The Delhi High Court on Thursday ruled that gay sex among consenting adults was no crime. The court said that section 377 of the IPC – which criminalised an act of consensual sex among adults – is a violation of the constitution and fundamental rights.

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Though a historic judgement, India must never be allowed to forget that it has been a long and often harrowing journey for its queer community.

For a hundred and forty nine years the gay community in India has been mistreated. Often being arrested, threatened, blackmailed and sexually exploited with a tool called Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. An archaic law introduced by the British – though ironically removed from the British law books.

Being booked under Section 377, a cognisable offence means that a policeman can pick you up based on just suspicion.

“In the 60′s I walked into a police trap. I went with a friend to a particular location that was used for sex and we were casually in the area and these cops turned up and they accused us of having sex,” said gay rights activist, Sunil Gupta.

“They decided to pick on me and I was unprepared for this and didn’t know how to handle the situation, so they beat me up and then they moved on to blackmailing me,” he added.

Section 377 also implies that two people in a same sex relationship have no rights. They cannot own property together, cannot adopt and do not have any conjugal rights.

“I’ve been with my partner for six and a half years and when we want to open a bank account or some thing we cannot have each other as nominees, we cannot show our relationships on visas,” said a person of the gay community, Amit (name changed to protect identity).

However, over the years, the Indian gay community has risen from invisibility.

They went to the judiciary in 2001 to ask for consensual same sex relations to be made legal, to remind the courts that the law was a Victorian hand-me-down.

In 2006 two tribal women from Orissa became poster girls for the lesbian movement in India. Thirty two-year-old Anita (name changed to protect identity) and 24-year-old Nisha (name changed to protect identity), both escaped from abusive marriages to be with each other.

“We live together and the villagers let us be. We would like to own our own house some day,” said Anita.

In the past few years, the gay community came out of the closet. They marched the streets of India and shouted, ‘we are here, we are queer, we are you’.

Today, as the first step towards legalising homosexuality is taken – it’s a moment these men and women will remember.

“What we feel about love is the same as what you feel. We have been together for 10 years. You cannot say that is nothing. This is something as basic as the right to love. Who are you to say what we feel is not love,” a person of the gay community whose identity has been witheld.

The gay community is overjoyed and are not shying away from expressing their happiness, “I am not ashamed of being gay,” said Amit (name changed to protect identity). “Now I can be proud of being gay,” said Rohit (name changed to protect identity). “It will be nice to take the man of my dreams to a bar and not have the bouncers throw us out ,” said Jai

Some Views by Peoples:

Shiv Prakash Maurya, student, Allahabad

I don’t agree with the court ruling. There is no homosexuality in India, it’s part of Western culture.

The legalising of homosexuality means that we are losing our Indian identity. That’s not a good decision because it will increase the immorality in our country.

When two men hold hands, that can only be brotherly relationship.

I come from a rural part of India. The majority of the people in my village don’t even know what gay means.

I was completely unaware that such a thing existed until three years ago when I went to university in Delhi.

You’ll find that people in rural India are against this ruling while people in the big cities are more supportive.

Siddharth Singh, 21, NGO worker, New Delhi

Siddharth: It will take a long time for attitudes to change

I welcome the court ruling – we are finally moving in the right direction. Homosexual people, at least legally, can now be equal to the rest of us.

I’ve met many gay and lesbian people through my work. They’ve shared some of the difficulties they had to live with – they couldn’t go to the doctor for example, out of fear that they might be reported and arrested.

I’ve heard of incidents at gay gatherings where police were asking for money in exchange for keeping quiet.

India is still a very conservative society and I think that it will take another couple of decades for attitudes to change and for social equality for everyone to be achieved.

That will take even longer in rural parts of India.

It is sad that hours after the announcement, various religious groups have started to protest, denouncing Western influences and predicting the destruction of Indian family values.

I fear that the Indian government might buckle under the pressure from such religious groups, as they form a big part of their vote bank.

Susham Gupta, 37, psychiatrist, from Calcutta now in London

The court ruling is a courageous – and a long delayed move. If India wants to be seen as a modern democracy, it can’t hold back on such social issues any longer pandering to those with bigoted and uneducated views.

The first, and smallest, hurdle is overcome, but the bigger challenge now will be to bring about a change in social attitudes.

I fear that things will get worse before they get better. India is a complicated society and there might be a backlash. This development might bring out people’s anxieties. Gay people may have to go underground, as there are no organisations and networks in place to provide support to them in this process.

It’s too late for us, but the next generation will hopefully have a better chance
Susham Gupta

I left India 10 years ago primarily because of my sexuality. I’ve seen how my gay friends ended up in unhappy marriages, being forced to lead a dual life.

I was luckier than others because my liberal, middle-class family was understanding and supportive when I came out to them.

But I found that it was impossible to have a gay relationship in India. It was a toxic and extremely lonely environment. I felt extreme lack of self-confidence and a pressure to be something else.

Harassments are common as are views that gays are freaks. Others think that being gay is a lifestyle choice. Believe me, it’s not.

I go back to India often and I see signs of improvement. I’ve heard the word “gay” being used as a light-hearted mild offence, which shows a slight shift of perceptions.

It will be a slow process and it’s too late for us, but the next generation will hopefully have a better chance.

Dr PV Cherian, medical doctor, Chennai

I am not very happy about this ruling.

I am a Christian believer and I think homosexuality is a sickness affecting men and women, that is increasing these days in our affluent materialistic society.

God intended us to enjoy normal sex between faithful heterosexual married partners.

Discrimination is not a good thing and I everyone should enjoy freedom of choice. But freedom of choice is a dangerous thing, because sometimes we choose the wrong things. Freedom is harmful.

I pray for homosexual people to realise their mistake. They need to be educated.

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