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Being gay is not a disease: Hrithik Roshan

By FnF Correspondent | PUBLISHED: 25, Feb 2012, 19:16 pm IST | UPDATED: 25, Feb 2012, 19:35 pm IST

Being gay is not a disease: Hrithik Roshan Mumbai: Hrithik Roshan speaks out against homosexual discrimination

The issue of gay rights caused another brouhaha on Thursday, with the home ministry calling gay sex "immoral" and "against social order", even seeking a fresh ban on it. Additional Social General (ASG) PP Malhotra appeared for the ministry and argued that Indian society is different from other countries, and could not imitate practices prevalent in foreign countries. "There is a high chance of spreading of diseases through such acts," he contended, opposing the Delhi's High Court order which had in 2009 decriminalised gay sex as provided in Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

While the home ministry later made it clear that Malhotra's opposition did not reflect the government's decision not to take sides on gay sex, gay icon Hrithik Roshan is not ready to sit on the fence. He speaks out against discrimination and more.

"Discrimination against homosexuals is exactly that - discrimination. And any form of discrimination is wrong. It's taken us hundreds of years to evolve as a society and realise how ridiculous and preposterous discrimination against race/caste is. How many more years is it going to take us to be mature enough and learn to accept individual sexual inclination? Perhaps the starting point is to understand that homosexuality is not a matter of choice.

You cannot choose to be gay just because your friends are or vice versa. You cannot force someone to be attracted to someone they are not attracted to. It is perhaps genetically encoded. One is basically hardwired to be or not be attracted to the same sex. Which means it is a part of your genetic characteristic. You are born that way. Which means it is a part of and in alignment with the delicate balance of all the nature around us. Also it has existed since the evolution of man, so how can something that is part of nature and has existed forever be considered immoral beats me!

I can't even imagine the extent of mental confusion and frustration inflicted on a young mind that is trying to grasp why he is made different and "not normal" (in terms of the world's perception). Being gay is not a disease we need to fear! It's ridiculous that there are people trying to stop it from spreading! God has made us same, but different. There are examples of all kinds of people in this world, and they probably exist to teach us tolerance and universal love. There are dwarfs, stutterers, fat people, hairy people, etc. I was discriminated against for a simple thing like a double thumb, which made me feel like an outcast throughout my childhood. How unwanted is that? It is a form of the same madness and it needs to stop.

Some of the most artistic, creative, genius, gifted minds in the world have had a similar sexual orientation. Any society that does not offer freedom to human beings to live as they are, to pursue their dreams, to express themselves as part of the human race is basically a society still in the clutches of the dark ages."