"I am crying rainbows right now," says Delhi-based Balaji, who identifies as a cross-dresser. Balaji, along with many other Indians is overwhelmed and can’t contain his emotions after hearing the news of the Supreme Court of India legalising same-sex relations and decriminalising gay sex.
"Thank you for giving me this day", says an elated Vikas from Chennai about this verdict, that took a long time coming. The 157-year-old colonial-era law will no longer apply to sex between consenting adults, irrespective of their gender. It will however, continue to apply to bestiality and sexual acts without consent and those involving a minor.
For members of the LGBT community, this decriminalisation of their existence is not the end goal, but a starting point. “We are legal now,”says Ashiesh, a software engineer from Mumbai who identifies himself as gay.
Meanwhile, joining Divya Dureja -- a Delhi-based spoken word poet -- in the celebrations following the SC verdict is her mother. “It took her a while, but she is there now, and is very supportive.”
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