Gul Panag reacts to the ongoing gay rights controversy in the country

“I have a major issue with the government intruding our private space and deciding our sexuality on our behalf. I feel the State has no right under the Constitution to decide who I should have sex with.

With all due respect, the government cannot intrude into my personal space and make decisions for me. Tomorrow, it might just decide what time and place I can have sex!! The government should have simply let this matter go when the 377 Act got a reprieve from the Delhi High Court. It could have supported the petition the way it did before the Delhi High Court through the Department of Health. It did not require to make confused submissions before the Supreme Court contradicting the stand taken by another Department of the government. There are more serious matters to focus on than one’s sexuality.

Laws that are outdated and don’t serve their purpose anymore should simply be scrapped. I feel matters of religion and sexuality are sacrosanct and the government has no business poking its nose into it. As long as two people are having consensual sex, how can a third party interfere and raise a finger saying its immoral? Who are these people to decide what is right for us and what is wrong? I am totally appalled by the government of India’s need to monitor our sexual preferences and exercise control.