loud chants of “we shall overcome, sadda haq and hum leke rahenge azaadi,” reverberated as scores of homosexual, bisexual and tansgenders gathered at Jantar Mantar on Sunday to lay claim to their basic sexual rights.
In one voice, they condemned the regressive Supreme Court’s verdict on re-criminalising the rights of lGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) in the country. “After the historic judgement by the Delhi High Court, the apex court’s verdict is a step backwards. The recent judgement has dislodged the key stone of the Indian Constitution. By letting Parliament decide the future of the rights of this community, we have pushed it into an arena, which is concerned only with the rights of the majority, where this issue will be lost,” said eminent author and activist Arundhati Roy.
The Global Day of Rage in Delhi started with sloganeering against the SC’s judgement re-criminalising the homosexual relationships and pamphleteering for spreading awareness among the people. As part of the crowd that gathered at the venue was the renowned artist, Anoushka Shankar. The atmosphere was abuzz with heated discussions about one’s orientation as one’s fundamental right in a democratic nation such as India and that the country’s apex court spreading homophobia among the populace.
“Section 377 should not apply to two consenting adults, no matter what their orientation is. Supreme Court has been an activist in expanding human rights and this judgement stands in stark contrast to its glorious history. The court cannot disregard the rights of people by citing them as a “miniscule” part of the population which should rather be protected as this minor population forms roughly about 10 million people in the country. The journey to claim the basic right to orientation through more visibility and platforms such as these,” said Akhil Katyal, a professor with Delhi University, who has been associated with the queer rights cause for quite some time.
For many others like Rakhi, a eunuch who has been married for the past seven years and has a five-year-old son questioned whether she should divorce her husband after the apex court’s regressive judgement, which criminalises the same sex relationships. Disappointed with the Sc’s judgement, Nishtha Gautam of observer research foundation said that the Sc’s judgement is a combined failure of the state’s machinery and after this judgement, everyone has indulged into convoluted voyeurism as one’s bedroom activity has now being controlled by the legal system.
Natural or unnatural can solely decided by the people’s own choices for their life partners. The crowd shunned Rajnath Singh’s statement on the day that he had no problems with the SC’s judgment and said that the the saffron party’s prime ministerial candidate should break his stoic silence and speak to people.