Good girl - A rare species

In the childhood, the "goodness list"  and rules for being good for boys and girls were common, i.e., don't lie, don't steal, be obedient to your elders etc. As we grow older, this list gets more and more different for girls and boys(I am putting aside other differences- religion, caste and class), particularly getting lengthier for girls. A good girl's attributes as set by the society have made a good girl as the "rarest of the rare breed".

Being a girl, she already has to play multiple roles in two different families, yet conditions imposed on them to qualify as a "good" girl makes it impossible to be one. I will define these conditions and attributes later in the letter followed.

The obsession for a good girl can be seen in the search for a "adarshvadi and sanskaari” bahu. Not only to qualify for a family, but also she has to be a good girl for her survival as well(else she might be raped and killed for not abiding by the rules). And a near impossibility of being a "good girl" is forcing people to go for a shortcut, i.e., female foeticide, directly cutting the root cause("Na rahega baans, na bajegi baansuri").

I will dwell deeper into this topic via a small letter, I am going to write to my future generation(here I am assuming it to be my granddaughter). I assume myself as a good girl(as the society sees) and advising her to be good girl(as I see it).

Dear granddaughter,

Your mother has probably taught you how to be a good girl. You might have been given the sphere you are not supposed to cross. Your games(barbie, ghar-ghar), your hobbies(dancing), your fantasy(to get married) has already been defined for you, and probably you have already been conditioned for them. I know you don't like all these, you asked me for the latest version of Tekken. You asked me to experiment with the screwdriver instead of sewing machine(play models). I pray you could continue making these wishes, while doing what you love instead of falling into the illusion of mumma's good girl. Here and today, I am warning you to not fall in that trap because that "good girl" image is unattainable.

I know now you are confused, how come my grandmother is asking me to go against the society, this is against the "manners" of society. Let me give you a clarification with an example of my life. In my childhood(like yours), I made my desires subservient to my duties and expectations of the society, for instance, I was supposed to talk and laugh with softly(to suppress the loudness), taking dance lessons despite I wanted sports lessons, I was supposed to clean the house when my brother was playing cricket, I was supposed to wear the uncomfortable frocks with the irritating kaajal in my eyes. In my teenage, I needed to learn cooking(with varietal food as A+ marks) and sewing. I was supposed to choose arts as the study field despite my interest being in science. I fulfilled all these expectations, and I thought everyone was happy, and my happiness laid in the same. I thought that I had become the "good girl".

When I needed to enter in college, I thought meritorious performance would let me spread my wings ( and I could also study away from home in a famous institute), but that too was just a dream. I was supposed to be close to the family so as to be secure and save extra expenditure on my education. And then a guy started stalking me on my college route for a long time. I didn’t have the courage to tell my family, and the day I complained against him, it was my studies which were to be banned. Somehow, I managed to ask my family to continue my studies on the condition that I needed to cover my whole body even in the scorching sun.

Then came the "rush for marriage and get career settled period". Obviously I was 23 now.

So, I was expected to look pretty(pretty meant slim and fair), to wear good clothes at the functions, so that someone would like me. I needed to focus properly on my assets (beauty) because that was the only achievement I had. And then a stranger came to see me with his family to seek my hand in marriage; I agreed without talking to him or worrying about my education that remained incomplete. The elders in the family were pleased, they called me a “good daughter” and I thought I was happy.

Then I entered in my new home. I requested to my in-laws for continuing my studies to shape my career. But no, strict no- how could I be safe at workplace. Somehow fortunately, I managed to get a teaching job(despite I didn’t like it as well). Probably everyone was happy with that(easy job with 2-3 hours of workload not a big barrier for my family responsibilities, local posting with in-laws, daylight job with decent earnings). But then started the adjustments of married life, my husband got transferred. Obviously I needed to move with him because I was supposed to give him space and freedom. So, I took a break from my current career and continued it at a new place with new struggle. And, then I was blessed with your father(one more responsibility), and I needed to end up my career to serve him well. I lost my friends meanwhile, meeting first family already became an occasional event. I was taken for granted by my parents, my in-laws, my other half and my own children. And when I lost myself in devotion towards my family, I was called as a "good daughter-in-law".

Today, at the age of 65, when I try to look back into my past, I could only see the unfulfilled desires (when I see a lady sportsperson winning gold medal- I wish if I could be one of them), scattered dreams and still unsatisfied society. I became the obedient puppet for whole of my life and danced on the tune of my near and dear ones as well as far ones. I did all that for the acceptability later to realize that it can become unacceptable just by writing this letter in public.

So my dear, set yourself free from these obligations which are endless and go for wherever your heart takes you.

Spread your wings as much as you want and achieve whatever you aspire.

Your granny

For those who can’t read it completely. I would summarize the do's and don'ts for a good girl set by society:

1. Dress decently
2. Speak and laugh softly
3. Don't deviate from traditions and conditioned behavior
4. Behave properly(such a vague term), includes sitting cross legged, don’t speak unless asked to
5. Drinking, flirting, dating, smoking are the prerogatives of men only, never ever dream of them
6. Be a show piece even if you don’t want- because beauty is the only asset of yours
7. You are a slave who hears everyone, do for everyone but ask for nothing
8. Be spendthrift, you are the goddess(lakshmi) of the home, you are the manager of resources without any ownership
9. Falling in love- are you kidding( we are there to teach you the lesson, respect of family is more precious than your life- Khap Panchayats)
10. Essential ideals for a human being(wake up early, sleep on time) applies to you only
11. Do not spend time on chatting, (technology is not for you). Phones are strictly no for you
12. As per young generation- one man woman(you can either be a good girlfriend or a good wife, as if these are two exclusive roles played by the same person)
13. She can't complain for tortures (marital rape is one of them), basically no human right as such
14. Other objectives like polite, shy, obedient, empathetic, helpful( add as per your convenience and as much as possible)

This exhaustive list can be written in mathematical equation as:
Good girl = Obedient daughter + devoted wife + traditional (susanskaarit) daughter-in-law + responsible and sacrificing mother + understanding sister + adjusting girlfriend + domestic work horse + disciplined as armymen + biologically fit

Doesn't a good girl sounds like a "barbie"- who doesn't exist in real world. Please stop judging a girl. Let her be a girl only..

My soulmate

I got tickled pink, the feeling of overjoy I couldn't express, such was the euphoric moment

when he walked into my life

I become unknown to the pain and the worldly sufferings, such was the magical moment

when he walked into my life

I forgot about feasibility, I put aside the calculations of pros and cons

when he walked into my life

Years passed by as few moments, wishes became all real

when he stayed in my life

Then came the worst hour of my life

I built the palace of my expectations on his head

I blamed him.. I cursed him..

I almost ate his heart out, & somehow managed to push him away

I feared for this day

when he seemed to disappear from my life

As I blindly moved my hands, I could feel nothing, just dampness, such was the tragic moment

when he seemed to disappear from my life

I thought he had gone, I cried.. I wailed.. my eyes turned blurrier, I couldn't see him anymore

I called him, I couldn't hear him back

In despair, I sat down recollecting the flashes of our past, I fell asleep

Thinking he had gone from my life

In the dream, I felt his warmth, I was relieved.. Yet I said, "It is just a dream", and then the bubble just burst up

he pulled me in his arms to lie beside him.. I cried in the mad happiness..

when what seemed to me was not true, he was all here

Thrashing him for leaving me, for watching me heartlessly, silently..
 lost and looking for him madly..

He whispered in my ears, "bacha, that one hour was a nightmare"

I was speechless, stunned

when what seemed to me was not true, he was all here

I realized and making him realize, expressing through my tears..

How I never wanted to loose -my soulmate, even in the worst nightmare

I was overwhelmed

when he became the integral part of my life, when I understood the same from his silent eyes

Inter-caste Marriage: A Real Measure to Eliminate Caste Based Discrimination

Standing in the polling booth, I thought that reaching 18 grants us at least one freedom - the freedom to vote whomsoever we want. You might be thinking we get so many rights after getting to the age of 18, e.g. we become eligible for marriage, get the license and capability of taking decisions related to our life. But how far is it true? Today I will focus on one such freedom i.e. the freedom to get married with the person of our choice, particularly when our choice belongs to another caste in the Indian social structure.

The Caste Barrier to Marriages 
For years, Indian society has had an orthodox mindset. Indian sociology (a book by G.S. Ghurye) defines six features of caste, and marriage is one of them.

The practice of endogamy (marrying within a confined community) is believed to have emerged around 2000 years ago when the Hindu religious text Manusmriti (The Laws of Manu) was written, which supports the practice of endogamy.  Many citations of inter-caste marriage before that period suggest that inter-caste marriages were common before that period. 

In the traditional Indian society, members of each caste and sub-caste were to marry within their own endogamous group. Any violation of this rule was a serious offense, the punishment for which was usually excommunication from the caste. Moreover, considering inter caste marriage as a taboo is not just a rural phenomenon; even the educated families are not much present numerous examples. 

The gravity of the situation has increased more and more with time, due to continued hardening of the social beliefs. There has been an increasingly aggressive response of the society against inter-caste marriages. In the cases of love affairs in the past, only family members concerned used to intervene. However, nowadays, the intervention of outside groups in such affairs has become a trend; recent attack on Divya-Ilavarasan of Dharampuri is testimony to this.


Why inter caste marriage – Why not? 

The very first answer to people who condemn inter caste marriages is – Why not? When we support love marriages, we automatically support inter-caste marriages, because love does not see caste, religion, faith etc.

Taking legal perspective, love marriages (irrespective of caste) are legal under Special Marriages Act, 1954.  Even the Supreme court of India, the highest authority in Indian democracy, also held the view that inter caste marriages are in national interest and are a unifying factor where caste system is a curse ( See Article).

Even history doesn’t deny the notion of inter-caste marriages. For example, Santanu married Ganga and later Satyabati; both were from outside his own caste. In 160 B.C., Agnimitra, a Brahmin king, married a Kshatriya princess Malavika. Majority of historians believe that the practice of endogamy didn’t start until around 2000 years ago, before which, very few restrictions existed on marriage.


Who resists?

Recently, my friend's cousin got married for the second time. His first marriage was to the women of his choice who didn’t belong to his caste. However, the guy had to succumb to continuous resistance from his parents, had to break the bond of his first marriage and got married to the woman of his parents’ choice. The thing that shatters me the most is that if our society considers marriage as an unbreakable bond (a common saying that marriage is a bond that persists for 7 lives); how can they disapprove a marriage that has already happened.

I assume that most of the readers have heard of Khap Panchyats, and majority of readers would also condemn their acts in the name of "honor killing". What is the difference between those sinners and people denying inter caste marriage in the name of whatever excuse they have? In fact, this difference is a very thin line that can be crossed anytime. So, I would suggest those people, before condemning Khap Panchayats, they should be ready to answer the question, “what if their children were to marry outside the caste?” keeping the lame excuse of "It would be better if our children give us half of what we have provided them" aside.

Even if parents concede to their children’s wishes, it’s the society that doesn’t let them. Now, we can ask the philosophical question – What is society; rather, what constitutes the society? The answer is simple; we are the society, society emerges from us. If we want the society to change, we need to change first and then spread that change.

Social perspective: Practical answer to caste based discrimination

When we compete with the West in culture, technology, and development, we need to modernize our thoughts to rise above petty issues.

Few people give argument that it will lead to clash in culture and values.  If that is the case, there should not be any communication or trade between states because they are of different culture, and same stands for different communities too. India is gifted with diverse cultures; then why we are so scared of unifying people from different cultures for the common good while maintaining diversity (I am trying to emphasize and assume here that girl is not bound to forget her culture after marriage). Moreover, this amalgamation of different cultures will put an end to mindless racism and discrimination on the basis of caste in our exotic land.

Wouldn’t we want our next generation to be more peaceful and more socially acceptable to different people in the world?

Restriction on feeding and social intercourse will also go when physical intercourse is acceptable to the higher castes; assuming we don’t want any taboo on social intercourse. So this caste based discrimination can be uprooted through inter-caste marriages. I will go so far to say that if we want to end this division of country on the basis of castes, inter-caste marriages are the fastest and the most effective solution.

Political Perspective: Answer to caste-based politics

It is no news that Indian politics has been revolving around the notion of castes for at least a couple of decades. This change in Indian political system, marked by caste mobilization and narrow identity politics is worsening the problem of caste-based discrimination. In the Ilavarasan case, the government and the police failed to take action against members of the dominant caste even though they knew well that they were doing something illegal, because of vote bank politics.

Unless we emerge united, we cannot fight this dirty politics where corrupt politicians come into power making promises to a certain set of castes, instead of having any motivation to serve in the country itself. This kind of politics serves nobody’s purpose and divides India while those corrupt politicians fill their pockets with everyone’s money irrespective of what the caste of a person is.


Medical Perspective: Better Genetic Adaptation
There is an interesting observation from the point of view of genetic adaptation, if you consider people from different castes to be of different genetic structures. This is an answer to the people who propagate the concept of Pureblood . First of all, we need to understand that the concept of Pureblood has nothing to do with blood (We transfuse blood to people all the time in hospitals).

The concept of PureBlood comes from the concept of evolution that certain sections of society have evolved to a better genetic structure over time. It might be true, but it does not support the negative impacts of inter-caste marriages. Moreover, the tendency of genes to try to evolve to a better structure supports the concept of inter-caste marriages. The idea is that, if we assume that two castes are different genetically, on inter-caste marriage, the genetic set of the child has more good qualities to choose from than just marrying people with similar genetic structure (genes have tendency to choose the best from the constituting genes).

This was just one aspect of how inter-caste marriages can be advantageous from the medical point of view. In her article, Dr. Shuchita Vatsal explores the medical/genetic upsides of an inter-caste marriage in detail.


What needs to be done?
Education has broadened the scope of thinking and helped people develop analytical powers. We need to do better in education sector to provide people with better thinking level so that they grow above these barriers of caste.

A survey revealed that 80% of women, adversely affected in inter-caste marriages, belonged to the Dalit community. This incites fear in women from Dalit community from taking the step of going for an inter-caste marriage. One possible remedy is to make changes in the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and encourage by giving incentive to the people taking initiative in this direction that could be in the form of reservation.

Financial incentives can also be given by the government to encourage youth and to make them independent (as done in one such government scheme here ).



Summing Up
We discussed that marriage is one of the features in the Indian caste system. The inter-caste marriages will attack on remaining five features of the caste system and ultimately help in eliminating the oppressive caste system as Dr. B.R. Ambedkar said, "it will cause disappearance of caste - based Segmental Division of Society". Economic divisions, class etc. will still remain, but that is currently being dealt by reservation.

After all, a marriage is considered as the union of two souls, which never requires caste, creed, and other customs of the society; it only requires that happiness, understanding and peace should always remain there in the family. Moreover, inter-caste and inter-religion marriages serve as a beacon light for social equality. In order to eliminate the perils of the caste system, it has become incumbent that there should be a lot more inter-caste marriages. As we close this discussion, I would like to quote Dr. Ambedkar again "Caste is a mental state, therefore it cannot be eradicated through constitutional measures alone”.

It is time we gave a second thought to our hypocrisy in which we applaud movies like "Two states", but we don’t have the guts to accept inter-caste marriages in front of the society. 

This article solely expresses the views of the author on subject matter. It is not intended to conflict with individuals' views. Please feel free to comment to suggest improvements or report problems.

Heartbleed Bug Explained

The biggest recent fuss in the field of computer science gains notoriety day by day. Online references to the bug have multiplied over time. Anyone having basic understanding of the field of computer science and programming would know that bugs in software are very common and they come and go daily. So, what is Heartbleed and what makes it unique and so notorious?

To skip all the background and technical details skip to the section Simplified explanation of the Heartbleed bug.

What is Heartbleed?

It is a serious vulnerability (a software bug) in the popular cryptographic software library OpenSSL. This bug allows a malicious user (commonly called hacker) to steal protected information over a communication channel secured by the SSL/TLS encryption, which has OpenSSL lying at its implementation.

Specifically, this bug lies in the Heartbeat extension of OpenSSL.

What is SSL/TLS?

Transport Layer Security (TLS) and its predecessor, Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) are cryptographic protocols designed to provide security for communication over Internet.  SSL/TLS protocols essentially are a set of specifications that define the mechanism for a secure communication.

Where do we see SSL/TLS?

Secure communication over Internet uses the SSL/TLS protocols. Most of the confidential information over Internet is communicated using the HTTPS application protocol that utilizes SSL/TLS protocols. Nearly all websites, web servers, chat servers, network appliances where confidential and private information can be exposed use SSL/TLS; examples include Bank websites, payment gateways, email providers, social networking websites and numerous other websites.

What is OpenSSL?

OpenSSL is a cryptographic software library that provides an implementation of the SSL and TLS protocols too. It is considered the de facto library used for incorporating SSL/TLS security on a website. So, if a website uses SSL/TLS security, there are very high chances that it uses OpenSSL implementation.

If there are vulnerabilities associated with using SSL/TLS security, why use it at all?

The vulnerabilities are not associated with the SSL/TLS protocols; the vulnerabilities exist in specific implementations. It is like saying, if items from my house can be stolen; why not leave them out in the open?  :)

Okay, if the vulnerabilities exist in specific implementations; are there other implementations of the SSL/TLS protocols?

Yes, there are a host of other implementations of the SSL/TLS protocols. See A Comparison of TLS Implementations for a comparison of such implementations. That said, OpenSSL is a very popular cryptographic library that has proven to be highly reliable and efficient over time. A bug does not make it a bad choice (since the bug has already been fixed); it is natural for other implementations to have their own set of problems too.

What is the heartbeat extension?

OpenSSL introduced an extension called Heartbeat around December 2011, with its 1.0.1 build release.  The extension’s task was to help avoid reestablishing sessions so that the SSL sessions could be kept alive for longer durations.

How does the Heartbeat extension work?

Without going into the intricate details of the headers formats, we can have a simple understanding of the Heartbeat extension. 

When a session is established, the server and the client (or the two peers) establish session keys. However, after regular intervals, the client and the server need to verify each other’s identities because of a variety of security reasons (like  session hijacking). 

One approach is to establish another session. Since, establishing a session requires multiple steps, this is considered inefficient.

Another approach (the one that the heartbeat extension follows) is to setup two code words in the beginning, one for the client and one for the server. Now, after some time (called a Heartbeat), the server asks the client back for its code word (of course, encrypted by the session key). If the client replies with the correct answer, server knows that the client is authentic. If the client cannot reply, or gives an incorrect reply, the server asks for reestablishment of session (asks again for the password).

Similarly, the client verifies the server’s identity by requesting the client’s code word. If server is unable to reply correctly, the client asks for re-verification of its certificate.

Okay, then, what exactly is the Heartbleed bug? 

As we already saw, an exchange of secret code words is performed during a persisting session to verify the identity of two communicating peers.

However, due to the Heartbleed bug, the client not only has access to the session key but also an arbitrary chunk of memory on the server side (similarly server has access to client’s memory).

The client, while verifying session, send a request to the server to return back the client's secret code word that was established earlier. In the request, client also sends the size of the data it expects the server to return. Even if the secret code was a few bytes long, the client can always request a bigger chunk of memory (an upper limit of 64 KB in one heartbeat). The server fulfills the request giving that amount of memory data back to the client (starting from the key’s location in the memory). 

So, if a client is a malicious client, it can keep sending heartbeat requests to the server potentially accessing up to 64 KB of arbitrary memory every time. That portion of memory can contain highly confidential data, including the server’s private key (access to which gives unrestricted access to the server), other user’s data etc.

Can you skip the technical details and explain in simple terms?

Okay, let’s skip all the encryption stuff. Let us imagine a scenario where you visit a bank. The receptionist asks you for your secret key (the password) to enter the bank. You also ask the receptionist for her identification. Once, you are satisfied with her credentials, you tell her the password. She verifies the password and lets you access the inside of the bank.

However, you two also setup code words for further communication. You tell the receptionist your code word and the receptionist tells you her code word. Receptionist passes these code words to all the bank’s employees, so that anyone who knows them is an employee and anyone who doesn’t is not.

Now, you are sitting in the waiting room waiting to be assisted. Now, an employee comes to assist you. However, instead of asking your password again (having to verify it from the system), he simply asks for the bank’s code word. You ask him your code word first. He tells you your code word and establishes that he is an authentic employee of the bank.

However, the employee is infected by the deadly heartbleed bug. So, while asking your code word, you tell him how many words you are expecting.  He tells you the correct code word but also tells other visitors' code words, and the bank’s code words for other visitors too, depending on the number of words you said you were expecting.

This knowledge gives you unnecessary access to private information related to other visitors. You can even impersonate as one of them.

To throw in a little technicality, the situation with OpenSSL is not as bad as the bank’s, because code words are not stored as plain texts. They are encrypted using session keys. So, just to decipher the code word, or any part of memory that was leaked, a hacker would first have to hijack a session (basically know who to attack).

Bugs in software come and go, what makes Heartbleed so unique?

The severity and ease of exploitation of the bug makes it so notorious.

The bug is very easy to exploit, does it leave the Internet insecure to all hackers?

No, it doesn’t.  The reason is, a hacker has access to arbitrary chunk of memory but he doesn’t know what part of memory (or what information) he is getting. Essentially, all he might be getting could be garbage or could be the bank account’s password of a user. It takes a mediocre hacker to exploit the bug but someone very good to get important information out of the leaked data.

How do I know that I was attacked?

You don’t. The exploitation of the bug leaves no traces, so there is no way to know if someone has already accessed your confidential information. However, if something bad hasn’t happened yet, there are pretty good chances that you weren't attacked.

How do I ensure that Heartbleed no longer affects me?

The OpenSSL developer community promptly fixed the bug, and fixes have been pushed by most operating systems. All you have to do is update your OpenSSL with the latest set of updates. After that, ask your users to change their passwords to protect from any future information theft due to an earlier password leak.

For background information on the Heartbleed bug, visit the Wikipedia article on Heartbleed.

Most of the explanations in the post are oversimplifications intended to be understandable by most readers. Please feel free to report any mistakes and give your invaluable suggestions. 

Extension must for smooth internet surfing

Google Chrome browser

Options->Extensions

Adblock plus

Blocks the advertisements on the websites

Speeds up browsing

Get rid of unnecessary advertisements

FastestChrome- Browse Faster

Browsing Flawless and quick

Automatically adds extra pages to the first page for eg. For search results- just need to scroll up and down to access

Google dictionary

You can easily select a word, and particular definition is popped up

Skip Ad on Youtube

Escaping ads in youtube

YouTube Downloader

Download a youtube video at desired resolution

Youtube Options

Set default setting for youtube videos(size of the window, visibility of ads and annotations etc.)

Black Menu for Google

Get easy one click access to google menu(maps, translate, web, images)

Chime

Fed up of opening facebook, gmail , twitter to check notifications. Try this. It aggregates the notifications for Gmail, Facebook, Twitter and more.

Feedly

Similar to google reader to read the content of your favorite sites.

Media hint

Access videos banned outside the country.

P.S.- not available in the chrome web store. Goto mediahint.com and get free from there.

Section 377

In a major setback to gay rights activists, the SC recently dismissed a petition seeking review of Suresh Kumar Koushal judgment and held that homosexuality or unnatural sex between two consenting adults under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code(IPC) is illegal and will continue to be an offence. This order quashed the hopes of law reform.

Moreover as India takes a step back, UK prepares to legalize the same. The Indian SC re-criminalized gay relationships based on a colonial law that the UK has given in the heritage. Contrary, UK government has make a announcement promising a deadline for same sex marriages.

Lets get a bit familiar with the Section 377 and its history. Then we will talk about its consequences.

What does Section 377 say?

Section 377 says that "Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal commits an unnatural offence and can be punished with up to life term." This is an archaic colonial law established in 1860 that banned sexual intercourse on the basis of its nature as "against the nature". Moreover Section 377 is not unconstitutional.

In 2009, Delhi high court had ruled that Section 377 was against constitutional values and human dignity, which clearly violates the human right of an individual. Here argument made by SC against the HC ruling is that, the Delhi HC has relied upon the judgments of other foreign countries which cannot be applied blindfolded for deciding the constitutionality of Indian law.

In the landmark Naz Foundation case, the Delhi High court stuck down the provision of criminalized consensual adults from having homosexual intercourse. The effect of the decision was that though homosexual intercourse was no longer illegal, Section 377 would remain in the statute books and could be used to prosecute other unnatural sex acts. Then the PIL by Suresh Kumar Koushal, whose interest was to protect cultural values of India society was filed. And here the SC overruled the judgment of Delhi High Court stating the reason that "LGBT individuals form a diminutive fraction of population and this Section 377 is not used frequently, the decision does not hold water.

Gay rights activists’ plea that Section 377 criminalizes a group of people and deprives them of equal citizenship was also rejected by a Court that held on to a textual reading that the law only criminalizes certain acts but not people or identity.

Consequences:

Though prosecution of consenting homosexuals was infrequent, Section 377 was used by the police to harass and intimidate sexual minorities.

 The 2.5 million LGBT community is categorized as a high-risk group by the Department of AIDS control, as prevalence of HIV is 7 times higher in them than the others.  In addition, the existence of this provision also prevented sexual minorities from accessing sexual healthcare without risking harassment or arrest.

The community would also face threats and intimidation or even blackmailing.

Way Forward:

This decision of SC is termed as 'retrograde' as it has brought back medieval prejudice and has also curtailed liberal values and human rights.  In majority of the cases, wherever the executive had failed and did not held constitutionally enumerated fundamental rights  to life and equality, the court had stepped in. This time it should not shy away from correcting a centuries-old law. With this decision, it seems like judicial route has been closed to bring the law in line. Now there are few ways forward.

One of them is the application of curative petition, which allows the Court to take cases even after dismissal of review petition provided that it involves gross miscarriage of justice and violation of natural justice. But as the track record of previous cases suggest, this route does not appear to be optimistic. Since the review petition was dismissed without even a oral hearing.

The another way is making use of Parliament's prerogative to amend Section 377 in tune with the social circumstances. Though the Union government too was in favor of High Court's view, it had left it to the SC to decide on the penal provision. With the upcoming elections, this legislative amendment is neither priority for Congress part nor for BJP(Indian cultural reasons).

The last but not the least route is to make benefit of the federal structure. As the Indian Penal Code comes under Concurrent List of Constitution, State Legislatures may amend a central law subject to approval of President. As this issue was well handled by the State Court as compared to Apex court, the legislative interventions at State level seems to be the most feasible way out.

Above all, it is a test of humane values, fairness and dignity in a society. It is important that institutions of the state acknowledge the importance of these values.