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Indian decriminalisation debate continues
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
Indian Home Minister claims that gay sex is the product of a 'perverse mind'.
"At present, we donââ¬â¢t know exactly how many gays live in India because everybody is afraid to come out in the open. We know the HIV infection status of only 50% of these men. Around 86% of HIV infection is through unprotected sex "
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has intervened in the decriminalisation debate, requesting that ministers meet to discuss the issue.
Home Minister Shivraj Patil and Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss have both taken conflicting views on the matter, and have been asked by the Prime Minister to confer in lieu of a decision being made in the High Court, where a petition to overturn a colonial era law on 'unnatural sex' is being considered.
The Health Minister is fighting for decriminalisation on the grounds that it will reduce HIV rates. He said:
"At present, we don’t know exactly how many gays live in India because everybody is afraid to come out in the open.
"We know the HIV infection status of only 50% of these men. Around 86% of HIV infection is through unprotected sex.
"World over, people are accepting homosexuality. The home minister should be a lot more sensitive. How can we control physiological feelings of people?"
However the Home Minister asserts that gay sex is the product of a 'perverse mind', despite the fact that India has the greatest number of HIV and AIDs patients in the world.
The Indian law on gay sex was created in 1860 under the British Raj, and was in agreement with British ruling at the time.
