In June of 2009, sex between men was illegal in India,
punishable by up to 10 years in prison. But, with the stroke of a pen, an Indian judge set in motion a series of
events that would change all that…. Actually, it was a few intrepid gay people in India who took the risks and did the hard work. Anyway, over the span of a few months, almost one
sixth of the world’s population, some 1.2 billion people, won a little more
freedom over their own sexualities. And the gay men among them are no longer
criminals in the eyes of the state. That’s huge.
As I write this, more than 2,000 people are celebrating the
first gay pride in the Indian capital region since the change. It’s certainly not
easy for gay men and dudes on the downlow in India. Delhi has a population of
more than 12 million, and those few thousand who are standing up now are
showing a great deal of courage. Congratulations: I wish I could teleport myself there to see it, and I
hope it goes well.
I’ve been following a bit on Twitter, but I’ll update this post as complete accounts become available. In the meantime, check out some of the work Xtra writers have done on India over the last
little while:
Indian court decriminalizes gay sex
Legal activist Ponni Arasu on repeal of gay sex law
AIDS Sutra: Untold stories from India
Kaj Hasselriis’s Passage to India series is fascinating.
And here’s a big list of other stuff from Xtra.
UPDATE 11:51am eastern:
Available accounts as promised….
Delhi draped in rainbow colour
UPDATE 8:00pm eastern:
Pics via @chhabs:
Why you can trust Xtra
