Members of the LGBTQ+ community rejoice on September 6 after the Indian Supreme Court officially decriminalized consensual gay sex. Photo courtesy of NBC News.
On September 6, the Supreme Court of India delivered a ruling stating that consensual gay sex would no longer be illegal. Although this is clearly a cause for celebration, it has opened India up to more questions about the state of LGBTQ+ rights in the country. This ruling has the potential to lead the way to a better life for members of the LGBTQ+ community in India, but this alone will not be enough.
All this ruling states is that someone who identifies as gay can no longer be put in jail for simply being who they are. The decriminalization of a human being is the bare minimum. Countries like India, especially those that were previously under British colonial rule, make the United States, a country that only legalized same-sex marriage a little over three years ago, look like it is eons ahead in the field of LGBTQ+ rights. For example, in Singapore, another former British colony and arguably one of the most advanced countries in the world, consensual gay sex is still illegal. Furthermore, despite India granting some level of sexual freedom to members of the LGBTQ+ community, they are still not allowed to legally wed the person they love. Gay couples cannot adopt, raise, and love a child as their own. By denying these rights to the LGBTQ+ community, the country is still dehumanizing them. This ruling was not born out of a sudden acceptance of gay people on behalf of the Indian government, but instead on the (very accurate) sentiment that regulating sex between two consenting adults was unconstitutional.
In addition, even if the Indian government provided gay people with the same legal rights as straight people, legislation would not be enough to provide true equality. That can only come from social change, a concept that Americans have seen firsthand in their own country. Before, the existence of the Indian LGBTQ+ community was similar to a secret that everyone knew but didn’t discuss. Indian politicians cannot expect the Indian public to be accepting of gay people after the government spent hundreds of years pretending they do not exist, even criminalizing those who dared break the silence and speak about their sexuality.
If Indians are willing to reexamine their history, they can stir a social revolution. The homophobia in the country is due mostly to a “colonial hangover” of sorts. Before the occupation of India, homosexuality was not as taboo. In fact, it was present in religious texts until the British instated their own code of laws, effectively criminalizing the LGBTQ+ community. However, even after 70 years of independence from Britain, the lingering colonialism is still painfully present in India, especially in cases like this.
It is time for Indians to stop adhering to decisions made for them about the LGBTQ+ community by another country decades ago. I know it will not be an easy task, but public opinion must change. Coming from a fairly traditional Indian family, I am certain that this article will not get passed around the family group chats with the same glowing approval that previous articles have. Change is not easy, but if it does not come soon, the positive effects of the recent decision will be diminished. The September 6 ruling was a good first step towards equality for the LGBTQ+ community, but India, and many other nations, have a long way to go.
