA (Prevention of Terrorism Act), it was dubbed as inhuman, anti-people law from a ‘fascist’ party. Now, four years after repealing POTA and countless terror attacks that almost seems to pull down the government, the Proxy-Manmohan-led Congress government is thinking of bringing back POTA. Understandably to save face, they are not going to call it POTA but the terror law in any name is going to smell just as foul.

POTA, when it was in force, helped the autocratic political leaders more than the Anti-Terror Squad. With sky-high rights enabled by POTA where anyone could be detained anytime, locked up without having to be produced in court, tried in-camera by special courts, ability to raid any house at any time without sufficient warrant, etc., the leaders such as Mayavati, Jayalalitha played havoc with their political opponents. Under POTA, even human rights activists holding protest marches in support of detainees could be arrested as well. Using this law, Arundhati Roy can be arrested for speaking in favour of Kashmir’s liberation. And if BJP were in power, they would have done just that.

POTA is not the answer to curb terrorism. Understanding leaders like Laloo who brazenly link Muslims with terrorism is. In a recent statement condemning the Delhi Bomb Blasts, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav added that ‘terrorists have no religion or castes.’ Apparently he hasn’t read the emails sent by the Indian Mujahideen immediately after the blasts as they have clearly identified which religion they belong to and which God they have dedicated these deaths to. Putting an emphatic stop to these immature, politically motivated statements is. And ousting spineless home ministers like Shivraj Patil is.

Within two hours of the blasts in Delhi, Patil had changed his suit thrice to attend meetings and press conferences. And uttered gems such as ‘We knew Delhi was to be attacked but did not know the time and the location of the attacks’ and hence could not stop them. Such an attitude sends dangerous signals to Indian Mujahideens who are planning more fireworks. POTA would do absolutely nothing as long as the political think tank continues to lead people to believe that terrorism is a Pakistani importation and Indian Muslims are totally different from the rest of the world, or that Hindu fundamentalists must stop their activities in order to end terrorism, or that the economic backwardness or the social ghettoisation is the reason for Muslim youth turning to terror.

What is required is the real War on Terror that uses existing laws effectively and pushes the current cases aggressively to bring the accused to justice. That resolve is currently missing. As long as minorityism is confused with secularism, Mujahideen’s will continue to confuse mass murder with religious worship.