LGBTQ+ activist Keshav Suri believes that Section 377 didn’t stop the corporate world from being all-inclusive and adopting non-discriminatory practices. By Ayushi Sharma
Homosexuality is no longer a concept restricted to western shores. The queer community stands proud today for winning a decades-long fight. An individual’s sexual preference is now a choice only theirs to make and not of the state’s. In India, homosexuality had been a crime both on the social as well as legal front.
Much to the surprise of the community, the Supreme court of India passed a landmark judgement legalising homosexuality and decriminalising parts of the Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. September 6 has made a mark in Indian history.
Keshav Suri, the executive director of the LaLit Group of hotels, is a prominent LGBTQ+ activist who had filed a writ in the apex court saying that he was threatened for false prosecution and is not able to live a life of dignity where he can choose to have a relationship with his own partner.
Celebrating this historic moment, he said, “Today, I’m so happy to say that I’m an Indian, and tomorrow I’m hoping to say that my marriage with Cyril Feuillebois should be legalised here. I’m just waiting for that moment now.” He added, “Section 377 did not stop the corporate world to run inclusive and have non discriminatory practices. Godrej, IBM, Shiv Nadar University, the Lakme Fashion Week have taken measures to make the institutions more inclusive. I’m definitely going to do it proudly and openly now.” He has also worked with the ICICI Lombard to get mediclaim insurance for same-sex partners of employees at the hotels.
Cyril Feuillebois, husband of Suri, also said, “I’ve been in India for 15 years now, and I’m very happy to marry Keshav, I’m really proud about this judgement as it was the first step and there are so many more to come.”
The duo got married in France in June and the verdict today adds to their year of celebration.
“For the LaLit hotels and Kitty Su it is something that is usual but for my personal life things would have been much worse, and may be I would have left the country. I’m proud of them for taking this huge step and hope that the laws towards the community change soon,” Suri said.
The colonial era law had made it extremely hard for people to acknowledge their sexuality and their partners in public. They had been forced into the closet, but the current generation had fought long and hard to break the silence.
Ishan Sethi, who is the co-Founder and CEO of TheDeltaApp, a networking app for the community, said, “It was so beautiful to see a spectrum of emotions as soon as we walked out of the court. Acknowledgment is a huge step forward.
We were told that we would look at every cloud with a rainbow, so things of such manner really bring validation to everything you’ve gone through, lets say, all the stigma and abuse.”
The verdict unfolded a day of celebration. It was about the law today but tomorrow it’ll be about the personal lives of queer individuals and the battles against stigma they face from society. However, with the law on their side now the journey towards future successes will be smoothened.