Delhi celebrates same-sex love as hundreds march for equality – PICS
By Will Stroude
Hundreds of activists and allies marched through the streets of India’s capital yesterday (November 27) in the country’s annual Pride march.
In 2009, an old colonial law that was used to prosecute men accused of homosexual acts was proven to be unconstitutional. However, the judgement was overturned in 2013 when the country’s Supreme Court ruled that the law change must happen through parliament, not the judiciary.
The law change was then defeated in parliament in 2015. Today, men accused of having consensual sex with each other can be imprisoned for up to 10 years.
“We have yet to have an inclusive society,” activist Rituparna Borah told Associated Press. Another Pride attendee, architect Saurav Jain, said, “There has been a lot of change, and we have gone back also,” commenting on the re-criminalisation of same-sex activity.
While Prime Minister Narendra Modi has stood against LGBT+ rights, with his party describing them as “anti-Indian,” some high-profile Indian politicians have come out in support of decriminalising gay sex.
According to the Washington Post, Indian finance minister Arun Jaitley said in 2015 that, “When millions of people the world over are having alternative sexual preferences, it is too late in the day [for India] to propound a view that they should be jailed,” calling the Delhi High Court’s decision to decriminalise gay sex as “more acceptable.”
India does have some recognition for trans people, and LGBT+ people are more accepted in metropolitan areas. However, across the vast country attitudes vary, with some LGBT+ people being ostracised and harassed.
Despite the fight for equal rights being far from over, Dehli’s LGBT+ community came out to celebrate, turning the streets of the capital every colour of the Pride flag.
Check out some of the highlights: