DIMAPUR: Leader of Naga People’s Front (NPF) legislature party Kuzholuzo Nienu on Thursday opined that the Supreme Court should not allow legalising same-sex marriages as it can have far-reaching implications on the society.
“Naga customary law nor any of the known faiths including Christianity, allow for marriages among same sexes, whether men or women. These religious institutions that are repositories of centuries of wisdom had a variety of reasons for not allowing such institutionalised relationships.
“Notwithstanding what is in the scriptures, the Naga people have traditionally followed age-old wisdom and have believed in the holy union of man and woman which is marriage,” the statement said.
Therefore, he said what is being proposed is “unwise and not only against centuries of wisdom but also against popular thought and belief in Nagaland and elsewhere in India and the rest of the world”.
He went on to state that India will have to amend a host of laws relating to inheritance and even custody of children in case of separation of partners if same-sex marriage is legalised.
“It may be impossible to reconcile such a change with respect to Naga customary law,” he stated.
Nienu said India legalised homosexuality in 2018 following a Supreme Court order and this was “largely tolerated and accepted”.
“But NPF foresees that legalising same-sex marriages may have a more unsavoury reaction from the society at large,” he added.
