Gay Marriage - in India?

[oldhen]

When most city-bred middle/upper-middle Indians think of "tribals" - in all our hubris we have this image of a "backward" people , not "civilised" etc. etc. Without over-romanticising them, that image is plainly bollocks, and stories like this quite remarkable tale, serve as reminders for those of us that may have forgotten that

Comments

[deponti]

Great to read about this, thanks for posting.

Hoping to meet you at Amherst on the 30th...

[beast_666]

Hmm..That is pretty revealing indeed.. It goes on to show that the "uncivilized" or "backward" people, as we tend to call them, can be more cultured and more civilized than we are..But then, I guess this is a small, not widely-reported event.. Not enough to start a Domino Effect anyway..

[rileen]

Heartening. Hopefully one day the elders will realise that there's nothing for them to "forgive", but this is already something most of India could learn from.

[oldhen]

Hopefully one day the elders will realise.... ....this is already something most of India could learn

Nicely and concisely put - couldn't have said it better.. Meant to mail earlier - this sem has been nuts..

[davenchit]

I don't know if attributing a moral value to this incident makes much sense. Sure, *we* approve of such an arrangement because we detest bigotry against homosexuals. What does our approval have to do with this event at all? No offence, but drawing broad conclusions about "tribal" vs "civilised" from this incident is simply sloppy thinking. Which is not to say that our stereotypes do not exist. But it is as much a stereotype to uphold a particular tribal community as an example of enlightened thinking on the basis of a single event as it is to claim they are subhuman because "they eat grubs". We don't know what are the forces behind this decision; without deeper study [and please don't tell me the Beeb is deep], we *cannot* know.

[oldhen]

What does our approval have to do with this event at all?

Nothing at all, and that was precisely the point I was trying to make (albeit not very well)- that terms like "civilised" have very little real meaning. While "we" might pontificate endlessly about the erosion of "Indian" culture and such like, "they" whose culture is arguably older than most in India, seem (reluctantly) willing to accept relationships that "civilised" mainstream Indian society shuns... Whether one might term it "enlightened" or not - it is certainly flexible..

[davenchit]

>it is certainly flexible..

In this respect; it may be more inflexible in others. All I'm saying is that this incident alone doesn't really tell us a great deal one way or another.

Of course, your other point about monolithic constructions of "Indian" culture is well taken. It's something more people should think about.

[varshax]

I am not sure what to make of this piece. One one hand the two women did get married, but on the other their relationship is considered a "wrong" that had to be forgiven and for which they had to pay a fine. One can even view it as an example of "babu-dom" .... you can get things done if you know how to work around the red tape - in this case "they offered a a barrel of country liquor, a pair of oxen, and a sack of rice and hosted a family feast."

Reminds me of an old black and white Ashok Kumar movie where he thunders that his son's widow *will* remarry because after the "Kanyadaan" to his son, she now belongs to him and not her own father (who was against the daugter's second wedding) ..... Hmmm.

[oldhen]

but on the other their relationship is considered a "wrong" that had to be forgiven

True, it's far from ideal and all, but even with the bribe there's no way methinks a lesbian wedding would've been acceptable in mainstream Indian society. Tribal culture is so old yet they're willing to be a little flexible..