Kanwar Anit Singh Saini (on left) kissing an unidentified man at a protest defending gay rights By Aneesa Malik
India’s decision concerning same-sex relations in India are once again subject to a 153-year-old law, passed under British rule, which defines them as “unnatural” and punishable by a potential 10-year jail sentence.
Activists didn’t expect such a harsh over-turn, even though the institution is known for its broadly progressive judgments, which often order politicians or officials to respect the rights of the poor, disadvantaged or marginalised communities.
“It’s a tremendous blow. It’s unprecedented for a court with a long history of expanding rights to reduce dignity not protect it,” said Gautham Bhan, a prominent activist.
Amid all the attention that erupted worldwide, a photograph, that of Kanwar Anit Singh Saini kissing another man, which he had posted on his Facebook Page, “Sikh Knowledge”, went viral within hours of it being posted online.
Within hours, it had amassed more than a 1,000 likes and had sparked off a debate on the social networking site. However, while most of the comments on his photograph were reportedly abusive and accused him of having betrayed his religion, others supported him.
However, Facebook removed the photograph a few hours later saying that the photo had been removed as it “violates our terms and policies”. Not just that, his account was also suspended for 12 hours.
Refusing to take it lying down, Saini shifted his focus to Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr where he posted the same photograph and questioned Facebook’s screening policy.
