Why Aligarh Embraces Homosexuality

To begin with, Aligarh is not the town but the movie that was released in February, 2016 and narrates the real life incident of Dr. Shrinivas Ramchandra Siras, a language professor at Aligarh Muslim University who suffered a terrible fate in the struggle to retain the right to his sexuality while being subjected to society’s invasion of his privacy.

The movie questions the criminalization of homosexuality in India by portraying the spectacle of an individual’s trauma in the context of Indian law and politics and social stigma. Most of all, it begs to begin a discussion about human dignity, personal freedom, and choice in the Indian society.

Just like many unjust and obsolete laws that still exist in the Indian Penal Code, Section 377 came into being by the British Colonial Regime back in 1860 that criminalized ‘carnal intercourse against the order of nature’. In 1967the British Parliament decriminalized homosexual acts and with a few amendments later, “abolished homosexual offences” as long as the individuals in question are well above 16 years of age and practice consent.

Ironically, the expulsion followed by a court hearing that Dr. Siras experienced in Aligarh Muslim University was caused by a consensual act of sexual intercourse between him and a Rickshaw puller who was also above 16 years of age.

This is why Aligarh, the movie, intervenes in the matters of homosexuality in the socio-judicial realm in India. Before an individual is a citizen of the state, he is a human being with an inherent biological make up and sexual orientation. Just like you can’t turn a heterosexual into a homosexual without there being a predisposition, the same way you can’t force a homosexual to turn into a heterosexual for society’s sake. Yes, there are clear biological implications with the absence of condition that aid procreation, but truth to be told, there cannot be a day when the entire human species becomes homosexual. Human species is all about variety, and nature maintains that balance with a plethora of biological, physiological, and sexual diversity.

Laws are created for the protection of people in a society. Laws are meant to support human dignity, maintain order in a state, protect people’s basic rights and identity, and ensure peace and justice in a community. In India, most of the Indian laws carry that meaning but there are still a few that are anachronistic and need to be weeded out to ensure a progressive human living.

Aligarh reminds us that there is currently a clear disconnect between what the Indian law is trying to contribute to society and what the people of the community need. We don’t need to wait for a time when an entire procession comprising of millions of homosexual individuals wakes up the Indian law-making authorities to listen and perhaps uses violence to make some noise. If we were to just recognize the human in us, the order and values of society can still be preserved while ensuring that justice is bestowed upon those who need it. That’s really what Aligarh is trying to plead for.

This Model Village in Tamil Nadu Puts the Indian Government to Shame

Tired of hearing and cribbing about all kinds of problems with no solutions in sight? The Model Village in Kuthambakkam is a refreshing case of social, economic and political transformation which is a result of a persistence, commitment and a sense of belong that exists within this community under the leadership of Rangasamy Elango, a young Dalit Head of Gram Panchayat in this village in Thiruvallur District some 30km from Chennai.

In 1996, Elango returned to his native village to build economies of permanence by unleashing the potential of the villagers. A chemical engineer by profession, Elango believed in the idea of Panchayati Raj and the possibility of self-reliance in rural India and has now proven that it is possible make real systemic changes that count. He has also brought this system of self-reliance to other rural villages that embrace Panchayati Raj, thus heading toward creating a cluster of villages in India that would achieve success through decentralized governance.

Successes of Kuthambakkam

Self-Reliance

The people now see the benefits of processing agricultural produce locally, thus enjoying economic self-sufficiency and preservation of pride and dignity. Elango says, “We think of ourselves as consumers only of finished goods, but there is no reason why we cannot be the buyers of the unfinished goods as well as the processors who make the unfinished goods. In the same move, you can eliminate all the middleman costs and also find employment through new economic activity.”

Ecological Sustenance

The model villagers are in every way respectful of the environment and employ eco-friendly ways of co-existence with the environment i.e. recycling and use of renewable energy. In addition to water harvesting methods in place, the village also has street lights that use solar power.

Education

Thanks to progressive leadership, every child in Kuthakambam goes to school. Every member of the community engages in workshops and training in various ongoing projects including dairy processing, water harvesting technology, soap-making processing unit, groundnut oil processing among others. This ensures learning, skill-building and consequentially increased participation of the members in this unique community-building exercise.

Free Trade Zone

After observing the fruits of this system of mutual dependence in good faith, Elango began interactions with other Panchayat leaders in Tamil Nadu to create a cluster of villages to fall under this model of self-sustenance and founded a Panchayat Academy that now comprises of 700 Panchayat leaders across the state. If one village lacked a certain resource, another village within the cluster would help out and vice versa.

Integration through Twin-Housing

In a place where before the Panchayati Raj Act was introduced, more than 50% populated was Dalit and was still heavily discriminated, Elango managed to build 50 twin houses within a colony that means “place for equality” with each house inhabited by one Dalit and non-Dalit individual. Later, the Tamil Nadu Government adopted this infrastructural model and implemented it in the entire state.