Can morality and legality be interwoven?

Wednesday, March 24, 2010


"... and when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: Free at last, Free at last!"

Five decades ago, Martin Luther King, Jr., dreamed of a land devoid of ratial inequality and discrimination, a land where one could express, a land where one could voice opinions without being condemned, a land where one could experience true freedom. Today, he would stand pleased.

A historic judgment was passed in July 2009 when Section 377 was amended to legalise homosexuality in India. This judgement not only reflected the change in our thinking but also sought to condemn discrimination and encourage equal rights. After decades of protests, homosexuals were finally awarded the most basic constitutional rights, the one which many of us are privileged enough to take for granted. There was another important judgement made by the Supreme Court yesterday that caught my eye. One, in which, the courts declared pre-marital sex and live-in relationship to be considered as 'no offence.' You can read the historic case here

It is important to be part of an environment where one can make their personal choices, define their bounds of morality, are allowed to make their own mistakes, and are responsible for the turn of events in their lives. Remember the time when you wanted your deadline to be revised to 1 am, remember the time when you fought to pursue your career, remember the time when you wanted a chance to explain.. all of us would like to have rights so that we can exercise them as per our judgement..

..as a society it is necessary to push those boundaries, increase the limits, so that we experience true freedom and truly believe that we are 
Free at last! Free at last!..
 


2 comments:

Capt A.Nagaraj Subbarao said...

“You have the freedom to choose your actions, you don't have the freedom to choose the consequences of your actions”

So be careful of what you choose & wish for!

Radhika said...

I agree! With freedom comes responsibility, they go hand-in-hand.