The
recent judgment of the two-judge Bench of the Supreme Court of India on what
has come to be called the NAZ Foundation
Case has come in for strong endorsement as well as criticism. From my
perspective the reasons given, in both the tracks, are wrong. The crux of the
matter stands obscured. It is my intention to bring it out into the open. And,
in the process I will argue that Section 377 of the IPC is OK.
The
honorable judges of the Supreme Court of India are strong votaries of the
theory of Evolution through Natural
Selection as propounded by Charles Darwin. One of the key insights is that
the process, when driven by sexual reproduction vis-à-vis Parthenogenesis (asexual reproduction), is inherently wasteful.
The
former carries a much lighter load of fidelity across generations. Never mind
it gives rise to variety, it is still wasteful. Actually, the Bench said that
variety, for all its supposed virtues, is a Trojan horse, carrying conflicts
within it. This contest between the “normal” people who act as per the “order
of nature” and those acting against its mandate is to be seen in this context.
How nice it would be for the society as a whole if it were homogeneous, everyone
acting the same, indeed looking identical. Homogeneity is the spice of life,
this school holds and I agree. If it was within the powers of the Bench, it
would have ordered that sexual reproduction should be banished.
If
the process of sexual reproduction, which is natural, of course, is so
wasteful, why will you add to the wastefulness? The other way of saying it is
this: any sexual act that does not lead to, by itself or in modes of the act, reproduction
is not natural. Isn’t this what the Bible says? It effectively says that any
sexual act that does not advance the cause of the species (reproduction) is a
sin, the reason behind the Roman Catholic Church’s position on masturbation,
using contraception and abortion.
All
the above weighed in on the universal outlook of the Bench and the result is
Section 377 has the stamp of sanctity and also of the Indian Constitution. So, those
who are braying for the blood of the Bench [1] are on the wrong side of the
debate, I conclude. The editorial does not understand the deep-seated logic of
the Bench’s verdict. It resorts to secondary, indeed tertiary issues such as
individual freedom and human rights. Tut, tut …
Raghuram
Ekambaram
References
1. A retrograde decision, The Hindu, December 12, 2013
2 comments:
I don't endorse your views, individual rights count.
Balu,
This post is the exact opposite of my thinking. I did it to show how a scientific argument can be made (full of holes, of course) to support otherwise indefensible positions. A all said, you and I are on the same side. You will get this if you read through the other post where I have criticized the Supreme Court Bench that delivered the verdict.
RE
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