“There are host of other battles to be fought and won,” says Sukhdeep Singh, an activist and founder of Gaylaxy, a LGBTQ magazine. It’s for this reason that some activists believe India might not be ready for same-sex marriage-at least until gender and sexual orientation discrimination are outlawed. Read more: Column: Homophobia Is Not an Asian Value Many LGBTQ people endure discrimination and threats to their safety by family members and landlords, forcing them to flee their homes. Violence, especially against individuals who identify as transgender, is rampant. Even after the supreme court struck it down in 2018, many LGBTQ Indians find it difficult to come out and find acceptance in their traditional families. The law that criminalized “carnal intercourse against the order of nature” was put into place by British colonial rulers in 1861.
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Same-sex relations and gender fluidity feature prominently in ancient Indian texts and sculptures. “The verdict helped young people embrace their identity in all its complexity,” Khanna says.
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They started getting more questions about gender and sexuality and saw greater self-acceptance and confidence, especially in people from smaller towns. “It never felt criminal to us,” Arora says.īut the ruling had a profound effect on the young LGBTQ patients Arora and Khanna see in their practice. By the time the supreme court struck down the colonial-era law that outlawed same-sex relations, they were already in a long-term and secure relationship. In the months that followed, they grew romantic, and they eventually moved in together, brought together their families and found support among friends and colleagues.Īt first, their lack of legal status didn’t bother them as much. In 2012, Khanna walked into Arora’s office with a cup of tea to talk about her New Year’s resolution to improve their working relationship. Since 2006, they worked together at a mental health service co-founded by Arora that focuses on treating children and adolescents. It was work that brought Arora, a psychiatrist, and Khanna, a psychologist, together. At minimum, they say, the case has brought the topic into the open in a country where LGBTQ issues are still largely considered taboo. Nonetheless, Arora, 47, and Khanna, 36-and many members of India’s LGBTQ community-remain optimistic. The Delhi court has hinted at a favorable judgment, saying that it is time to “shed our inhibitions,” but the Indian supreme court could overturn any ruling.
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Victory is by no means assured-there is already resistance from religious groups and the top lawyer for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has advocated against legalizing same-sex marriage. 8, beginning what could be a years-long legal battle for marriage equality for the more than 2.5 million Indians who identify as LGBTQ. In October, they petitioned a Delhi court for the constitutional right to marry-arguing that without official recognition, they are “strangers in law.” Their petition, along with two others, will be heard by the court starting Jan. “We have created a great life together, but where is the legitimacy to that?” Khanna tells TIME.