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'I just want Section 377 to be struck down'

Last updated on: July 29, 2009 
Image: 'I just want Section 377 to be struck down'
Matthew Schneeberger
How do you write a book? You just sit down and write it. That's the only way books get written.

So says Neel Mukherjee, whose debut novel Past Continuous won the Crossword Book Award 2008 shared top prize for Fiction (English) with Amitav Ghosh's Sea Of Poppies.

Unlike some authors, Mukherjee also readily admits that writing is more of a compulsion than an enjoyable exercise. "Writing gives pleasure? Writing gives pleasure one day out of 5000 (For more, see the video)."

Here, he tells us how much of the best writing in English today comes from  India, and also weighs in on the landmark ruling from the Delhi High Court that struck down Section 377 in the Indian Penal Code. This section deals with sexual activity 'against the order of nature.' Earlier this month, the Delhi High court decriminalised sex between consenting adults. The case in now with the Supreme Court.

Mukherjee is openly homosexual.

Don't miss more on Neel Mukherjee. See the video!

Video: Hitesh Harisinghani