Civil Union
a more secular alternative?
This year I have really seen the lowest our government has stooped to; where someone (no names) went to the deepest cheapest low of saying that the word ‘secular’ was added in our Constitution by the opposing party (the then-ruling party) later and did not exist in the one initially written by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar. Ambedkar, himself, was an example of secularism, he was born a Hindu and died a Buddhist.
Anyway, I refrain from ranting on politics. What I do wish to do instead is understand it, and try to find workable alternatives. For example, I feel that politics will ignite the religious factions’ fire to destroy any attempts at legalising same-sex marriage; so what we can get instead is perhaps a Civil Union.
[Since marriage is a sacred union that should not be allowed between two partners of the same sex… else the devil will eat us I guess… what about all the wife-beaters, cheaters, and dowry-eaters? How holy is their marriage?]
Moving on, few things we can get with a Civil Union — a legal union between same-sex partners similar to marriage:
- For starters, marriage of same-sex couples legalised abroad may be considered as a legal civil union/civil partnership in India. So your dollars of flying abroad to get married won’t get wasted.
- Secondly, you may not have to spend your entire life’s savings (and sometimes your parents’) to be able to settle abroad because you’ll get rights — hospital visitation rights, transfer of property, health insurance, taxes, co-habitation, owning property together, adoption, medically assisted procreation (test-tube babies), dependent rights — right here.
[I don’t understand taxes so I would love my partner to take full responsibility of doing taxes & insurance things] - Whereas marriages have traditionally been between individuals of opposite sexes, civil unions may be allowed between mixed-sex couples as well (including non-binary and trans folks).
I understand many people in the LGBTQ+ community will get emotional (angry) reading this; thinking, “why don’t we get the same laws as everyone else”. Which is a valid ask… but you have to realise that you’re an Indian before anything else, and being an Indian comes with a responsibility of keeping yourself from offending many religions and opinions. So, though I understand that a marriage is a marriage, and a legal partnership may never be able to take that place (emotionally), but technically speaking, especially for a place like India, it will be a stepping-stone.
See my previous post on Same-Sex marriage in India to understand more: https://link.medium.com/0NGg6xyu27
PS: Ambedkar also advocated a Uniform Civil Code, i.e. an umbrella marriage-law irrespective of religions. I’ve purposely not written about it in the previous post because it is still in discussion and might take years and years for it to get implemented. Let me tell you, if it is put in effect, legalising same-sex marriage would become much easier.
