Anti-gay protesters pitch to Pope, Imam and Shankaracharya

Anti-gay protesters pitch to Pope, Imam and Shankaracharya
By: Anshuman G Dutta
MID-DAY
Date: 2009-06-09

Place:New Delhi


The gays in the country are preparing for the year's biggest event for the community and those opposed to their way of life are planning to pitch in religion, law and politics together to stop them from doing so. In an open letter to the Pope, the Shahi Imam of New Delhi's Jama Masjid and the Shankaracharya, the Youth Unity for Vibrant Action (YUVA) has called for their support to "send a message to the practitioners of homosexuality that they won't be allowed to destroy the social capital".
The gay pride parade held in Delhi last year file photoThe gay community is getting ready for the annual Gay Pride Parade in the capital on June 28. Such parades are organised by the queer community to commemorate the Stonewall riots in the USA back in 1969, when there was a spontaneous riot against persecution of homosexuals at the Stonewall Inn in New York City.YUVA's national convener Binay Kumar Singh told MiD DAY that they will invite gay rights activist for a debate. "Gays are the most vulnerable group for contracting infections like STDs and HIV. Moreover this parade is anti-social and illegal by nature," he said. The youth organisation, which gained notoriety for throwing a slipper at author-activist Arundhati Roy and later auctioning it off, has threatened the Delhi Police commissioner too. The organisation has said it will complain against him in the High Court for allowing an "illegal activity."In a letter to the police commissioner, YUVA said: "If permission is granted for the parade, a case will be filed against you for contempt of court before the Hon'ble Delhi High Court, as the decision on the Section 377 IPC is still pending."YUVA is also planning to file a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Delhi High Court to "appraise the legal fraternity about how this entire issue is against the provisions of the IPC," said Singh.Apart from inviting youth from all over the country for the protest, YUVA is planning to rope in doctors, lawyers and teachers too. "We will wait till June 26 for the Delhi police to reply and if they don't, we will assure the parade doesn't begin," said Singh.We are against activists tooIn the letter to the police commissioner, YUVA has asked the police to initiate action against gayright activists Celina Jaitely and Ashok Row Kavi.The organisation complained that while promoting homosexuality, these people were condemning the institution of marriage.