2018: Beginning Of a New Era in LGBT History of India
On 6th September 2018, the supreme court of India decriminalised homosexuality by declaring certain parts of section 377 of the Indian Penal Code unconstitutional. The court ruled that individual autonomy, intimacy and identity are protected fundamental rights. Impact You might think of it as an ordinary judgement but for millions of LGBT citizens of India , it was like getting freedom from the British Raj finally. For them it is not just a ruling but acceptance of their identity and acknowledgement of their different sexual orientation legally. 1. It made being Homosexual in India legal. Can you imagine, how it would feel to know that you will be labelled as a criminal in the eyes of your fellow countryman just by being who you are and by disclosing your identity which is inbuilt in your genes ? 2. Made same-sex sexual intercourse legal and one can’t be put in jail if anyone does FIR in police station against two such individuals. 3. Provided constitutional protections against...