Public Administration Mains 2018 : Model Question and Answer - 110
(Public Administration Paper II / Chapter: Significant Issues In Indian Administration)
(Current Based) Question: Supreme Court verdict on Section 377 will spark many challenges. Discuss (20 Marks/250 Words)
Model Answer:
With the judgment of the Supreme Court , Indians, have attained a second azadi for those who have continued to be persecuted after Independence by the law enacted by the British in 1861. It has freed the LGBTQI communities from the yoke of a colonial law. This will usher in a new inclusive India which is the need of hour. This is a profound change.
The LGBTQI communities can walk tall and openly with their heads proud and held high as equal citizens with dignity, liberty and fraternity. This will open new vistas for other challenges and opportunities, which will be welcome. A lot of people have waited a long time for this day. It has come at last.
The verdict of the Supreme Court, therefore, is not unexpected. But it is a watershed moment in our history. It will throw up several challenges on equality and discrimination. Suppressed for a long time, the LGBTQI communities in India will demand their rightful share in all spheres of life. Not only in employment, but in education and services and all other spaces, both in the public and, especially, the private sector, for which there is no law at the moment. That journey will shape new lives for all citizens.
Similarly, the law on rape is inadequate to address non-consensual sex other than within the binary of man-woman sex. Such is also the case with sexual harassment. These apart, there will be the demand for a same sex marriage law. Though that may take time, as it has in many other countries, a civil partnership law can easily be brought in as an interim measure. (Total Words- 273)
Valuable Inputs from The Indian Express Opinion : ‘Freedom’s Second Coming’ by Anand Grover, Tripathi Tandon
(Linkages: Supreme Court and Section 377, Section 377 and LGBTQI Communities, LGBTQI Communities and Rightful Share in Public Life)