S. A. Hemanth
New Delhi, April 3: The same-sex marriage issue has brought together on the same page the leaders of the RSS, the Muslim, Christianians, Jain and Sikh leaders.
In a rare show of unity, the RSS, the Jamait-E-Islami Hindu, the Communion of Churches and the Akal Takht along with representatives of the Ajmer Dargah and Jain Gurus have decided to file a identical but separate affidavits in the Supreme Court opposing the same-sex marriage.
Leaders of all the religious faiths have raised concern about a legal sanction for same sex marriage, claiming that it is against the natural family order apart from being in contravention of their different scriptures.
These leaders reiterated the sentiment that marriage is an institution for procreation and not recreation. The RSS also opposs same-sex marriage, though it has accepted same-sex relationships, holding a position in line with the Union government.
The Supreme Court bench has said that the hearing of the case will be livestreamed from April 18 in public interest.
Taking the lead in this campaign against same-sex marriage is Jamait-Ulama-E-Hind which filed an application in the top court. “The concept of marriage between two opposite sexes is like the basic feature of marriage itself which leads to the creation of a bundle of rights such as maintenance, inheritance, guardianship and custody. By these petitions, the petitioners are seeking to dilute the concept of marriage by introducing a free-floating system through the concept of same-sex marriage,” the Jamait petition stated.
Jamait Vice President Salim Engineer said marriage between a man and a woman is the correct form of marriage. “Providing a legal sanction to the same-sex marriage would present a great danger to the well-entrenched family system,” he added.
Jain Guru Acharya Lokesh said such a concept – same-sex marriage – goes against the ancient values of our society.
The Communion of Churches also reiterated that marriage was a divine institution in the Christian faith, holding that a union of two persons of the same sex cannot have the validity of marriage. The Communion of Churches have written to the President on the issue.
The Sikh leadership of the Akal Takht has also been opposed to same-sex marriage.
EOM
