Gays in India seek British apology for law

MUMBAI, Aug. 16 (UPI) -- Gay activists in India say they want Britain to apologize for introducing anti-sodomy laws that still makes homosexuality illegal there.

Organizers were to call for an apology during their first gay pride march Saturday in Mumbai. It is part of a campaign to abolish Section 377 of the Indian penal code outlawing "unnatural sexual offenses," The Independent reported Saturday.

The Indian law, adopted when Britain ruled the country, calls for up to 10 years in prison for engaging in oral or anal sex, the newspaper reported. India has kept the law since gaining its independence in 1947.

A draft copy of the apology statement says: "We call on the British government to apologize for the immense suffering that has resulted from their imposition of Section 377. And we call on the Indian government to abandon this abhorrent alien legacy of the Raj that should have left our shores when the British did."