India's Ministry of External Affairs has found itself in a diplomatic quagmire after finding out two high-ranking Canadian diplomats live with their legal spouses. The unnamed politicos - a man and a woman - both married their partners while still living in Canada. Unfortunately, the Indian government still abides by the colonial era law, Section 377, which forbids homosexuality.

Upon hearing of the queer couples, the Ministry of External Affairs told the Canadian government it cannot honor their marriages, nor will they allow diplomatic immunity...

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Richard Gere has caused a bit of an international fracas thanks to a dramatic kiss with Indian actress Shilpa Shetty.

The kiss, incidentally, was on Shetty's cheek and it all took place during an HIV/AIDS awareness event. Eh, Gere's probably just thrilled to finallt be involved in a sex scandal that doesn't involve rumors of gerbils and a late-night ER visit.

That last one is true, by the way—my best friend's cousin was the ER nurse who worked with the doctor who saw it all...

What is evil? According to some teachers in India, sex. Three Indian states have barred sex education from their schools, insisting that children don't need to learn such frivolous skills as self-protection. One headmaster, NN Nayer told the BBC:

Our endeavor is to make children aware of these evils such as drug addiction, alcoholism and other dangerous things.

I am of the opinion that sex education by itself is not important, what is important is a holistic approach to the issue of social evils.

Murder, thievery, safe sex... Yup, all horrid social evils that must be abolished. Especially in India, where an estimated five million people live with HIV/AIDS. Fuck, it sounds like the teachers at this school need some sex education themselves.

Is this another one of colonialism's ugly legacies?

Sex education banned in India in face of rising infections [Pink News UK]

Colonialism may largely be a thing of the past, but its legacies still linger. For example, as we've mentioned before, India's law books still recognize the British-originated Section 377, as do the governments in Malaysia, Singapore and other long-independent former colonies.

Written in the 1861 by colonialist Lord Macaulay, the law effectively outlaws same-sex sexin', yet remains a legislative rarity. As Doug Sanders reports over at Fridae, the Brits overturned the law back in 1982, when Jeffrey Dudgeon successfully argued that he had been subject to intimidation and "agitation" by blackmailers looking to expose him. The case remains the same in India, where Section 377 remains a legislative - but not a social - rarity. As politicians and a few gay activists rally against the archaic stipulation, countless queers in these nations still face intimidation, thus forcing them into the shadows. Sanders explains, however, that sunlight's only a shout away.

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• Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney says he supports General Peter Pace, insisting: "I think people are entitled to believe what they want to believe, but what they say in their official and secular roles should be an expression of tolerance and respect for people regardless of our differences". Wait, isn't this the same man who participated in FRC's "Liberty Sunday"? Just checking. The former Massachusetts governor went on to remark on 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell': "When I first heard (of DADT), I thought it sounded silly and I just dismissed it and said, well, that can't possibly work. Well, I sure was wrong. It has worked". Did it? Or do we you just think it worked because you never saw what an openly gay person could do in the army? [San Francisco Chronicle]

• Garrison Keillor issued a response to the gag-a-rific uproar over his Salon article. [Public Radio]

• Indian trannie beauty queens! [DNA India]

• J-Hud's no diva. You better recognize, bitch. [TMZ]

• Counter-intuitive? A group of British gay activists are protesting anti-gay laws by going back in the closet. Yeah, that's right - they're going in the closet to show solidarity with people who can't be out of the closet. That's like going on a hunger strike to show solidarity with people who have solidarity or refusing to shower for people who don't have clean drinking water. [UK Gay News]

• HRC launches fresh campaign to fight hate crimes. [HRC]

• A Florida jail will now require HIV tests for all inmates. [Sun-Herald]

• Coke makes you pretty! Soft drink giant Coca-Cola and health drink company Lumaé have announced plans for a "beauty tea" for "active and image-conscious". [Telegraph]

• Mohamed al Fayed - the billionaire whose son, Dodi, died with Princess Diana on that infamous Paris night - has filed a lawsuit against British policing. He insists that Diana's claims of a hit on her life should have been included in their extensive, exhausting and excessively publicized report. This case will outlive us all. Especially Dodi and Diana.[HuffPo]

India's come up more than a few times on this site. One of our recent tales revolved around two lesbian lovers who asked police to help them fight their parent's wishes and stay together. They didn't.

Today, we came across a piece that reiterates much of the same: India still maintains a colonial era ban on homosexuality, the majority of society doesn't approve, etc. etc. What's different about this particular piece is that it focusses on the idea of faggotry as a punishment - that is, gay men and women often feel that they're paying the price for a wrong-doing. Homos, then, tend to eschew one another.

Yes, there are gay clubs and bars and the such, but no neighborhoods like Chelsea or the Castro, for gays fear being collectively stigmatized, journo Karthik P asserts (notice no last name on by-line). Fear may permeate gay life in India, but not all gays live in such terrified conditions. Karthik speaks to a gay poet who insists he won't allow it to define his life.

Hoshang Merchant explains, "I was beaten up once for my sexual indulgence and the experience made me assert myself." What's most intriguing about this article comes not from Merchant's personal strength - although, yes, that's notable - but in his description of his alleged crime: "sexual indulgence". A bit of a backward statement considering he's declaring his gay liberation, no?

It seems that even the most out and proud of gay men can still have their hang-ups. Even big ol' queers such as ourselves - we like to cuddle. Sick, right? We're such vile creatures, somebody stop us!

The dichotomy of sexuality [India Times]

• Libya's come to its senses and has agreed to free the six health workers it sentenced to death for "infecting" children with HIV. Of the mix-up, Muammar al-Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam said: "The case went in the wrong direction from the very beginning. There were many manipulations in the original files, many errors ... This is why we should seek a compromise". That means, of course, that Bulgaria's prepared to cough up the ransom.

• An Indiana senate committee voted 7-4 to ban same-sex marriage today. Protesters singing "We Shall Overcome" were promptly ejected from the room. God bless America.

• Has Tennis great Bill Tilden been written out of sports history because he was gay? Pink New UK's Ben Leung seems to think so...

• Brandy already apologized for accidentally killing someone with her car. Now the family wants $50 million? What's this world coming to?

• The United Nations has finally released a report on the plight of Iraqi gays. Guess what? It's not good.

• Ralph Fiennes love AIDS! Patients, that is. He's in India spreading some good will.

Officials in Tamil, India are launching an initiative to further transgender visibility and acceptance. The Hindu reports:

Talking about the welfare programs planned for the transgenders, Supriya Sahu, project director, Tamil Nadu State AIDS Control Society, said the crisis intervention centre would try to fire-fight problems relating to the community.

However, this would have to be bolstered by a strong network of the transgenders from every district and taluk. [Aggression] could be remedied with awareness creation and skill development training programs for the transgenders, she said.

It could also be remedied if the national government came out in support of LGBTers. Unfortunately, it seems a long time coming.

As if we didn't have enough nightmares about crazy alleged and admitted gay serial killer, Ronald J. Dominique comes news that Mumbai police have arrested a 22-year old homo for his possible role in a number of killings over the past few months. Munna Salim Sheikh suspected of killing eight people since October, as well as four unrelated murders.

Certainly disturbing news, the horror of the gruesome crimes may be eclipsed by the reporter's perspective on homosexuality:

Sheikh is known to be a ruthless killer and a homosexual who craves active as well as passive unnatural sex. Sexual pleasure had been the main motive behind his murders.

When she says "active" and "passive", does she mean top and bottom? Clever. Why not just go the extra mile and say, "When not killing homeless men, this psychopathic pervert partook in some pretend vaginal sex, offering his anus as a receptacle for mankind's most vile sex act!"?

Now we don't want to defend a potential serial killer, but has it occurred to the reporter that perhaps his and similar attitudes drove young Sheikh to such "unnatural" acts as murder? Just throwing that out there...

• This may be one of the most heart-warming pro-gay letters in this history of the world. PFLAG would be proud, for reals.

• Grey's Anatomy's Katherine Heigl thinks Isaiah Washington should stop talking. Truer words have not been spoken...

• Hooker turned Ted Haggard, Mike Jones snitch gets honored by The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force tonight. You should totally crash. Here's the info.

• There's a new tranny team in town: 66 transgender organizations from 21 countries have come together to form TransGender Europe. You've been warned.

• Meanwhile, Europe's far-right's getting all organized and shit, forming a 20-strong EU party determined to protect "Christian values". Super.

• Does Mumbai have a gay serial killer on its hands? It certainly looks that way.

Remember India's most famous love-lorn lesbians, 21-year old Meena and 22-year old Bundkunwar: the labia-loving ladies who asked police to help them get married in spite of legal and familial hurdles?

Well, after a week of intense deliberation, police officials have - shocker, shocker - refused to heed their calls. Speaking with reporters, police superintendent R.S. Nayak said:

We told girls last week that police need some time to know the legal aspect of gay marriages and they were sent back to their homes. Now we have told them it is not the job of the police department.

He also said that the girls' families are looking for new and inventive ways to squash their love.

The girls, meanwhile, insist they'll off themselves if their love's not recognized. Hmmm, sure it sounds romantic and all, ladies, but we think you should pretend to be "cured" of your sapphic leanings and then slip into the night to live your love as nomads. Suicide pacts are so 16th century.

Young, in love and living in a country that officially disapproves of their love affair, 21-year old Meena and 22-year old Bundkunwar hope to marry. Not surprisingly, they've come up against a lot of resistance, including pressure from their family and social peers.

As you know, Indian law criminalizes homosexuality. Despite this post-colonial legal hurtle, the couple has turned to police to ensure their marriage, Ireland's Gay Community News reports. If they prove impotent, the girls promise to kill themselves. This, of course, puts the coppers in a delicate position. Surajpur police chief R.S. Nayak says:

It's a quite ticklish situation for the police. We are reluctant to arrange their marriage as our society does not permit lesbians to marry... We told the girls to furnish all details in writing and give us some time to decide. They immediately provided all details but vowed to kill themselves if someone tried to separate them... Since they are adults and willfully decided to either marry each other or end their life, we have sought some time from the girls. We are now seeking legal suggestions on how to get out of the situation.

Hmmm, may this is a rough translation or something, but it seems to us that good old Nayak's kind of like, "Eh, these depressed dykes really aren't our problem, so we're just going to hope they go away". But, really, he doesn't have much of choice. Or, of course, he could use his somewhat elevated role in society to raise a potentially progressive stink. That's probably asking too much, though.

Well, it's certainly too much for some lesbian love affair. If it concerned a disgraced sports star found to have an extra Y-chromosome, it'd be clobberin' time.