It is no secret that homosexuality has been subject to very much hate and negativity in so many countries around the world, many fearing for their lives as it is—and has been—illegal to be gay in many countries. However, while the road may be long, gay Indians can finally see a light at the end of the tunnel for gay rights in India. Since 1861, there has been a law that stated it was illegal to have gay sex. The law was known as Section 377.
As a huge success for the gay rights movement in India, following six petitions to abolish the rule, it was removed as a law, giving gay people the right to have same-sex desires. This is a battle that the gay community has had with the courts of India for years and years. Finally, all of the petitions for its removal and activism of LGBT groups, such as Pavritti, paid off.
For years, being gay was criminalized, arresting hundreds of gay men for engaging in homosexual acts. More than that, it was used to blackmail gay men; they threatened these men for their own personal gain. Finally, India seems to have turned a corner.
However, that does not mean the fight for gay rights in India is over. It is actually quite far from it. Some gay men have been convicted because of this law and many have been arrested and are awaiting trial. The question so many people in the gay community have now is what will happen to those men? Will they release them? Will they still send them away for being who they are? What does this law mean really?
Despite the still uncertainty of what this could mean for the rest of the gay community in India, everyone mutually has agreed that this was a step in the right direction.