g_b Gays are minority in the country: Delhi HC
Gays are minority in the country: Delhi HC Press Trust of India Thursday, October 16, 2008, (New Delhi) The Delhi High Court has taken a strong exception to the Centre's contention that the court would divide the country if it recognises homosexuals as a minority group. A Bench headed by Chief Justice A P Shah said that the government is virtually accusing the court of dividing the country, which cannot be part of an argument. These are not arguments but comments on us. You are saying that we are dividing the nation by saying that they belong to minority group and then you are also saying that we are encouraging such practices, the Bench said. The court's remarks came when Additional Solicitor General P P Malhotra contended that if gays were considered as minority in the country then many such small groups having peculiar characteristics would claim to belong to minority group, which would further divide the country. Is it a false statement to say that people suffering from leprosy or any other dreaded diseases do not belong to a minority group? If you are not prepared to see it then we cannot help it. Sexual minority means a group of people having different sexual preferences. Are we dividing the nation by calling them minority, the court observed. The Bench referred to the affidavit filed by the NACO on behalf of health ministry, which admitted that the gay community is a minority community being harassed for their different sexual preferences. Is the recognition of Men Having Sex with Men (MSM) by the Health Ministry a reality or fiction? Does such group exist, if yes then why cannot they be put in a group on the basis of their characteristics, the court said.
g_b Indian Student Hazed, Claims Gay Sexual Assaultr.
ndian Student Hazed, Claims Gay Sexual Assault by Kilian Melloy EDGE Contributor Thursday Oct 16, 2008 A 16-year-old Indian student says that he was urinated on, cut with a blade, and sexually assaulted at the hands of other male students--as part of a college hazing. The teenager, identified only as Sanjay, was had started at GNTC-NTTF college in Coimbatore, a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, but his college career went awry when a hazing incident led to more serious repercussions against him, according to an Oct. 16 article published by Rediff News http://in.rediff.com/news/2008/oct/16ganesh.htm. Initially, Sanjay's complaint centered around a group of seven college seniors taking his clothes and then urinating on him on last Sept. 17. After Sanjay complained to school authorities, the students were suspended; following a meeting between the suspended students and Sanjay's parents, at which the older students offered apologies for their conduct, the suspension was shortened, the article said, ending on Oct. 6. But the matter was not yet over; the article said that on Oct. 8, the students again targeted Sanjay, this time with a blade, resulting in cuts on the young man's hands, chest, and stomach. Sanjay went into the hospital, and his father, Srinivasan, went to the police. Four students were named in the police complaint, and were arrested. A statement from G. Karthikeyan, the Coimbatore police superintendent, indicated that the school's warden, principal, and manager had fled; the NTTF's director, K. Venugopal, contradicted that report, saying that they had not absconded, despite the superintendent's statement to Rediff News reporter. The article said that Sanjay had reported the cutting incident to the school's warden, who did nothing about it; allegations were made that the warden was drinking buddies with the students involved in the attack. But new details about Sanjay's story later emerged, including new allegations: that eleven students in total, not just the four who were arrested or the seven who were suspended, had systematically tormented him, and that sexual assault had been part of what Sanjay had endured. Venugopal was quoted as saying, The bail petition will be moved on the October 16 and the hearing will be on October 17. The school's director defended NTTF, saying, We are a 49-year-old institution running colleges all over the country. Added Venugopal, I have dismissed two dozen students over the last few years for [hazing]. If they had given me a chance, I would have taken stern action. They did not even give us 24 hours, but rushed to the police. Venugopal continued, I cannot comment on the matter now that the police are investigating. However, promised Venugopal, We will take strict action against all offenders. NTTF has begun an investigation of the allegations. One individual connected with the investigation was quoted in the article as saying, We heard about the warden drinking with the students only today. Added the source, If [this allegation is] found [to be] true, he will be sacked He cannot drink with students or come drunk into the college. The Rediff News reporter approached Sanjay in the hospital, where the young man revealed shocking details that he had previously kept to himself. Sanjay was quoted as saying, I joined college on June 20 and for three weeks everything went well. After that the seniors started coming to my room. After 10:30 p.m. they used to drink liquor with the warden and then come to me. Sanjay continued, What initially started with groping led to homosexual advances. They started sodomizing me regularly. I did not know what to do, the young man claimed. One day they urinated on me. I could not bear it and complained. They had been molesting me for a month when I complained. Sanjay recounted, Eleven senior students harassed me. As we had compromised with seven of them [following the suspension], the police did not take action against them. Karthikeyan responded to the new allegations, saying, We have taken strong action against the four students. Now you are naming seven more. You cannot make a different complaint every day, Karthikeyan said. They had reached a compromise with certain students, so we left them out. Srinivasan responded in turn, saying, We compromised against [hazing] and that urinating incident. We did not compromise on homosexual behavior. Added the young man's father, At that time, he did not mention sodomy. He just said sexual harassment. He told my nephew Balaji the truth only after he was admitted in hospital. He did not tell us, he told his cousin. When we heard about it, we were shocked, Srinivasan continued. This institution is famous worldwide--its certificates are recognized in Australia, but they cannot protect their students! Added the student's father, We came from Kerala to Tamil Nadu because this course, 'Tool and Dye-making,' is available only here. According to a hospital
g_b Gays are a minority in India: Delhi High Court
http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20080069021 [image: Print Story] javascript:window.print(); [image: NDTV.com]Gays are minority in the country: Delhi HC Press Trust of India Thursday, October 16, 2008 (New Delhi) The Delhi High Court has taken a strong exception to the Centre's contention that the court would divide the country if it recognises homosexuals as a minority group. A Bench headed by Chief Justice A P Shah said that the government is virtually accusing the court of dividing the country, which cannot be part of an argument. These are not arguments but comments on us. You are saying that we are dividing the nation by saying that they belong to minority group and then you are also saying that we are encouraging such practices, the Bench said. The court's remarks came when Additional Solicitor General P P Malhotra contended that if gays were considered as minority in the country then many such small groups having peculiar characteristics would claim to belong to minority group, which would further divide the country. Is it a false statement to say that people suffering from leprosy or any other dreaded diseases do not belong to a minority group? If you are not prepared to see it then we cannot help it. Sexual minority means a group of people having different sexual preferences. Are we dividing the nation by calling them minority, the court observed. The Bench referred to the affidavit filed by the NACO on behalf of health ministry, which admitted that the gay community is a minority community being harassed for their different sexual preferences. Is the recognition of Men Having Sex with Men (MSM) by the Health Ministry a reality or fiction? Does such group exist, if yes then why cannot they be put in a group on the basis of their characteristics, the court said. (c) Copyright NDTV Convergence Limited 2008. All Rights Reserved.
g_b PM skips gay issue, leaves it to Ramadoss, Patil
PM skips gay issue, leaves it to Ramadoss, Patil Fri, Oct 17 02:23 AM Avoiding any judgmental call on the conflict over orthodoxy and liberalism, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday asked health minister A Ramadoss and home minister Shivraj Patil to sit together and sort out the issue over legalising homosexuality.''The Prime Minister has directed the two ministers to sit together and discuss the matter and sort out differences,'' science and technology minister Kapil Sibal told reporters after the cabinet meeting.The contentious subject has developed into a major controversy after health minister Ramadoss, a qualified doctor himself, sought legalisation of homosexuality arguing that it can help in better treatment of people suffering from HIV/AIDs. Ramadoss' latest campaign, however, has encountered strong opposition from the Union home ministry, which holds the traditional view that gay sex is immoral. In the same vein, the Indian Penal Code (IPC) under Section 377 bans sexual relations among people of the same gender and carries a punishment of upto life imprisonment for such acts.The matter came up before the Union cabinet in the backdrop of the Delhi high court pulling up the Centre on Wednesday while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that has challenged the legality of Section 377. While responding to the court's queries, the additional solicitor general PP Malhotra had cited religious texts to justify the prohibition of gay sex in the country.Ticking off the government counsel for relying on religious texts, the court had asked it to come up with scientific reports instead in justification of the ban.The court maintained that India would not be the first country to decriminalise homosexuality in that case that it did. ''Your arguments should be based on scientific reports. Show us scientific reports which justify criminalisation of such acts,'' the division bench comprising chief Justice AP Shah and Justice S Muralidhar had said on Wednesday.The government, however, faces a paradoxical situation as the National Aids Control Organisation has already filed an affidavit on behalf of the Union health ministry which holds that sex among consenting adults belonging to the same gender should be decriminalised. The dilemma before the government was further evident when Kapil Sibal told reporters that it would abide by any court decision on the issue. ''Whatever the court decides, we will agree'' he said. He said the cabinet deferred a decision on the issue as it was already being argued before the court.Ramadoss, who successfully led the campaign against smoking and was instrumental in laying severe restrictions over smoking in public, had said that he would take up the issue of legalising homosexuality with the Prime Minister after his ministry was ticked off by the home ministry in the courts.Claiming support from ''progressive'' ministers in the Union cabinet, Ramadoss has proposed abolishing of the penal provision on those found indulging in gay sex.There has been varying views on the subject, with some like NHRC chief S Rajendra Babu supporting the decriminalisation of homosexuality.
g_b First Indo-Pak gay love story blooms on internet
First Indo-Pak gay love story blooms on internet Amir Mir Friday, October 17, 2008 04:00 IST Hammad, who has designed Pakistan's first gay website, pakistangays.com, and his lover want to settle abroad as man and spouse ISLAMABAD: There have been many heart-warming cross-LoC love stories, but this gay one takes the cake. Hammad from Pakistan is in love with an Indian man, whose name he doesn't want to disclose. He met the Indian on the internet. He confides, I am in love with an Indian man I met over the internet, but we have not met yet in person. We can't think of marriage in either of the (conservative) countries. Hammad, who is studying accounting, plans to get a job abroad where he can settle down with his partner as man and spouse. My parents keep insisting that I get married or at least engaged. May be they have sensed my chill towards girls, but that is the way we are supposed to be. We are born this way we can't help it. Hammad has gone down the gay lane a bit too far, designing Pakistan's first gay website, pakistangays.com. He runs the site, which had 569 Pakistani members last checked, from internet cafes for obvious reasons. Of those who have registered, 302 are gays, 241 bisexuals and the remaining transgender. I cannot run it (the site) from home because my parents will find out and that would destroy me forever, Hammad exaggerates, admitting with a sense of guilt that homosexuality is illegal and haraam in this country. I want to leave Pakistan and my lover wants to leave India so that we can unite and rid ourselves of this unending feeling of guilt. In the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, homosexuality is not only illegal, but a crime punishable by whipping, imprisonment, or even death. But across classes and social groups, men have sex with men. In villages throughout the country, young boys are often forcibly taken by older men. Often, these boys move to the cities and become prostitutes. In some areas, homosexuality is sometimes acceptable. In the Northwest Frontier Province, the ethnic Pashtun men who dominate the region are known to take young boys as lovers. No one has been executed for sodomy in Pakistan's recent history. [EMAIL PROTECTED]
g_b Why do men have nipples?
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=why-do-men-have-nipples Andrew M. Simons, a professor of biology at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, explains. Like all why queries, the question of why men have nipples can be addressed on many levels. My four-year-old daughter, always suspicious of a trick when asked such obvious questions, answered: because they grow them. In search of the trick answer, she quickly added that chests would also look pretty funny with just hair. Evolutionary biologists, whose job it is to explain variety in nature, are often expected to provide adaptive explanations for such why questions. Some traits may provethrough appropriate tests to be best explained as adaptations; others have perfectly good evolutionary, but nonadaptive, explanations. This is because evolution is a process constrained by many factors including history, chance, and the mechanisms of heredity, which also explains why particular attributes of organisms are not as they would be had they been designed from scratch. Nipples in male mammals illustrate a constrained evolutionary result. A human baby inherits one copy of every gene from his or her father and one copy of every gene from his or her mother. Inherited traits of a boy should thus be a combination of traits from both his parents. Thus, from a genetic perspective, the question should be turned around: How can males and females ever diverge if genes from both parents are inherited? We know that consistent differences between males and females (so-called sexual dimorphisms) are common-- examples include bird plumage coloration and size dimorphism in insects. The only way such differences can evolve is if the same trait (color, for example) in males and females has become uncoupled at the genetic level. This happens if a trait is influenced by different genes in males and females, if it is under control of genes located on sex chromosomes, or if gene expression has evolved to be dependent on context (whether genes find themselves within a male or a female genome). The idea of the shared genetic basis of two traits (in this case in males and females) is known as a genetic correlation, and it is a quantity routinely measured by evolutionary geneticists. The evolutionary default is for males and females to share characters through genetic correlations. The uncoupling of male and female traits occurs if there is selection for it: if the trait is important to the reproductive success of both males and females but the best or optimal trait is different for a male and a female. We would not expect such an uncoupling if the attribute is important in both sexes and the optimal value is similar in both sexes, nor would we expect uncoupling to evolve if the attribute is important to one sex but unimportant in the other. The latter is the case for nipples. Their advantage in females, in terms of reproductive success, is clear. But because the genetic default is for males and females to share characters, the presence of nipples in males is probably best explained as a genetic correlation that persists through lack of selection against them, rather than selection for them. Interestingly, though, it could be argued that the occurrence of problems associated with the male nipple, such as carcinoma, constitutes contemporary selection against them. In a sense, male nipples are analogous to vestigial structures such as the remnants of useless pelvic bones in whales: if they did much harm, they would have disappeared. In a now-famous paper, Stephen Jay Gould and Richard C. Lewontin emphasize that we should not immediately assume that every trait has an adaptive explanation. Just as the spandrels of St. Mark's domed cathedral in Venice are simply an architectural consequence of the meeting of a vaulted ceiling with its supporting pillars, the presence of nipples in male mammals is a genetic architectural by- product of nipples in females. So, why do men have nipples? Because females do.
