long road ahead

Swathed in a shiny silk cape with the colours of the lGBTQ pride, Mohnish Malhotra had a wide smile plastered on his face. “We are termed as a minority. But right now there are so many of us here, that I cannot help but feel giddy with joy due to the love and support shown by everyone here,” claimed Malhotra.

Swirling around him, there are approximately 40-50 happy individuals. All of them are engaged in hearty conversations with their acquaintances. Occasionally, here and there, the symbol of the pride of the lGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and queer) community, the rainbow colours, drifts in and out of focus. But all this changes when Gautam Bhan, prominent lawyer and supporter of the lGBTQ cause for many years now, climbs up to the dais, which consists of a cement platform at a small lawn next to the Palika Shopping Complex. “The flag of India is in front of us. But the inclusiveness promised to us by our motherland is being held back by popular misconceptions,” began Bhan.

When Bhan speaks, the whole crowd listens with rapt attention. This gathering was organised by Malhotra, in remembrance of the upheaval of Section 377 of the IPC by the Delhi High Court on July 2, 2009. Dating back to 1860, Section 377, introduced during the British rule of India, criminalises sexual activities “against the order of nature”, arguably including homosexual acts. The judgment of the Delhi High Court was overturned by the Supreme Court on 12 December 2013, with the Court holding that amending or repealing Section 377 should be a matter left to the Parliament, not the judiciary.

“Section 377 is applicable to the general population too, people fail to realise that. The law has to be changed to give rights and freedom to people to live the way they want,” said activist Abhina Aher. “Nature created me with five fingers, the same nature created Hrithik Roshan with six fingers; does that make him unnatural,” she retorted. 

Bhan stated, “We believe that we are not as far from equality as we think we are, we are not as different from others as we were led to believe.” Malhotra believes that, “We can only try to change general opinion by opening up conversations. We are not harming anyone. If we cannot love the person we want, what happened to the ‘Inclusiveness’ promised to us as citizens of IndiaIJ”

Bhan, author of ‘Because I have a Voice: Queer politics in India’, was also visibly chagrined, “Our rights are being held back just on the account of the fact that we are too small a minorityIJ Why can’t people see how absurd that is! Once people start talking to us, that is when they understand our predicament.” This is why this gathering was held according to Malhotra and Bhan who believe that like every drop of water counts to fill a large bottle, likewise every person who is made aware about this injustice termed Section 377 will be a step towards its decriminalisation. All participants of the gathering were given pamphlets conveying the message of the lGBTQ community to readers and were sent off with the plea to talk to people around them and be the herald of changing times.