In a week when five gay Indians went to the Supreme Court seeking protection of their fundamental right to personal safety and liberty under the constitution, making the case that Section 377 violated them, they were referred to the Chief Justice of India to decide the validity of the petition. India has decided to once again show to the world that it's not ready to accept and protect these very rights for All its citizens. This, by abstaining at the UN human rights council on a vote to institutionalise an independent expert to work solely for the protection of the LGBT community from violence and discrimination based on their sexual preference or gender identity. India says it had no choice given the Supreme Court is hearing curative petitions asking that this colonial era retrograde section of the Indian Penal Code be repealed. But could the government have separated decriminalize homosexuality from the more fundamental need to protect gay citizens from crime and prejudice and taken a stand?
