Hundreds of people took to the streets of Delhi last week to protest against India’s Supreme Court’s decision to uphold a law criminalising gay sex – a ruling seen as a major blow to gay rights.
In 2009 the Delhi High Court ruled that the colonial-era ban on homosexuality, which prohibited people from engaging in “carnal acts against the order of nature”, should not apply to consenting adults, including same-sex couples.
But the Supreme Court’s decision to reject that ruling and make consensual same-sex acts once again a crime in the world’s largest democracy yesterday was met with widespread shock, anger and protests in the nation’s capital.
The court held that a homosexual act was again punishable under Section 377 of the Indian penal code and said it could only be changed or erased by parliament.
The law makes consensual sex between same-sex adults punishable by a fine and up to 10 years’ imprisonment.
In central Delhi hundreds of people gathered wearing black and waving rainbow flags, labelling the court’s decision a “betrayal” of human rights and equality.
Wearing black arm and headbands protesters chanted, “My body, my right” and vowed to carry on the fight for “their constitutional right”.
Others held up signs saying, “Book the rapist, not the lover”.
Meanwhile, human rights activists called the decision a “major setback” to the decade-long fight against the law.
Shaleen Rakesh, gay rights activist and director of technical support at India’s HIV/AIDS alliance, said the decision was completely unexpected.
“This decision is extremely regressive to say the least,” he said.
“This hits right at the core of equality. It is a massive step backwards against gay rights. I am gay myself and we are not going to go back in to the closet. We need to keep our pride and self-respect.”
The 2009 victory was seen as a monumental shift towards accepting gay people in a deeply conservative country where stigma and discrimination are still deeply engrained society.
Gautam Bhan, spokesman for gay rights and one of the petitioners in the legal battle to decriminalise homosexuality in India, said the decision would not deter people to speak out for gay rights.
“It is very easy to feel a broken heart today,” he said.
“But this is not a fatal blow to us. It will make us fight. We will fight for our lives, and fight for our dignity as long as it takes. We are not voiceless, we are proud. They are our rights. They can’t take them away from us. Equality means equality for all.”
However, the ruling has been welcomed by numerous religious groups, particularly leaders of India’s Christian and Muslim communities who had originally challenged the 2009 decision.
But Kavita Krishnan, secretary of the All India Progressive Women’s Association (AIPWA), said she was shocked by the decision.
“It’s terrible. Absolutely terrible. It really cuts to the core of human rights. How can religious groups be against equality for all?”
Protestors added that they believed the U-turn could further tarnish India’s already tattered image in the West.
