Censorship row as India army blocks film on gay soldier | Decn Herald

Contents:

• I WAS AN OFFICER IN THE INDIAN ARMY, I'M GAY AND VERY PROUD
• WILL NOT ALLOW GAY SEX, ADULTERY ARMY: GENERAL RAWAT
• INDIAN ARMY CHIEF DRAWS FLAK OVER 'NO GAY SEX' REMARKS
• WHO IS GAY SOLDIER J SURH AND WHY DEFENCE MISTRY OBJECTED TO MAKE FILM ON HIS LIFE?
• WON'T ALLOW GAY SEX IN THE ARMY, SAYS CHIEF GENERAL RAWAT
• ‘WHAT IS THE ARMY AAID OF?’ INDIAN ERNMENT STOPS FILM SPIRED BY GAY SOLDIER
• FILM SCRIPT ON GAY SOLDIER IN INDIAN ARMY REJECTED BY DEFENCE MISTRY
• INDIAN ARMY BLOCKS ‘WE ARE’ FOR PORTRAYG GAY SOLDIER
• EX-OFFICER OF INDIAN ARMY WR HEARTFELT BLOG ABOUT BEG GAY, URG TOP MILARY LEARSHIP TO SHUN HOMOPHOBIA
• CENSORSHIP ROW AS INDIA ARMY BLOCKS FILM ON GAY SOLDIER
• WILL NOT ALLOW GAY SEX INDIAN ARMY, SAYS BIP RAWAT
• BOLLYWOOD FILMMAKER WANTED TO TELL GAY SOLDIER’S STORY – BUT INDIA’S ERNMENT SAY THAT’S ‘ILLEGAL’
• REJECTED NOC FOR MOVIE ON GAY ARMY OFFICER AS WOULD ST ARMY POOR LIGHT: MOS DEFENCE AJAY BHATT
• TOM HOLLAND’S GAY SEX SCENE SETS SOCIAL MEDIA ALIGHT AFTER THE ACTOR SAID PLAYG THE ROLE ‘BROKE HIM’

I WAS AN OFFICER IN THE INDIAN ARMY, I'M GAY AND VERY PROUD

Army Chief General Bip Rawat has led out cln of gay soldiers ary, sayg Indian Army is not “wternised”, and was “nservative” Delhi: Indian Army Chief General Bip Rawat created a ntroversy Thursday when he said homosexualy will ntue to be nsired an offence the armed forc.

Addrsg the army’s annual prs nference, Rawat said that while the Army Act, which erns the force, was not above the law of the land, the Indian Army was not “wternised and mornised”, and was “nservative” when me to matters like adultery or clared that gay sex offenrs would be alt wh unr relevant sectns of the Army Act. In a landmark judgment livered September 2018, the Supreme Court led that homosexualy was no longer a crime apex urt overled s own 2013 verdict and partially stck down Sectn 377, the Brish-era law that banned sex between nsentg adults of the same genr.

Milary law expert Major Navep Sgh, an advote the Punjab and Haryana High Court, told ThePrt that while Sectn 377 n no longer be voked for nsentg adults, the ary or any civil setup, “any kd of homosexual or heterosexual behavur that falls unr the tegory of ‘unbeg nduct’, is ‘cent or cel’, or ‘vlatn of good orr and disciple (if impacts ary life)’, n still be punished”. By Abhishek Bhalla: A year after the Supreme Court crimalised homosexualy and adultery separate judgments, the Indian Army is lookg at optns to ensure the rema punishable offens to ensure disciple the force. Sourc said the Army has given a reprentatn to the Mistry of Defence (MoD), raisg ncerns over homosexualy and adultery wh the force gog "unnoticed or unpunished" Army wants both the offens to be punishable unr Sectn 45 of the Army Act which als wh the "unbeg nduct" of officers or troops.

WILL NOT ALLOW GAY SEX, ADULTERY ARMY: GENERAL RAWAT

However, he add the Army Act was passed by Parliament and there are provisns to al wh the "unbeg nduct" of Army Adjutant General's branch is rponsible for the welfare and also als wh plats of all kds agast the Army personnel at all beg asked whether the Army will go for a review of the Supreme Court judgment to ensure homosexualy and adultery rema punishable the force, he said, "How do you know we haven't already done so. IntroductnLegal lacunaGrounds for the prohibn of admissn of homosexuals the Indian Armed ForcMoralyCommandForeign exercisCommon showersSecuryConsirable advancements other untriConclnReferenc. September 6, 2018, was a memorable day Indian history, for was the day when Sectn 377 of the IPC was clared unnstutnal, so far as crimalized homosexual acts between two nsentg adults.

It uld be argued that wh the members of the armed forc havg to live close quarters and serve shoulr to shoulr, the prence of homosexuals may generate homophobic tensns, thereby endangerg the peace and uny of the members.

INDIAN ARMY CHIEF DRAWS FLAK OVER 'NO GAY SEX' REMARKS

Although this Sectn self allows laws to be ma ntraventn to fundamental rights, uld also be employed as a reasonable classifitn, thereby barrg the applitn of Article 14 to the admissn of homosexuals the armed forc.

WHO IS GAY SOLDIER J SURH AND WHY DEFENCE MISTRY OBJECTED TO MAKE FILM ON HIS LIFE?

Major General Nilendra Kumar, former Army Judge Advote General (JAG), said, “The Army Act is a separate act altogether and homosexualy is an offence unr Sectn 46, which als wh unbeg nduct…The Supreme Court did not have the ocsn to exame Sectn 46 of the Army Act or siar Sectns the Air Force and Navy Acts. “to acmodate the privacy of heterosexuals prumably means, for example, to keep their naked bodi safe the showers om the star of homosexuals who wish to peek at naked bodi, but they might do so que as readily when their orientatn is a secret as when is open. The only difference will be that heterosexuals will not know which of their service-mat are homosexuals and heterosexuals will have reason to have a generalized spicn of everyone the showers, hardly a circumstance likely to crease ‘hn’.

Acrdg to Colonel Mark Abraham of the Brish Army: “A lot of gay and lbian soldiers who were the army before the ban was lifted reported that a percentage of their efforts was spent lookg over their shoulr and ensurg they weren’t gog to be ught. "In the Army, is not acceptable, " he told a prs nference while replyg to a qutn on impact of the Supreme Court's two historic Army Chief said though his force is not above the law, will not be possible to allow gay sex and adultery the Army. NEW DELHI (Thomson Rters Foundatn) - India’s army chief drew flak on Friday for sayg gay sex would not be tolerated among soldiers, months after the untry scrapped a lonial-era ban on same-sex relatns.

WON'T ALLOW GAY SEX IN THE ARMY, SAYS CHIEF GENERAL RAWAT

I n’t say what will happen 20 years down the a landmark judgment last September, India’s Supreme Court stck down a law banng gay sex that dated back to Brish ’s ary forc are erned by their own laws, which rtrict certa nstutnal rights that are enjoyed by Army Act crimaliz “any disgraceful nduct of a cel, cent or unnatural kd”, wh jail terms of up to seven rights mpaigners said Rawat’s ments were irrponsible, accg him of a “wch-hunt”.

Wh an extensive media background, Tashafi believ puttg efforts on prentg a simple cint the most tertg ex-Indian Army Officer had e out openly through a blog and penned down his experience of beg gay.

In his post, Surh (Retired) had urged the top ary learship of shunng their homophobia and give servg gay officers and soldiers their lawful fundamental right to a life of digny, honour and self-rpect. In a very emotnal post, Surh (Retired) also urged the top ary learship to shun their homophobia, be better rmed and passnate, and give servg gay officers and soldiers their lawful fundamental right to a life of digny, honour and Major claims his blog that he was a loyal, discipled and upright army officer and nsired himself very fortunate to have had the opportuny to serve the his mid-twenti, he had supprsed his feelgs due to an cint that occurred his teens.

‘WHAT IS THE ARMY AAID OF?’ INDIAN ERNMENT STOPS FILM SPIRED BY GAY SOLDIER

While that was one reason, he mentns that the fact that he uldn't have served the Army as an openly gay man was also one of the reasons for him to have left the Surh (R) now serv an equal opportuny pany where his peers accept him well. He said that the Indian Army is an anisatn that ow s existence to the hight law of this land, the Indian Constutn and those servg , cludg servg gay personnel, are cizens of India who have rights – and while some of the rights of those servg the ary may be rightly curtailed, but one nnot take away the fundamental right of servg gay men to a life of digny, honour and self-rpect and no one n ny the right of LGBTQ ary aspirants to serve openly the Read: Natnal Girl Child Day: The NGOs Are On A Missn To Make Society Equable For Girls In IndiaEdor: Snehadri Sarkar, Creativ: Tashafi NazirMt Reads.

FILM SCRIPT ON GAY SOLDIER IN INDIAN ARMY REJECTED BY DEFENCE MISTRY

A new ary jtice system was put to effect which crimaliz homosexualy among uniformed members, and mov crim mted exclively wh the ary to the public jtice sphere [prevly there had been a separate ary urt system. And, while there are no publicly known former sanctns agast homosexuals unr the old policy, this do not mean that men and women wh that sexual orientatn have not been discipled, and perhaps separated om the armed forc unr a mantle of silence. Officially, members of the Bermuda Regiment are prohibed om discrimatg agast or harassg soldiers on the basis of sexual orientatn;[11] such activi, however, are tolerated by officers, to the extent that one nscript scribed the Regiment as “the most homophobic environment that exists”.

INDIAN ARMY BLOCKS ‘WE ARE’ FOR PORTRAYG GAY SOLDIER

In 2008, durg the disappearance of a ary gay uple, the Mistry of Defence of Brazil spoke: “the sergeant is to be qutned about alleged sertn om the ary and there is no qutn of discrimatn. The Supreme Court has stck down anti-adultery, anti-gay sex lawsNew Delhi: Gay sex is not acceptable the Indian Army, s chief General Bip Rawat said on Thursday when asked to ment on the Supreme Court crimalizg homosexualy last year.

"The army chief was asked the qutns after a former general suggted an article that the armed forc n ntue to enforce their own l on gay sex and adultery even after the Supreme Court Uned Stat ed to have a "Don't ask, don't tell" policy which has been repealed. It also ptured the attentn of Onir, a gay Indian filmmaker who go by one “fs my ia of the queer love story perfectly, ” said Onir, whose g film “We Are” is an anthology that tells four stori about LGBTQ characters, cludg one spired by Surh. ”Onir, one of the first Indian directors to make mastream movi about same-sex relatnships, won a Natnal Film Award, India’s versn of the Osrs, for his 2010 film “I Am, ” also an anthology of four stori, cludg one about gay rights.

(PTI Photo)Homosexualy was crimalised by the Supreme Court last year, but the Army chief sisted “hum logon ke yahan nahi chalega (all this won’t work here) Delhi: In ments that are likely to stir a ntroversy, Army Chief Gen Bip Rawat on Thursday said the force was nservative and uld not allow gays or adultery.

EX-OFFICER OF INDIAN ARMY WR HEARTFELT BLOG ABOUT BEG GAY, URG TOP MILARY LEARSHIP TO SHUN HOMOPHOBIA

Natnal award-wng filmmaker Onir said that his script, spired by a now two-year-old NDTV terview of a gay Major who qu the service, was "very rpectful of the army" and not some "salac story" but got rejected as shows a homosexual soldier. Referrg to "I Am", his 2010 anthology that won two natnal awards, he said that he was disheartened that he uld show homosexualy and police abe of gay characters even when homosexualy was crimalised, but now his film is beg stopped at the script level even after the Supreme Court has crimalised same-sex relatns, and the story is also spired om somethg that's already the public doma. This is a story that has to be told, " he told NDTV, addg that he created a fict story about a gay man the army who is not beg able to be himself so he has to qu the army, to be hont to himself.

The apex urt also observed that the very notn of a man and a woman is not “an absolute based on genals”, while Senr Advote Abhishek Manu Sghvi, appearg for one of the petners, said that the urt should grant marriage equaly to gay upl not as “same-sex” but as a right for nsentg adults across "bodily genr and sex spectm". The Uned Stat followed a “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy till 2011 when Print Barack Obama signed a repeal act to prevent the discharge of personnel who openly intified as beg homosexual.

CENSORSHIP ROW AS INDIA ARMY BLOCKS FILM ON GAY SOLDIER

Most of the movi clud taboo subjects like the assassatn of Neh-Gandhi fay members, treatment of Mlims durg the 1947 partn, 1984 Sikh genoci, homosexual ntent, and Khalistan iology.

In a very emotnal post (a shorter versn of which was published on NDTV), Major J Surh (Retired) also urged the top ary learship of shunng their homophobia and be better rmed and passnate and give servg gay officers and soldiers their lawful fundamental right to a life of digny, honour and Major (Retired) says that he knows that his post might brg him a lot of hate and ridicule, wh people even qutng his patrtism or service the Army, but that he was wrg to iate a discsn on lettg gay men to serve openly the ary needs to start.

“It most likely drove home a msage – a wrong msage – but one that gay kids the world over learn om such cints of bullyg – that what I was feelg was ‘wrong’, ‘bad’ or ‘sick’, and if I ntued to heed those feelgs uld provoke much worse vlence that would only hurt me physilly and mentally – and so was bt to ‘nform’. I realize now I was so wrong to thk that way…”For so many years, I have stggled wh rencilg the ex-ary part and the gay part of my inty – as if the two n’t/don’t f togetherHe also says that the homophobic utteranc of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bip Rawat 2018 ((then the Indian Army Chief) after Supreme crimalised homosexualy had left him extremely disturbed. “I would like to remd the sexagenarian general (obvly expected to be regrsive his thkg), that the army is not his royal herance that he n choose to n the way he pleas – is an anizatn which ow s existence to the hight law of this land, the Indian Constutn and those servg , cludg servg gay personnel, are cizens of this untry who have rights – and while some of the rights of those servg the ary may be rightly curtailed (like rights relatg to eedom of speech and exprsn, eedom of assembly, and eedom to form associatns and unns) – but he n NOT take away the fundamental right of servg gay men to a life of digny, honour and self-rpect and he also n NOT ny the right of LBBT ary aspirants to serve openly the future.

WILL NOT ALLOW GAY SEX INDIAN ARMY, SAYS BIP RAWAT

” He urg General Rawat to rensir his posn: “Sir, please don’t fet that all those ncerns you have about gay men – effect on hn, morale etc, – all the arguments were been put forward agast cln of women the Indian ary and so many other ari throughout the world and agast cln of blacks the US armed forc and so many other ari. Counterview Dk An onle petn has been floated, addrsed to Rajnath Sgh, Defence Mister of India, statg that, a landmark judgement hand down 2018, the Supreme Court overturned a lonial-era law that crimaliz homosexual activi. "After all the years, ’s high time the ary gets sync wh the spir of the time", the petn sists, potg towards how his mistry is "censorg a film that shows a gay soldier", llg "a major blow to the creativy of an dtry India should be proud of.

""Mr Sgh, we ll on you to reverse the Mistry of Defence’s cisn to reject a film about a gay man the Army", addg, "The mistry should rethk s stand on this issue, which is spired by a real-life stggle. "Text:In India, any film showg ntent relatg to the fence forc is required to get clearance om the Mistry of ’s why, on December 16, 2021, Indian award-wng filmmaker and gay rights advote Onir submted to the Mistry of Defence the script of his new film, spired by the story of a gay Major who qu the workg eely on movi portrayg queer liv and showg police abe of gay characters, even when same-sex relatnships were crimalized India, he uldn’t expect that a fict story about a gay man the Army, would be met wh censorship that is what has happened, spe the script beg very rpectful of the Army: On January 20, 2022, the Mistry of Defence munited to the filmmaker that the script “has been analysed tail. Crilly-acclaimed Indian filmmaker Onir wanted to direct a movie spired by a gay army major who rigned and me out a blaze of publicy -- but spe the untry's mocratic stat the ary stopped beg Mister Narendra Modi's ernment has been repeatedly acced of rampg up censorship a systematic attack on dissent -- cludg clampdowns on human rights activists, journalists and NGOs -- sce g to power eight years 2020, issued an orr advisg filmmakers to seek prr clearance for any ary-themed script, a cisn scribed by ee speech mpaigners as both Orwellian and unnstutnal the world's largt, who only one name, is gay himself and was among the first major Bollywood figur to openly acknowledge his is known for his movi about the liv of socially margalised groups, and his creative eye was ught by the se of Major J.

""I'm gay -- and I'm very proud that I'm gay, " the ex-army officer -- who had served some of India's most turbulent regns cludg Kashmir -- wrote on his later gave a ground-breakg terview on natnal televisn that went viral the socially nservative 's script, "We Are", narrat four stori, those of a trans woman, a lbian, a bisexual man and a fict acunt of love between a gay officer and a Kashmiri when he approached the fence mistry for a "no objectn certifite" -- which most studs, streamg platforms and producers now sist on to ensure there are no legal or admistrative hurdl -- he was rejected. The fact that I have portrayed the army man as gay is illegal, " he told only crimalised gay sex a 2018 Supreme Court lg, but both homosexualy and adultery rema punishable offenc unr the Army Act, wh jail terms of up to 10 the same time, India also has a long history of post-productn film censorship, and ncerns over eedom of exprsn were raised by new social media regulatns last untry's junr fence mister Ajay Bhatt nfirmed to parliament last week that Onir's film had been refed permissn bee of "the portrayal of a romantic relatnship between an army soldier servg Kashmir and a lol boy which sts (the) Indian army poor light and rais secury ncerns" sisted the pre-screeng procs was neher unnstutnal nor a nial of ee speech, and said the ernment nsired factors cludg natnal secury, popular sentiment and the image of the armed forc to ensure the ary "isn't picted a manner which brgs disrepute" Mumbai-based Onir, 52, poted out that movi where officers fall love wh women were never rejected.

BOLLYWOOD FILMMAKER WANTED TO TELL GAY SOLDIER’S STORY – BUT INDIA’S ERNMENT SAY THAT’S ‘ILLEGAL’

General Rawant said that the Army has s own laws regardg homosexualy when asked about the Supreme Court's historic verdict legalisg gay Supreme Court, a historic verdict, crimalised adultery as well.

REJECTED NOC FOR MOVIE ON GAY ARMY OFFICER AS WOULD ST ARMY POOR LIGHT: MOS DEFENCE AJAY BHATT

We Are, the forthg sequel to Onir’s 2010 movie, I Am, is to be an anthology film of our queer romanc that memorat the Supreme Court’s tone 2018 verdict that, at long last, crimalised homosexualy.

Among the four stori was Surh, who first wrote on his weblog, Personal Blog of an Out & Proud Indian Major, 2020, about the stggl he faced when “rencilg the ary/ex-ary part and the gay part” of his life. Indian Army is a nservative anisatn that still nsirs adultery as a ser offence and people belongg to the LGBT muny has no place the Army at least, for the time beg, Chief of the Army Staff Gen Bip Rawat said here on Rawat's ments me months after two historic verdicts om the Supreme Court that crimalised adultery as an offence and led that the State had no bs to look to the bedroom of dividual adults even if they are of same about Army's views on the SC lgs on Sectn 377 (homosexualy law) and Sectn 497 (adultery law) of Indian Penal Co, Gen Rawat said, "Army is nservative.

TOM HOLLAND’S GAY SEX SCENE SETS SOCIAL MEDIA ALIGHT AFTER THE ACTOR SAID PLAYG THE ROLE ‘BROKE HIM’

He had stated that such offenc would ntue to be seen serly and the ual plea of “nsensual affair” would not hold Army employs nearly 13 lakh Rawat led out the entry of the members of the LGBT (lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr) muny the Army even after the apex urt's September lg on the crimalisatn of homosexualy, at least for the are not above the untry's law but when you jo the Indian Army, some of the rights and privileg you enjoy are not what we have. After the stori of the men were outed the ary abolished the practice of sglg out gay soldiers and new trag guil have been troduced to help protect the rights of sexual mori the ary. As per this law, officially homosexuals were not allowed to enlist the ary and the absurd reasong given by the senr Army men was that they wanted to protect the prec liv of homosexuals of Ameri, but the fact that the Army nnot bar all the gay enthiasts who wanted to serve the Army was the real reason of s foundatn.

Before don’t ask, don’t tell, there were no l; after , many specific l me – the road l were you n’t park your r anywhere near a gay bar if you wanted to go to a gay bar you had to drive far away so that no-one uld you see you there. Homosexualy is peered downward on the Army, the reasong is that the officials and jawans get posted field regns, is felt that such an act n lead to the absence of ntrol when fighters stay, tra and rt together tents and shut spac. Litenant General Kumar also add that the uniformed soldiers may be charge-sheeted for offens unr Army Act Sectn 45 for vlatn of ial nduct which mands no ia of homosexualy and that sce he took over 2017 over six have been urt-martialed and sent home for var offens majorly moral vlatns.