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Religious and Political Silence on India’s LGBTQ Decision Speaks Volumes

…eme Court unanimously voted to extend all constitutional protections under Indian law to LGBTQ Indians and that any discrimination based on sexuality would be illegal, those voices remained largely silent. There were a few exceptions like Swami Chakrapani, for example, president of the right-wing organization All India Hindu Mahasabha, who said, “It’s shameful. We are giving credibility and legitimacy to mentally sick people.” Did religious voices…

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The World’s Most Influential Yoga Teacher is a Homophobic Right-Wing Activist

…the Hindu nationalist mantra “Bharat Mata Ki Jai,” meaning Honor to Mother India. (Some Indian Muslims consider the mantra incompatible with their religious commitments, since it personifies India as the Goddess). The consequences of a sustained campaign against India’s religious minorities could be devastating: India has more than 200 million religious minorities, the majority of them Muslims. Alone, they would form the sixth largest country in t…

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India’s Elections and the “Doniger Affair”

…eligion as a tool of social oppression. This is perhaps why the most vocal Indian (or Indian expatriate) defenders of Doniger in the wake of the controversy have, for the most part, been intellectual or activist Marxists. Penguin’s decision to withdraw her book gave them new ammo in a battle against what they perceive as Hindu majoritarian aggression, exemplified by the destruction of the Babri mosque and the 2002 Gujarat riots. Many of these inte…

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Mormon Leaders Slam ‘Counterfeit’ Gay Families; Vatican Resists Gay Ambassador; ISIS Executes Man for Homosexuality; Global LGBT Recap

…ndfolded man to death in Homs, Syria, based on charges of “homosexuality.” Japan: Same-sex wedding ceremonies gaining acceptance At Japan Times, Mikako Kubo reports that Shunkoin Temple has hosted five Buddhist wedding ceremonies for same-sex couples in the past five years. What prompted the openness was a request from a Spanish gay woman participating in a Zen meditation session who asked to use the temple for a wedding with her partner. Zenryu K…

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Burma’s Spirit Festival, and More in This Week’s Global LGBT Roundup

…e lower. India and United Kingdom: 50 years after decriminalization in UK, India hangs onto colonial era law At The Times of India, Vikram Doctor notes that the United Kingdom’s parliament voted to decriminalize homosexuality in 1967, asking why India “still hangs on to this colonial legacy” fifty years later. His piece includes history about the anti-sodomy law in the U.K. and the “morass of misuse, malice and misery” that it engendered, includin…

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Seventh-Day Adventists & Gay ‘Cures’; Legal Victory for Kenyan LGBTs; Political, Religious Leaders Spar on LGBT Issues in UK; Global LGBT Recap

…scrimination and harassment, they also have an important symbolic place in India.” The Times of India reports, The Rajya Sabha on Friday unanimously passed a private member’s bill seeking equal rights with dignity for transgenders, who are widely scorned, ostracised and ghettoised in the country. It was historic not only because it was the first private member’s bill to be passed in the Upper House in 36 years, but also since it might turn out to…

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BYU Honor Code Used to Harass Black Atheletes

…de, we sounded a note of caution here at RD about the “dark side” of honor code enforcement. After all, the honor code had been created during the 1960s in an effort by ultra-conservative BYU President Ernest Wilkinson to root out liberals, and honor code enforcement (including anonymous referrals) had been used to bait and harrass feminist, liberal, and gay students, shut down campus free speech, and compromise the privacy of pastoral counseling…

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Policing Academic Freedom: A Book, a Controversy, and the Ominous Aftermath

…nguin publishing house, arguing that the book violated Article 295A of the Indian Penal Code, which forbids “deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class of citizens.” The school teacher was Mr. Batra, a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a right-wing Hindu nationalist organization. As early as 2001, Mr. Batra has engaged in political and legal measures to affect educational curriculum through his…

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Religious Affiliation, ‘Mankind’: India’s Anti-Corruption Activist Leads Second Freedom Struggle

…orruption—what Anna Hazare, whose hunger strike made headlines, has named “India’s second freedom struggle.” I was glad to have the chance to interview Bedi when she came to Atlanta a few months ago for a conference. No Prima Donna Something told me to silence my cell phone and bury it in my handbag as I drove to meet Bedi at her hotel. It turned out to be a good move. When I got to the lobby another something told me to dig out my phone and check…

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“Americans Hate Muslims, Too” (And Other Impediments to U.S. Advocacy for Religious Freedom Abroad)

…n national identity. While American diplomats often advocate for religious freedom in India in general terms, their words are not enough to undo the perception of America as a neo-colonial, prejudicially Christian empire. American Christian missionaries in India have been frequently accused of being the advanced scouts of this putative American empire intent on weakening India politically, and then remaking it as a Christian nation, more pliable a…

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