Two Days After Indian State’s 1st Gay Marriage, Couple Forced to Divorce
Though homosexuality has been decriminalized in India, deep-seated taboos against gays and same-sex relationships linger on. Only two days after the first same-sex wedding in the Indian state Manipur, the families of the two men who had wed called the police in to convince them to split up, lest their marriage stain their families' honors.
The two men were wed on March 25, reported the India Gazette that same day. The 25-year-old groom--identified only as Sandip--referred to his 28-year-old male spouse Nikhil as his "wife," and told the media, "We are indeed happy."
But though the men had been together for six years, their marriage displeased their families so much that they went to the police for help in breaking up the marriage, which ended on March 27.
"A police official called Sandip and Nikhil to the police station and counseled them for about two hours," one of Sandip's relatives told the press, according to a March 29 story posted at MidDay.com. "The two men agreed to split and call off their marriage."
"We were deeply hurt and objected to the marriage," one of Nikhil's relatives said. "With no options left, we approached the police. They helped us not by force, but by reasoning and convinced the duo to change their mind and split."
The issue of same-sex physical intimacy between consenting adults had been a contentious one as recently as last summer, when the High Court in Delhi struck down anti-gay language in the penal code. The court's ruling was immediately effective only in New Delhi, but opened the door for decriminalization throughout the country. In 2008, when equality activists brought a petition before the court to remove anti-gay language from laws regarding sexual violence, different government offices contradicted one another before the high court in last year's hearing over a petition to strike down anti-gay parts of the penal code. Under the contested provisions, which dated back to 1860 and British Colonial rule, consensual gay sex between adults was punishable by stiff jail terms of up to ten years.
The Home Ministry sought to uphold the anti-gay law, but the Health Ministry sought to see it struck, citing a need to decriminalize and de-stigmatize gay people and their relationships so as to better combat the spread of HIV. The court issued its decision on July 2, striking down anti-gay portions of Article 377 that criminalized sex between consenting adults of the same gender. The court left intact portions of the article that outlawed sexual violence and sex with minors. The government declined to challenge the court's ruling.
In neighboring Nepal, GLBTs have recently won an array of rights after years of persecution in a country roiled by social and political upheaval. Though marriage equality is not recognized in Nepal, the country nonetheless has launched a plan to offer gay weddings to tourists, hoping that the lure of a ceremony at the base camp at Mt. Everest, followed by a honeymoon in the Himalayas, will bring in an influx of tourists and funds. "It's a land of minorities and we support each other," GLBT equality advocate and member of the Nepal parliament Sunil Pant, who operates Pink Mountain tours, told the Associated Press. "We all have been marginalized so long and it makes sense that we extend solidarity to each other's rights and issues."