Campaigners and LGBT+ crowds in Delhi cheered, cried and waved rainbow flags outside the Supreme court on the 6th of September as India decriminalised same-sex sexual activity. The wording that was removed (imposed in the colonial era) was sex “against the order of nature” and the decision, according to the Indian chief justice, Dipak Mishr, means that “Sexual orientation is one of the many natural phenomena.”
Back in Britain, Peter Tatchell, Director of the Peter Tatchell Foundation said: “This historic legal ruling sets free from criminalisation almost one fifth of the world’s LGBT+ people. It is the biggest, most impactful gay law reform in human history. I hope it will inspire and empower similar legal challenges in many of the 70 countries that still outlaw same-sex relations, 35 of which are member states of the Commonwealth. Ending the ban on homosexuality is just a start. There are still huge challenges to end the stigma, discrimination and hate crime that LGBTs suffer in India.