In 1973, the American Psychiatric Association issued a resolution that it no longer considered homosexuality a mental disorder. Seventeen years later, the World Health Organisation followed suit. However for an autonomous college in Kerala’s Changanassery the world appears to have stopped before any of this happened. Thirty years after the WHO said homosexuality is not a mental disorder, a text book prescribed under ‘Value Education’ says that homosexuality can be ‘overcome through treatment, spiritual life and a sense of morality’.
Akshay Prabha, a psychologist based in Changanassery, posted the relevant portion of the textbook, and pointed at the backwardness of the management and how even student organisations fail to question this.
“It is a compulsory course for the students. This is dangerous on multiple levels. For one, there was a stream of pseudo psychologists who had earlier claimed to ‘spiritually cure’ homosexuality. This would encourage more such pseudo ‘treatments’. For another, there could be homosexual students in the college who have still not come out and are already going through oppression and getting very little support. How will it affect them if they have to write for exams that homosexuality could be cured?” Akshay tells TNM.
There was some protest in the college two years before when the Student Federation of India–led union touched upon the subject in a bi-weekly magazine. “It was in 2017-18. For the third issue of the magazine, we had carried an article about the value education classes and their regressive ideas about same-sex love. However, that issue of the magazine was censored and it could not be brought out,” says a former student of the college.
A little while before the magazine issue, the college had seen another protest when a new dining hall was opened and separate sections to eat were created for male and female students. “The union held a strong protest against it and also addressed the issue of the value education classes during the protest,” the former student says.
However, the VE classes continue and even now first year and second year degree students have a weekly class on the subject. “In the first year, Catholic and non-Catholic students were given separate classes for VE. What happened was the teacher who came to take classes would not open the textbook. He would instead talk of general topics – it could be a film discussion or perhaps a lesson on nuclear families. So the book and this part about same-sex love never got discussed. If perhaps the subject was touched upon, there would have been a discussion and students might have protested,” says a student of the college.
Regardless of the stream they apply for, every student has to learn the subject. “The University Grants Commission (UGC) clearly states that any act of physical or mental abuse (including bullying and exclusion) targeted at another student on the grounds of sexual orientation constitutes ragging. It is nearly two years since India decriminalised section 377 that had criminalised homosexuality. Even the Pope has declared his support for homosexual people. Then why is the sun not shining on this college (management)?” Akshay’s post asks.