6 September 2018 will be celebrated in the future. On that very day, the supreme court of India delivered a verdict decriminalizing homosexuality by partially striking section 377, a 160-year-old law with new LGBT Rights in India. Though homosexuality was already present in ancient India, it was often considered a disorder. During the British colonization, the homosexuality rate rose, and it was considered ‘against the order of nature,’ and in 1861, IPC section 377 was introduced.
Initially, homosexuality was decriminalized in 2009, and in 2013 homosexuality became a crime again. However, be it legal or not, homosexuality is not entirely acceptable in many families. Especially for people living in rural villages, this legalization did not bring any changes in rural India.
LGBT Rights and Prejudice
In ancient times, India had its theories on homosexuality. Earlier, Tamil Sangam literature, from 3 BC to 4 ADS, had theories based on gay relationships and relationships between transgender people. However, in 1861, during the British colonization, a law was drafted by Lord Thomas Babington Macaulay, a section 377 of IPC. According to the law, the judiciary had the right to punish the LGBT community with 10 years in jail and a fine. Even during the Indian independence LGBT community often faced challenges under section 377. However, in 2009 the Delhi high court struck off section 377, considered it unconstitutional, and decriminalized homosexuality for the first time in Indian history. 2009 was a victory year for LGBT rights.
