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By Aishwarya Paliwal: Over the past several days, the internet has been full of memes about the Chief Justice of India, DY Chandrachud, and the Supreme Court, which is hearing a bunch of pleas seeking legal recognition for same-sex marriage.
The court proceedings are being live streamed in public interest. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who has been speaking on behalf of the government, strongly opposed marriage equality for the LGBTQ+ community.
RIGHT-WING ORGANISATIONS AGAINST LEGALISING SAME-SEX MARRIAGE
Hundreds of organizations have handed over long memorandums against granting legal recognition to same-sex marriage across the country. They submitted the memorandum collectively to their nearest district magistrate’s office.
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The applicants wrote that “the country is currently facing many challenges and problems. This is not the first time that the rights of homosexuals and transgender people have been recognized by the Supreme Court of India. In the NALSA (2014) and Navtej Johar (2019) cases, these communities are not entirely oppressed or unequal.”
According to many right-wing leaning NGOs and organisations, marriage is a social legal institution which has been created by the competent legislature under Article 246 of the Constitution of India. The recognition of human relations like marriage is essentially a legislative act.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad strongly opposed same-sex marriage. Their memorandums said that the court can neither destroy the concrete form of the institution of marriage, nor create a new form, or give it recognition. They also requested that same-sex marriage should not be declared valid by the judiciary.
‘SAME-SEX MARRIAGE WILL DESTROY INDIAN MARRIAGE SYSTEM’
Given the swiftness with which the case has been taken up by the Supreme Court, organisations are also speeding up their actions.
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The legal cell of the VHP at its national convention in Varanasi passed a resolution which read: “The Vishva Hindu Parishad is deeply disturbed by the eagerness with which the Supreme Court is listening to the gay case and is ready to take a decision on the matter itself. The VHP does not think that when there are many serious socio-economic issues in the country, there is no need for a speedy hearing of just one case. There are different religions, communities and castes in India and all have recognized marriage between a man and a woman.”
There was also a congression of saints from across the country in the national capital on the issue. The saints were of the opinion that same-sex marriage has never been and will never be a part of Indian culture.
In fact, for the saints, recognition of the same would be detrimental to Indian culture. They said that the Constitution of India gives everyone the right to live in their own way.
Dr Charu Karla, the sachiv of Shranya Mission, started a Jagrukta Abhiyan. Elaborating on this, she told India Today TV, “Marriage in India is centuries old. For Indians, it is not a contract, it is a gathbandhan. We anticipate that if same-sex marriage is legalised, then this will destroy our culture of marriage. We need to oppose it. They can believe whatever they wish toâæ but giving it legality will be detrimental.”
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Elaborating on why the court agreed to hear the pleas, Dr Karla said, “You cannot force society to think in a particular manner. Most European countries have legalised this, but their belief system is different from the Indian system. In India, marriage is a pious institution.”
“We have sent memorandums to housewives, priests, DMs and SDMs to galvanise support. We also want to understand what the common Indian thinks about the issue,” she added.
The states where these memorandums have been sent include UP, Delhi, Rajasthan and Maharashtra. In the days to come, more memorandums will be sent to other states.
Professor Seema Singh of the Delhi University’s law department, who is keeping an eye on the specifics of the case, said: “Gay marriage has become a public issue. The way reactions are coming from all over India, it seems that the common man is not in favor of it. If homosexuals are included in the institution of marriage, it will have adverse consequences. The definition of husband and wife will change. All the laws which give special rights to the wife will have to be made gender neutral.”
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