04 August,2009 09:28 AM IST | | Subroto Roy
Gay rights activists, while welcoming Law Minister Veerappa Moily's statement supporting the HC's views on Article 377, said the need of the hour was more data on gay couples across the country
Pune's Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) community has welcomed the statement made by Union Law Minister Veerappa Moily yesterday in support of the Delhi High Court's statement on Article 377 on July 2, decriminalising same-sex relationships. Most, however, said there is a lot of work ahead for the LGBT community. "There is no population count of lesbian and gay couples in the country, thanks to the closeted lives they live. Hopefully, with the gradually changing attitudes, more and more people will come out in the open, and there will be better scope to understand their troubles," said Bindumadhav Khire, a techie, who gave up his career in the US to return to his native Pune to fight for gay rights.
"Statistics are vital when one formulates strategies. Since we do not have any official numbers of gays and lesbians in the country we cannot think of preparing any paper to address their issues," Khire said.
Pune-based transgender Daljit Kaur, who runs an NGO called Adhaar, welcomed Moily's statement, but said that unresolved issues within the LGBT community required more steps than merely providing legal safeguards.
Desperate for data
"Happiness for gays, like for anyone else, is linked to subjective issues of compatibility and satisfaction. Yeh to apni apni baat hai. Today, many gays and lesbians marry, have kids and then seek satisfaction outside marriage. Ek bar batti band ho gayi, toh woh bahar apne apne partners ke saath raat bitate hain. We desperately need better demographics on the community at this stage," Kaur said.
Sridhar, a Mumbai-based film-maker and gay activist, said that unfortunately, such relationships are fraught with innumerable problems and sexual compatibility was a rarity among gays.
Added Khire, "The search for the right partner never ends. I had a steady partner for 14 years, but that is rare." Said Sridhar, "The next logical step would be legalising gay marriages. It would be a welcome step."
