Homosexuality is criminal: A note of thanks to the SC!

My open letter of gratitude to the S.Court of India after it upheld that gay sex would continue to be a criminal act in India.

Dear SC of India,
 You have just reasserted that all the people who have sex with people of their own sex are criminals. And, I am just so happy and proud of you! Here, see  the big three reasons below:

courtesy: rude creativity

1. You slapped/woke me up from a day dream!:  Last Tuesday, at this time, I was in Bangkok, taking part in the Global Forum on Media and Gender. I met Michal - a woman from Tel Aviv who fights discrimination and maltreatment of  LGBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender) people in her country and her region. Over coffee, I proudly told her "Homosexuality was a legally criminal offense in India, but then our court decriminalized it." She was very happy to hear that. In fact her exact words were "I think India is a good democracy!". Well, dear SC, thank you for waking me up and telling me that we still suck when it comes to treating every citizen equally regardless of his/her sexual orientation.

Kurukh Language in 8th Schedule? Why Not?

In our country, meetings and rallies are as common as are heat waves in summer. Yet, this morning news of a meeting in a sleepy town of Nagrakata (Near Jalpaiguri) caught my eye. In that meeting, groups of people were demanding inclusion of Kurukh language in the 8th schedule of the Indian Constitution.

Kurukh, the language of the Oraon tribe, is one of the few indigenous languages with a script of its own

Kurukh is the language of the Oraon tribe. Spread across Jharkhand and Terai region of northern West Bengal (Paschim Banga), there are around 25 Lakhs (2.5 million) Oraon people in India. The language also has its own script which is called Tolang Siki.

In 2009, the government of Jharkhand recognized the language. But in West Bengal (the so called most liberal state, the so called patron of art and craft and culture. Talk about myth!) Kurukh has remained unrecognized.