Even as homosexuality remains illegal, Doordarshan broadcasts docu on LGBT issues

Heartening news for the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) community! Public broadcaster Doordarshan has for the first time aired a documentary on issues related to the community, as reported by India Today .

According to the report, the film, Purple Skies, draws attention to the daily struggles of persons with alternate sexuality and seeks to create awareness about women who have alternate sexuality.

IBNLive has quoted the film’s director Sridhar Rangayan as saying that he was ’truly excited’ that the film was being broadcast on Doordarshan and that the film would be ‘an eye-opener’ on issues relating to the community.

Ironically, this comes even as homosexuality continues effectively to be criminalized following the Supreme Court’s judgment upholding the constitutional validity of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which deals with carnal intercourse ‘against the order of nature.’

In April last year, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a curative petition on the section, responding to a petition filed by NGO Naz Foundation. The petition is pending in the court.

A Supreme Court bench of G S Singhvi and S J Mukhopadhyay had, in December 2013, set aside a ruling of the Delhi High Court which decriminalized homosexuality. The judges had then held that it was up to the legislature to decide on the matter.