Do not turn us into criminals: Onir

The Honorable Chief Justice The Supreme Court Of India
I am a proud Indian law abiding citizen, but with the ruling of the Supreme Court bench on December 11, 2013, by definition of my identity, I have become a criminal.
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Today, it is a matter of grave concern that the largest democracy of the world denies perhaps the largest LGBT population their basic democratic right to live with dignity and freedom and to be able to love.We are denied our constitutional right to EQUALITY, to HEALTH and against DISCRIMINATION.
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Why should anyone be bothered if two consenting adults choose to have a relationship? Why should the law tell me how and who I am allowed to love? Does our country not have much more graver issues to deal with – violence against women, child sexual abuse, illiteracy, corruption, environment, hunger? Why do we as a nation get threatened by an act of love? We should be more worried about the fractionism, hatred and violence in our society.
Today as a NATIONAL AWARD winning film maker, I feel dismayed that the same nation criminalizes my identity. The Honorable President of this country awarded me the National Award for my film, which addresses human rights, including that of the LGBT community, as the Best Hindi film in the year 2012. But now, the Supreme Court robs me of my voice. Isn’t it an irony?
What ‘culture’ do we speak of when we say that the queer community is not a part of our tradition. Do we disown Konark, Khajuraho and the Kama Sutra? Do we start to destroy these symbols of love and culture because they propagate forms of lovemaking that is not only reproductive? We, as a civilization, brought to the world the art and science of love. Today, we are destroying that by nurturing a REGRESSIVE COLONIAL LAW in form of IPC 377.
The law of the country cannot succumb to religion or to populist demand. Then, the Khap Panchayat will make sure that women in this country continue to be repressed and killed even before they are born. Religion was created for man, not man for religion. We need to evolve and redefine laws and social norms with time. Because the law was created to give us better lives and not repress us. Please give us back that belief. If this law continues, millions of men and women will continue to live lives of lies, cheating themselves and their partner. They will get exploited and repressed. This law needs to GO, so that we finally become a truly democratic nation.
I request the Supreme Court, when they review the earlier ruling, to take our lives, our dreams, our love under consideration. Do not turn us into criminals, for all we wish to do is spread LOVE and HAPPINESS.
Yours law abiding citizen, Film maker Onir