Must separate church from state...and sex!

Gee Dr. Shukla, did you know this before that India was the largest Hindu nation in the world. I until now thought Nepal was the largest and the only Hindu nation in the world. I am still skeptical about that claim.

Dr. Shukla I would like to know how are the topics selected for the On faith blog. Do the panel members get to choose the topics and then others contribute? Or is it that Ms. Sally Quinn, & Mr. Jon Meachem do that? Rest of the panele members Messes Ramdas Lamb, David Wolpe, Arun Ghandi, Pamela Taylor, Usma Uddin, et al can chime in too. I am really curious.

I find it morally insane that "Secular" actually believes the plight of the Scheduled castes and India's gay community are about her.

For one thing, I have posted for three years on caste. The one time Dr. Schukla ventured tepidly into that domain India's wretched of the earth did post. They need a voice, and not a single HIndu blogger here has the courage to offer it to them. That is the issue, not recently arrived bigoted bloggers like Secular, but two hundred million suffering the tortures of the damned on a daily bases.

On a related note, Dr. Schukla is wise to comment on Hinduism's rejection of "homophobia," would be wiser still to demand that it end in the largest Hindu nation in the world.

posted by byron:

"The laws that were set aside were old hold over British Raj laws. "

our cultural inheritance.......king henry the 8th(1500's), head of church/state enacted a law that made homosexual sex punishable by hanging and queen victoria another head of church/state(1800's) erroneously transposed an 1800's word "homosexual" into scripture(2000 years old) which furthered this understanding of illegality. the colonists brought this cultural influence with them, which remained for 300 years.

in western culture the church is the culture and the culture is the church. its interesting how remanants of theocracy still haunt our western culture.

If you threaten me next time I will inform the moderators of the forum. Consider this as a proper notification.
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I have carried out my "threat," moron. Scroll down. And man the computer. I'm not done yet.

Would the good doctor did not have to contend with you.

It is true that Hindu scriptures and sacred texts are in the main not "homophobic," but this is not universally true, and homophobic India, the world's largest Hindu community, has used those religious texts to justify discrimination.

SHOCKINGly, gayness was not "decriminalized" in India until July 7, 2009.
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Discrimination and worse persist.

"A recent State of the Nation 2009 CNN-IBN survey revealed quite a homophobic India. As many as 73% Indians feel homosexuality should be considered illegal while 83% felt that homosexuality is not part of Indian culture and 90% of Indians won’t give their house on rent to a gay or lesbian couple."

http://prernalal.com/2009/09/changing-homophobic-attitudes-in-india/

If Secular opens his ignorant, nativist mouth once more, I shall fill it with them.
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Are you trying to bully me. You can take your bullying somewhere else. This is open forum, I can say what I wish as long as I abide by Washington Post's rules. If my comments irk you, that is your personal problem. If you threaten me next time I will inform the moderators of the forum. Consider this as a proper notification.

This is not to say, of course, that Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains are homogenous in support or opposition to this contemporary human rights issue, but the issue is more likely framed as personal and familial.
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Good for you, Dr.

Of course, crimes against gays, oppression, disgusting hate acts are not absent in India, is it?

If Secular opens his ignorant, nativist mouth once more, I shall fill it with them.

And, now, Dr., when will we hear from you on the Scheduled Castes?

For all the faults that Hindu scripture suffers, fanatic opposition to homosexuality is not one of them. To a great extent any passages in scripture against homosexuality are very much in passing. Definitely not to the extent of the OT strictures of the god burning down whole cities or the NT & Koranic strictures. In fact till the advent of Bedouins & Turks in the midst the subcontinent, this had not been a big issue. In fact the Mahabharata brings up the issue of Trans gender, but it does not proscribe anything. Its only Bhishma's repugnance that is mentioned while the rest of the character have absolutely nothing against it. The fact that the Pandavas use the TS to vanquish Bhishma attests to the fact that there was no big taboo. Extrapolating one could surmise that homosexuality wasn't abhorred in any strong way. The fact is that homosexuality receives only a passing reference in the scripture, to the point that it is not even recognized.