Section 377: Evolving India

The afternoon of September 6th brought hope into millions of people’s lives. This was the day Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code was decriminalized. This code states that anyone who commits unnatural offenses such as sexual relations with someone of the same gender shall be imprisoned for life or a period of time that may extend up to ten years.

The code was activated during the British rule of India in 1861. The LGBTQ community of India is a major community that has been working towards decriminalizing Section 377. After receiving countless petitions and watching protests all over India, especially in Delhi, the Supreme Court settled on decriminalizing this law with this statement: “The right to live with dignity has been recognized. Sexual orientation is a natural phenomenon determined by biology and science. Any discrimination on this basis is unconstitutional.”

Indian society has been fighting against this code since May 1994. Over the years, public support of this movement have only increased, leading to the final verdict. Initial protests began with The Naz Foundation, which is an NGO working with gay men over the country to promote sexual health. They began this fight by filing a PIL (Public Interest Litigation) challenging the validity of Section 377 and promoting open-mindedness towards homosexuality. They have been dismissed many times over the past decade, but finally saw victory on September 6. For a full timeline of this journey, please view this article by Quartz India.

Countless Indian celebrities have also spoken out about this issue, supporting the Indian LGBTQ community and promoting nonjudgmental views towards homosexuality, bisexuality, and/or transgender people. Karan Johar, one of the most respectable directors of the Indian film industry has always spoken out about equal rights for the LGBTQ community. Being homosexual himself, he has inspired many all over the country to speak out about their own experiences with homosexuality. Farhan Akhtar, Arjun Kapoor, Dia Mirza, Preity Zinta, Sonam Ahuja, and Akshay Kumar are the few of many celebrities to promote the LGBTQ community and their values. Below are few of the many reactions towards the decriminalization of Section 377 that have been found on Times Of India website. For more information, please view this article by one of the leading newspapers of India, Times of India.

This was the outcome of the battle that was fought for years by the LGBTQ community of India. The Naz Foundation is one of the many NGOs working with this community to have the Indian Law give them equal rights. The Naz Foundation mainly helps those in the LGBTQ community that have been impacted by AIDS/HIV, and promotes sexual health.

Anukreety Vas, Femina Miss India 2018, is also one such member of the young Indian community who runs an NGO supporting 30 transgenders in her local area. Now that she is Miss India, she looks forward to working towards the better treatment of more members of the LGBTQ community. The reason the LGBTQ community relies on non-government organizations specifically working for the LGBTQ community is because some government or private organizations refuse to provide services to certain members of the LGBTQ community. This is because some do not hold the same beliefs as this community and/or they are afraid to associate with this community due to certain laws like Section 377.

I believe this is a very big opportunity for Indian society to change its lifestyle in terms of accepting people from all backgrounds and beliefs. There has been a shift in the way people view those with beliefs that contrast to their own. Meenu Senthil, a senior at AISG, agreed with me as she stated, “As an Indian, I personally believe that this is great for the country and the evolvement of the Indian society. However, I also feel that an issue like the conflicts within the Kashmiri economy  is something that needs to be taken as serious as the decriminalization of Section 377. The Kashmiri economy conflicts have been around for as long as the Section 377 decriminalization battle…” Perhaps this change in the Indian society will inspire the government and people to take similar measures to make changes for the betterment of the country. The decriminalization of Section 377 marks a turning point in the history of the evolution t of the Indian society.