India, Asia

Intro: There come moments in the life of a nation when it has to confront its deepest prejudices and fears in the mirror of its constitutional morality. The Delhi high court’s decision legalizing consensual homosexual acts does just that. The judgment is a powerful example of judicial craftsmanship. It embodies the right combination of technical rigour in thinking about the law, with a persuasive vision of the deepest values those laws embody. Presented here are four separate stories from four different perspectives: Part 1: Social Implications Part 2: Personal Reactions Part 3: Religious Reactions Part 4: Legal Issues Part 1: Social Implications By Pratap Bhanu Mehta The writer is president of the Centre for Policy Research, Delhi express@expressindia.com There come moments in the life of a nation when it has to confront its deepest prejudices and fears in the mirror of its constitutional morality. The Delhi high court´s judgment in

Two of India’s most popular beaches for locals and foreigners are Baga and Calangute beaches that offer miles of white beaches, many hotels and restaurants. On these lovely beaches, Goans and tourists spend summers, bathing in or walking along the sea. Most people enjoy the sun and sand fully clothed. Baga is a small but perfect beach located between two more famous towns, Colva on one side and Calangute on the other. It is a far better place to enjoy some restful moments if you don’t like the hustle and bustle of Colva or Calangute. Just north of Calangute is the pretty Sinquerim beach with its five-star resorts. Read the stories about gay India

A visit to the beautiful Lake Palace Hotel in Udaipur and to Varanasi on the Ganges River with the ghats for burning corpses. Read the stories about gay India

Hyderabad is one of India’s major cities (almost 6 million people) that has prospered with the coming of the information technology age. It’s a major outsourced call center in the country. One of it’s suburbs is called High Tech City with numerous slick high-rise office buildings. Built around a large lake called Hussain Sagar it offers a mix of ancient forts and monuments, Raj style high court and new age architecture. Read the stories about gay India

An hour west of Mysore is the impressive Namdroling Buddhist Monastery and School where 5000 monks and students from many areas of India and southeast Asia come to teach, pray and study ancient scripts and modern science. Read the stories about gay India

Hampi was once the capital city of a Hindu Vijayanagar empire in the 15-16th centuries. The vast area of temples and shrines, markets and roads covers 43 square kilometers. Hampi is located within the ruins of Vijayanagara, the former capital of the Vijayanagara empire. Possibly predating the city of Vijayanagara, this village continues to be an important religious centre, housing the Virupaksha Temple. The village of Hampi contains several other monuments belonging to the old city. Read the stories about gay India

A Four-part Journey Through South India in Search of LGBT Life Also see: Islam and Homosexuality Gay India Stories Gay India News & Reports 2000 to present Gay India Photo Galleries Introduction Read this historic story first The sheer size of India makes ‘a’ Gay India story an impossible task, and it’s not just size that matters; it’s also the intense complexity and patchwork of overlapping and diverse religions, discrete language dialects, gender divisions, class prescriptions and prohibitions, political fragmentation and fluid definitions of sexuality. More than a few observers have said that India is a paradox: whatever can be said aloud deeper truths are unspoken; what is seen is unknown; it is packed with life, it is fraught with death; it surges with technology, it travels by ox cart. The same can be said about homosexuality: there is no scene and there is an extensive network; there is no

Vijayawada and Pondicherry and  Tiruchirappalli in southeast India offer places of history, spirituality and commerce, as well as colorful friendly people. Just outside Pondicherry is the international city of Auroville–started in 1968–intended as a place of "human unity". At the center of the commune is the huge round meditation globe known as the Matrimandir, pictured here. Auroville is intended as a place "where all human beings of goodwill…could live freely as citizens of the world…" Read the stories about gay India

A Four-part Journey Through South India in Search of LGBT Life Also see: Islam and Homosexuality Gay India Stories Gay India News & Reports 2000 to present Gay India Photo Galleries Read this historic story first Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital city of the state of Andhar Pradesh in central India. Over the past decade it has seen exponential growth in its hi-tech sector. There is a Hi-Tech City suburb, dubbed Cyberabad, where sleek modern buildings rise up many floors to house the research and industry of the future. Located here are many tech-help call-centers for American and European manufacturers such as Apple, HP and GE—this is one of the main cradles where ‘outsourcing’ was born. Unborn is a visible LGBT ‘community’. Despite a large population of over 5 million people there is not a single overt LGBT group or organization. As in Bombay and Bangalore a visitor learns not

At the southernmost tip of India is the city of Kanyakumari with its variety of sites including a busy fishing port, a mahatma  Gandhi memorial, extensive bazaars, pilgrimage temples and offshore monuments to the spiritual guru Vivekananda and the Tamil poet Thiruvalluvar. Read the stories about gay India

A Four-part Journey Through South India in Search of LGBT life Also see: Islam and Homosexuality Gay India Stories Gay India News & Reports 2000 to present Gay India Photo Galleries Read this historic story first Chennai (Madras) Sahodaran and SAATHII It’s no easier to find a publicly visible gay community in Chennai than Hyderabad but by scratching the surface (through Gay Bombay Yahoo Group) a visitor can discover there is much more queer life and energy in Chennai. Further guided by the wisdom and advice of Ashok Row Kavi with his extensive contacts I found another well-known leader, Sunil Menon, a USA university educated anthropologist, fashion show designer and director of the award-winning NGO Sahodaran in Chennai. Sahodaran is essentially a health education outreach organization to the underclass and underserved community of male sex workers (MSWs) and wherever possible to their MSM and female customers in Chennai. Sahodaran also

Kochi is an appealing delight for visitors and natives with its high-rise modern buildings on one side (Ernakulam) of its large shipping port and many historic charming European-style buildings and markets on the other in the Mattancherry colonial district. The old European buildings and ambiance attract many tourists. Vasco da Gama was originally buried here in St Francis church (India’s oldest church). Read the stories about gay India

A Four-part Journey Through South India in Search of LGBT life Also see: Islam and Homosexuality Gay India Stories Gay India News & Reports 2000 to present Gay India Photo Galleries Read this historic story first Bangalore Bangalore is another of India’s forward-leaning mega-cities. In the center of the country and at an altitude of 3000 feet it bakes less than Delhi or Calcutta (Kolkota). The weather was quite pleasant (ignoring the pollution) in late November when we arrived by train from Mysore. (A note about land travel: during our trip we traveled by motor-rickshaw, taxi, bus, van, train and plane—no ox cart. Trucks crowding each other off road Early in our planning we thought about renting a car and driving ourselves around the country; this was highly discouraged and we found out why. There are few road signs (fewer in English), many roads are pot-holed or under repair and,

Palolem beach in southern Goa offers a respite from the heat and congestion of southern India. The beach is largely unspoiled and is inhabited by both local fishermen and by foreign tourists who live in shacks along the shore. It is about one mile (2km) long and is crescent-shaped. One can view the whole beach from either end. Both ends of the beach consist of rocks jutting out into the sea. The depth of the sea increases gradually, it being shallowest at the northern ends of the beach, making it safe for average swimmers, and the currents are not fast. Read the stories about gay India

Old Goa is the former capital of the Portuguese colony on India’s west coast. Once a thriving city, it’s only remains are numerous impressive churches and cathedrals that are World Heritage Monuments. Panaji is the modern capital of Goa, a city of 100,000 with busy a shipping port in nearby Vasco da Gama town and charming European-style buildings. Read the stories about gay India

Mumbai is formerly Bombay and is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. With an estimated population of thirteen million, it is the second most populous city in the world. Maharashtra is the one of the most urbanized states in India, contributing to 15% of the country’s industrial output and 13.2% of its GDP in year 2005-06. Read the stories about gay India

Mysore is a medium-sized city of about 750,000 people. Before India became independent from England, the ‘state’ of Mysore was ruled by the wealthy Maharaja of the Wodeyar dynasty whose stunning and immense Mysore Palace is now a museum. His descendant family still live in relative splendor in a private wing of the palace (photo #30). For one hour every Sunday the enormous place is lit up with 97,000 light bulbs. The Maharaja’s guesthouse Lalitha Mahal (photo #32) (1931) was for built special guests; it is now an elegant hotel. Read the stories about gay India

Humsafar Trust is the premier health education and sexuality rights organization in India. They offer services and outreach to thousands of people. These photos are of the drop-in center in Mumbai. The Humsafar drop-in center, inaugurated in November 1995, has a long history and has played host to several Mumbaikars from college students to Page Three socialites "coming out". To many it’s a second home as it’s a safe space where one can wear his sexuality on his sleeve and be himself and not being discriminated. The Drop in center is tastefully decorated, with beautiful posters of safer sex messages, television, music system, home theatre system and workshops conducted every week for the community. Read the stories about gay India.

Driving through rural India offers a wide spectrum of poor and simple life, manual labor, friendly people, slow transportation and even a new airport near Hospet, which accommodates visitors to the great ruins of Hampi and to the huge steel plant adjacent to the airport. This gallery takes us through the areas of Colva in Goa, Kanyakumari at the southernmost tip of India, Namdroling monastery near Mysore, Quilon in Goa, Mysore city then Villupuram and Trichy. Read the stories about gay India

Bangalore, with 6 million people, is another of India’s high tech progressive ‘success’ stories with its blend of old poverty and new earned wealth. It is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. It’s a crowded place with an elegant capital building, traffic jams, famous cafes and trendy shops. It is also home to one of India’s most vocal human rights organizations, Sangama. Read the stories about gay India

India’s train system is one of the most extensive in the world, with thousands of train departures and arrivals every day. It operates about 9000 passenger trains and daily transports 17 million people across twenty-eight states and three union territories The levels of comfort range from the regal to the ragged. Check out this Youtube video for an extreme example of crowding–most trains are NOT like this. Here are collected photos of a some parts of that system we experienced on during our month in India. Given the choas of India, the vast majority of trains were generally on time. Book a ride here. Read the stories about gay India Posted Laguna Niguel, California, United States.

Chennai is a major city of over six million, India’s 4th largest metropolis. It has its share of propserous new-age companies and flashy structures. In this gallery are some historic venues such as the Fort St. George built by the British East India Company in 1653, now the administrative headquarters for the legislative assembly of Tamil Nadu state. Enclosed in the area is St. Mary’s church with carved gravestones in the floor. The red-brick High Court is a marvel of Indo-Sarcenic architecture build in 1892. It houses 47 courtrooms attended by several thousand registered lawyers. Along the sea coast on the Bay of Bengal are a huge shipping port, long sandy beaches and a dramatic memorial to the famous independence leader Perarignar Anna. For Christians, Chennai is also a place of pilgrimage as the alleged burial place of the apostle St. Thomas marked by a white gothic basilica built above

Agra achieved fame as the capital of the Mughal emperors from 1526 to 1658 and remains a major tourist destination because of its many splendid Mughal-era buildings, most notably the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri. (photos 1-10) Fatehpur Sikri is a fortified city; it was the political capital of India’s Mughal Empire under Akbar’s reign, from 1571 until 1585, when it was abandoned, ostensibly due to lack of water. (photos 11-14) In Jaipur is the unique Jantar Mantar observatory, The Amber Fort complex overlooking the artificial lake south of the town, the Jaigarh Fort, and the elegant Maharaja palace Rambaugh Palace Hotel. (photos 15-32) Read the stories about gay India

Chennai is a major city of over six million, India’s 4th largest metropolis. It has its share of prosperous new-age companies and flashy structures. Tucked into the myriad of crowded streets and dense alleys are occasional leafy cafes such as Amethyst Cafe/Boutique that offer fine food and quality merchandise for middle and upper class customers. Read the stories about gay India

Mumbai is formerly Bombay and is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. (photos 1-21) Delhi has been continuously inhabited since at least 6th century BC. (photos 22-31) Near Udaipur are the the Nagada temples at Sas Bahu with some erotic carvings. (photos 32-36) The Khajuraho group of monuments has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. One of the most popular tourist destinations in India, Khajuraho has the largest group of medieval Hindu and Jain temples, famous for their erotic sculpture. (photos 40-43) Read the stories about gay India