That homosexuality is still a criminal offence under section 377 of India's penal code is a sad reality. Perhaps what is even more sad is that many if not most Indian medical educators, including practising doctors, are homophobic and believe that homosexuality is a mental deviation that needs treatment.
In my sophomore year much teaching focused on the effect of HIV and AIDS on the health of Indians. I was shocked when my professor declared, “In Western countries, it primarily spreads among homosexuals. Of course, in our country, we don't have any homosexuals.” I protested, declaring that homosexuality is very much prevalent in our country. He was indifferent, and my colleagues were annoyed.
Sexuality in general is a big taboo in India
Later I approached the professor and asked him what he thought of homosexual people. He declared his belief that there is no such thing as homosexuality and that it was a US invention. To see if this was echoed by others I tried talking to a couple of professors under the pretext of having a friend who was homosexual. With the exception of a psychiatrist, the response was similar.
This would not be surprising for most citizens in India, who have grown up in overtly homophobic communities that fail to understand a distinct and highly oppressed subculture. And the moral rightwing authorities in India stage protests against anything that would “destroy their culture.” Cinemas that screened Fire, a film depicting a lesbian relationship, were ransacked. Ironically, the Kama Sutra, which originated in India, contains stunning images of this historically prevalent sexual practice.
Sexuality in general is a big taboo in India. In my first year a female professor refused to lecture on the male reproductive system and instead asked a male professor to give the lecture. And the lecture completely failed to focus on the aspects of sexuality that matter the most to patients with sexual problems. My female colleagues squirm at the thought of professors raising issues such as oral or anal intercourse in the context of sexually transmitted diseases, let alone alternative sexualities. Medical education in India is largely oblivious to disseminating correct information on human sexuality to students.
Generations of doctors in India grow up believing that any alternative to strict heterosexual vaginal intercourse is abnormal. Although attitudes do seem to be changing (a psychiatrist told one close friend that homosexuality was normal), it is disturbing that medical education does little to alleviate such social stigma. Promoting tolerance and understanding among the educated elite of society, let alone educating the general public, is a formidable task.
I contacted students from seven other colleges in southern India with whom I had worked during my campaigns about HIV and AIDS. I asked them about the sexual education taught at their schools. The picture was much the same. The situation is likely to be the same in northern India as well, except in cities such as Mumbai and New Delhi. And not one student of the many that I contacted recalls having a discussion about homosexuality.
In December our college was the host to an annual cultural festival involving at least 4000 students from various colleges across south India. The council allowed me to organise a conference on the social stigma associated with HIV and AIDS in India. The chief of the panel was Suniti Solomon, who described the first case of HIV infection in India. When asked about the role of prostitution in the spread of HIV and her opinion on whether it should be legalised, she said, “When I had discovered the first case of HIV infection, the same question was asked by a reporter. And I replied that [prostitution should be legalised] throughout India. The next day, a great majority of the newspapers quoted, `Legalise prostitution: Dr Suniti Solomon.' Two days later I received hundreds of [letters]. All of them were condemnation... from parents of daughters or persons with moral high ground who felt that I had done something extraordinarily wrong. From that day on I decided to keep my mouth shut on questions such as these.”
During the conference I brought up the issue of section 377 and the role of AIDS in the oppression of homosexuals in India. Although the panel enthusiastically discussed it, one medical student stood up and said, “You are discussing homosexuality as a normal behaviour. For their disgusting lifestyle, they deserve this punishment. And that's one reason I feel why no cure must be found for AIDS.” This was greeted with low grade applause, much to the shock of the expert panel. What is worse, my own colleagues now view me with remarkably less respect, and a few people have severed ties with me.
These two incidents are enough by themselves to show the taboo associated with sexuality, both “normal” and alternative. Only frank and impartial medical teaching and wide ranging discussion can help dispel the great amount of misunderstanding about an already browbeaten Indian community.