NEW DELHI: Leading Indian writer Vikram Seth launched a campaign on Saturday against legislation making homosexuality a criminal offence in India, saying the country must fight laws that abuse human rights.
In an open letter signed by more than 100 influential Indians and supported by Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, Seth said the law banning homosexuality had led to public intolerance and abuse of homosexuals in the country.
"This is why we... support the overturning of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, a colonial-era law dating to 1861, which criminalises romantic love and private, consensual acts between adults of the same sex," the letter said.
The legislation, which came into effect during British rule in India, bans "carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal".
The novelist, who divides his time between India and Britain, said he launched the drive because he was gay.
"The reason why I decided I would participate in this is that I am gay or at least partially gay," said Seth, author of the best-selling books A Suitable Boy and An Equal Music.
Seth, whose writing has touched upon the theme of homosexuality, said the law would affect millions in a country of 1.1 billion people.
"It (homosexuality) has to be discussed, it's going to basically be discussed more and more -- one cannot suppress the happiness of 50 or a 100 million people," he told NDTV.
The Delhi High Court is to hear a petition challenging the law next month.
The Indian government, in response to a petition in the Supreme Court, last year said public opinion in the conservative country did not favour a change in the law.
"It's a strange argument. The law has to protect the rights of all people regardless of popular opinion," said gay rights activist Gautam Bhan.
"We want to raise public discussion ahead of the court hearing," Bhan said about the letter to the government and all citizens.
"This letter will send a strong message. It will send a message that people care," Bhan said at the release of the letter at a news conference here.
This is the first time such a large number of well-known people have urged the Indian government to act on an issue which has so far largely been taken up by AIDS activists and gay organisations.
Other signatories to the letter, to be circulated among members of parliament and the judiciary, include Booker prize winner Arundhati Roy and Pulitzer prize winner Jhumpa Lahiri.
While few prosecutions are brought, activists say police use the law to harass gay people in India where the topic is considered taboo in many communities.
In July, the government's AIDS prevention body told the Delhi court the law was making it hard to check the spread of HIV-AIDS in the country, which has the largest prevalence of the virus in the world with 5.7 million cases, according to UNAIDS figures.
