Sexual impotency goes into public domain!


By John B Monteiro

Sep 18: Sexual impotency which was swept under the carpet and provided grist for fertility clinics, psychiatrists, marital counsellors and even quacks has now surfaced into the public domain. The latest actor on the scene is Swami Nithyananda who approached the Supreme Court to buck an impotency (or is it potency?) test and was denied, on September 3, his prayer. Subsequently, he was made to undergo the test and the leaked results of the test and his threat to sue the doctors on various grounds is sure provide the grist for salacious comments in the weeks to come.

If Supreme Court takes on sexual impotency or potency, can High Court be far behind? But, first the facts, as reported in The Hindu, and the furore it has generated.

In a landmark ruling on September 10, 2014, the Madras High Court bench in Madurai has suggested pre-marital clinical examination of prospective couples to avoid impotency and sexually-transmitted diseases spoiling matrimonial lives. Justice N Kirubakaran, calling it an avoidable human tragedy, said: "If pre-marital clinical examinations by doctors are done, it will prevent not only impotents getting married, but (also) prevent marriages of people suffering from dangerous and incurable diseases. Governments should give first preference to tackling this kind of human problems."

Noting that women were the worst sufferers in such cases, he said it violated the very basic human rights, and right to decent and meaningful life. Underscoring the high rate of impotency-related marriage failures, the judge asked whether state and central governments were aware of the social scourge and whether they were ready to amend marriage laws so as to fast-track disposal of matrimonial disputes. Why not the government prescribe punishment for people who suppress impotency or frigidity at the time of marriage and cheat their would-be spouses, Justice Kirubakaran asked.

It started as a hearing of a husband’s petition to quash an FIR that his wife had filed against him for domestic violence. Justice Kirubakaran, listening to the arguments of the petitioner, veered to the question of “potency.” He deemed it fit to constitute a special sitting to decide whether premarital clinical examination for the bride and the groom should be made mandatory. Naturally, there was outrage. Some termed the move to make potency a precondition for marriage “outrageous”; medical professionals disagreed on whether tests could prove “potency.” But some voices, mostly those of women who had filed for divorce on the grounds of impotency, rang out in favour of the test at the sitting in Madurai.

“This does not exist anywhere else in the world. It is bizarre,” said Vijay Nagaswami, psychiatrist and relationships consultant. “Potency is a legal construct, not medical or psychological. In fact, we consider it a perfectly odious terminology.” The key argument against the move seems to be medical: a semen analysis and Doppler study will be done. “But they cannot tell potency from this. And there is no test available to test the ‘frigidity’ of women.” Dr. Nagaswami added that the majority of such issues are psychiatric in origin. A perfectly “potent” person could have issues in the bedroom; newly-wed couples may be crippled by anxiety. According to D. Narayana Reddy, sexologist, tests under laboratory conditions may not yield accurate results, and issues such as erectile dysfunction could be temporary. Also, technological progress has made effective intervention possible in most sexual problems. Instead of asking for potency tests, doctors suggest that proper sexual education should be made a part of premarital counselling.

Reporting on the subject for The Hindu, Mohamed Imranullah S. noted that claiming to be one of the many victims who had married impotent men due to suppression of facts, a woman lawyer urged the court to make the tests mandatory besides prescribing stringent punishment for such men and their families. Another woman and her aged mother broke down before the judge and cried for help in resolving the issue. Advocates Veera Kathiravan, K.K. Ramakrishnan and C. Ezhilarasu also spoke in favour of the medical test. The two dissenting voices were that of Salem-based advocate V. Ramakrishnan and Virudhunagar-based general physician R. Ashokan. They claimed that having sex was not the only purpose of marital life.

Dismissing criticism that the court was going beyond its jurisdiction, Justice Kirubakaran said: “Whatever may be the criticism, Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure says this court can pass any order as it deems fit to secure the ends of justice. I feel that every case provides a platform for the court to give a message to society.”

It is interesting to note that in an unusual revelation, the Madras High Court’s Madurai bench was informed that it was ‘mandatory’ by custom for men as well as women of the OBC Maravar community in Chinnamannur municipality in Uthamapalayam Taluk of Tamil Nadu’s Theni district to undergo pre-marital clinical examination to ascertain their potency and sexual frigidity besides checking for HIV. S. Arun, a lawyer hailing from Chinnamannur, told Justice Kirubakaran that people from his community will neither give their daughters in marriage nor let their sons marry a woman without subjecting the couple to clinical examination. “Even the marriage hall built by our community people in Chinnamannur insists on production of medical certificates,” he said.

Appreciating such a practice being followed by the people, the judge said: “From morning, we have been hearing arguments of pre-marital clinical examinations being conducted in China, France, the United Arab Emirates, Tunisia and Syria. But it is heartening to hear that right here at our backyard; there is a model town which has been doing such a great thing.”

It is interesting to note the potency test conducted in days of yore in the Canara Catholic community without the intervention of doctors – who were anyway not available in the rural setting. The prospective groom was taken to the prospective bride’s residence. He was made to walk in a dry tilled paddy field – pissing as he walked. The elders from both the side went and evaluated the impact of his pissing by the penetration the piss had made in the dusty field of tilled loose soil.

Incidentally, after he passed an interim order in the case asking the Centre as well as the Tamil Nadu government to spell out their stand on making pre-marital clinical examination compulsory, the parties to the petition before him filed a ‘compromise memo’ in the court stating that they were ready to obtain divorce on mutual consent as the petitioner’s wife had agreed to.

Readers will note that though the judge and the subsequent discussion on the subject male impotence has been the centre of focus and female frigidity has been referred to in passing despite the fact that both these are inter-related. How else can you explain that a - 90-year-old State Governor was caught playing love-games in his gubernatorial bed and had to resign? Also, another Guru, in his 70s, who had been arrested and now in goal, had been subjected to potency test. So, potency or the lack of it is not a stand-alone issue.

For man to rise to the occasion, you can’t have a dumb doll (or a living cadaver?) lying in the bed. Motivating or stimulating is the key. As Alexander Pope said in Rape of the Lock:

On her breast a sparkling cross she wore,

Which Jews might kiss and Infidels adore.

The setting is important for sexual competence, unless one is looking for sleep in the marital bed, as hinted by Byron:

Come lay thy head upon my breast,

And I will kiss thee into rest.

Author and journalist, John B Monteiro’s latest book, published in USA, titled Corruption – India’s Painful Crawl to Lokpal, priced at $21.5, is available online from Amazon and other major online distributors. His website www.welcometoreason.com also gives access to his general writings in his blog Monty's Cocktails.

  

Top Stories

Comment on this article

  • John B. Monteiro, Bondel Mangalore

    Sun, Sep 21 2014

    Thank for your sober and encouraging response.There is aspect- over-sexed husbands with sex on demand command, specially with s few pegs under their belt. The risk being booked for marital rape.
    What about females wanting sex on demand? recently there was a case in the Bombay High court with the man asking for divorce for his wife's excessive sex demands. She wanted to bed him when he returned from the hospital after an operation. the Court granted him his prayer for divorce. that is for another time Inshalla.

    DisAgree Agree [1] Reply Report Abuse

  • jimmy noronha, Bellore/Lucknow

    Sat, Sep 20 2014

    Why this much Ado about nothing by Nityananda? If he is impotent, so be it, go and prove it, why shirk? Could any sane man in his wildest dream ever believe that Nitya is impotent with what an alluring young damsel at his beck and call and then there is a fair lady from far off fairy lands living five years in his ashram and now murmuring of being raped all the while, common Nitya be frank and bold and say “I am potent”. I agree, potency test carries all that is good for the welfare of the marriage fortification and that is how it should be. Well, if those in their 90s and 70s leap into their gubernatorial and babanatorial beds or whatever and show the veracity of their potency, this slip of a young man with all the best ingredients right in there to make even a dead dodo potent, why shirk, complain and threaten man? It is a very enlightening article, certainly not a Geek in the making far from it.

    DisAgree [1] Agree [2] Reply Report Abuse

  • Be Positive, Mangalore

    Fri, Sep 19 2014

    Only persons with Erectile Dysfunction shall not be able to consummate the marriage rest of them can but with out offspring's!!(1 17 Dumbos)

    DisAgree [2] Agree [2] Reply Report Abuse

  • Kamath, Udupi/Bangalore

    Fri, Sep 19 2014

    That fellow needs to be dealt only by law.
    The main issue is not sex deeds but illegal occupation of lands belonging to poor & helpless people, intimidation by physical threats & threatening using lawsuits. Today i read he was reported to be giving threats to governments - govt should file a case for threatening, for threatening doctors who were conducting potency tests, using tainted glass in cars when they are banned for everybody, land grabbing, mysterious deaths in ashram.. so many ways.

    DisAgree Agree [5] Reply Report Abuse

  • b k rao, Mangluru

    Fri, Sep 19 2014

    Nithya Aananda is definitely a man. It was proven through Video.

    Now we have to decide whether he is GodMan or not...

    DisAgree Agree [9] Reply Report Abuse

  • A. S. Mathew, U.S.A.

    Fri, Sep 19 2014

    It is very sad that GOD's name is used by a bunch of con-artists to fool the people all over the world wearing colorful religious outfit-beard-fake smile-self made religious philosophies and tricks, thus getting too rich overnight. More gullible people are trapped every day. It is like the daily news coming from a State in India offering jobs in foreign countries, 500 people lost money. Even though the people are reading the news of cheating, still fooled by other con-artists on a daily basis.

    DisAgree Agree [7] Reply Report Abuse

  • Jossey Saldanha, Mumbai

    Fri, Sep 19 2014

    Now he will be a CERTIFIED ...

    DisAgree [2] Agree [9] Reply Report Abuse

  • Padmanabha, Mangalore/ Muscat

    Fri, Sep 19 2014

    Most of the Blind faithed and fearful or guts less Police < Doctors ,Lawyers and weak minded devotees are the main promoters of this Nithyananda.

    DisAgree Agree [13] Reply Report Abuse

  • Bryan, Bahrain

    Fri, Sep 19 2014

    Another GEEK in the making..

    DisAgree [1] Agree [10] Reply Report Abuse

  • PEDDU, MANGALURU

    Thu, Sep 18 2014

    CAN ANY IDIOTS THINK ABOUT SWAMIJI UNDERGONE FOR IMPOTENCY TEST !!!

    GIVE ME A BREAK

    DisAgree [5] Agree [6] Reply Report Abuse

  • Sundari Ashoknagar, Mangalore

    Thu, Sep 18 2014

    I got married 37 years back. On the next day of my marriage, my husband's cousin who was some 50 years,told me "ask your husband to take you near beach and ask him to piss on sand". I was wondering why he told me like that. Now I understand. My three children are married now and have kids. Monteiro sir, thank you for enlightening me.

    DisAgree [1] Agree [6] Reply Report Abuse

  • mak, jeddah

    Thu, Sep 18 2014

    The case should have given to pramod mutalik and praveen togadia.

    DisAgree Agree [16] Reply Report Abuse

  • Harold D'cunha, Mangalore, India

    Thu, Sep 18 2014

    Swamy Nithyananda is always in ananda. He chose to live that way and might be, he has succeeded. The fools are the followers, who have fallen prey to his witty approach without thinking.


    Every coin has got 2 sides. Why only blame Swamy Nithyananda? What about the followers who have followed him blindly and got cheated. Are they not equally responsible for the rise of Nithyannada. They might have found solace in his style of working. If Swamy Nithyannada has murdered, raped, involved in drug trafficking, then it requires enquiry and law should punish him.

    The land mafia and politicians are eying his land and his fortune to grab it. Money is the root cause for the lmafia to work against Swamy Nithyananda.

    If Swamy Nithyananda would have been a just an ordinary poor swamy, do u think, there would have been such a news in the media?

    DisAgree [3] Agree [35] Reply Report Abuse

  • HENRY MISQUITH, Bahrain

    Thu, Sep 18 2014

    Shameless more Feku & less swamy.

    DisAgree [4] Agree [29] Reply Report Abuse

  • Be Positive, Mangalore

    Thu, Sep 18 2014

    I think word Impotency should be replaced by Erectile dysfunction If we have any Urologist in the forum who can enlighten us further !!

    DisAgree [12] Agree [7] Reply Report Abuse

  • Rudolf Rodrigues, Mumbai

    Thu, Sep 18 2014

    'Erectile dysfunction" is only a temporary dysfunction depending on what causes it and can be easily cured and 'impotency' is a person who is 'completely' unable to 'consummate' a marriage despite all treatments!!!

    DisAgree [1] Agree [21] Reply Report Abuse

  • Rudolf Rodrigues, Mumbai

    Thu, Sep 18 2014

    Very enlightening article Sir, appreciate your knowledge and wisdom and thanks for sharing the same!!

    As you said a 'fool proof' potency test cannot be there because a person who might be potent while self gratifying may not be able to get potent in company of his mate, so the 'potency' depends on myriad no. of factors coming to play at that particular point in time!!

    Also with regards to tests for STDs, they too cannot be 100% okay because there is a 'window' period after which the infection shows up and if the concerned person is in that window period the tests will come out negative, then what?

    Thirdly, there are numerous genuine cases of parents trying to push off their children into the marital knot knowing very well that the child is not having well defined male or female 'genitalia' (eunuch) or suffering other grave problems with potency, or even those with gay/lesbian tendencies, those with bisexual orientation, which should be looked into to save marriages getting destroyed!!

    So, all in all, there are pros and cons for these tests and it depends on each individual case!!!

    DisAgree [3] Agree [9] Reply Report Abuse

  • A. S. Mathew, U.S.A.

    Thu, Sep 18 2014

    He doesn't know, how to shut his mouth and more teeth are visible now so always showing his teeth with a broad smile. Doctors need to check his broken facial nerve system now.

    DisAgree [5] Agree [29] Reply Report Abuse

  • Rudolf Rodrigues, Mumbai

    Thu, Sep 18 2014

    Bro, but why are young "Sundaris" which you and I would only dream of get 'attracted' to him..........LOL!!!!!

    DisAgree Agree [33] Reply Report Abuse

  • Dev, Mangalore

    Thu, Sep 18 2014

    Money Lures many women to him along with Blind Faith in someone who cannot heal his own Diabetes & Blood Pressure!!!

    DisAgree [1] Agree [35] Reply Report Abuse


Leave a Comment

Title: Sexual impotency goes into public domain!



You have 2000 characters left.

Disclaimer:

Please write your correct name and email address. Kindly do not post any personal, abusive, defamatory, infringing, obscene, indecent, discriminatory or unlawful or similar comments. Daijiworld.com will not be responsible for any defamatory message posted under this article.

Please note that sending false messages to insult, defame, intimidate, mislead or deceive people or to intentionally cause public disorder is punishable under law. It is obligatory on Daijiworld to provide the IP address and other details of senders of such comments, to the authority concerned upon request.

Hence, sending offensive comments using daijiworld will be purely at your own risk, and in no way will Daijiworld.com be held responsible.