The Supreme Court verdict that legalised homosexuality in India on Thursday, decriminalising part of the 158-year-old colonial law under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), had left the LGBTQ community of the city in tears of joy.

“The judgement is momentous and historic. We were so awash with joy that we just broke into tears when we heard the news. The verdict has given legitimacy to what we are,” said Rahul Naidu, a bisexual student from the city who is currently pursuing Liberal Arts in Singapore.

‘Much-awaited day’

Joy was writ large on the faces of the LGBTQ community members as they welcomed the apex court decision, saying that it was their ‘much-awaited day’.

“Social privilege was a far-fetched reality for many of us. Now, I feel liberated because the age-old prejudice had always affected the LGBTQ community disproportionately, especially those from the economical poor and marginalised sections,” Mr. Naidu added. He is also working on building a support, care and prevention centre in Visakhapatnam for the HIV victims of the LGBT community. The LGBTQ community here also dubbed the verdict as the much-needed self-correction of a judicial wrong committed to them. “The scrapping of the Section 377 marks the beginning of a new era. I am very happy today and I feel proud,” said Sabi Giri, a former Indian Navy sailor, who was dismissed from the service for undergoing a sex reassignment surgery. She said that her ‘changed’ identity did not deem her unfit for serving the nation and hoped that the landmark judgement would finally give the community the respect and dignity they always deserved.

‘Fear gone’

Sanchari Biswas, a 28-year-old research scholar, said: “Finally, the day dawned for which I have been waiting for years. Like ‘normal’ people, now we can take pride in our relationships without fear of being harassed or abused. The fear of being tagged as a criminal is gone now.” However, the members of the community felt that even as the law now had recognised them as equal citizens, a lot was to be done for this social prejudice to go. “A holistic grassroots level movement is needed. Now, more people will feel empowered to express themselves to their friends and families and be accepted by their loved ones,” Mr. Naidu said.

First party

“This was exactly how the LGBT movement gained prominence in the USA and other nations. This judgement eradicates the fear which will certainly form the basis for a grassroots movement to take shape for everyone to be empowered,” he added.

Meanwhile, a star hotel celebrated the judgement with the city’s first LGBTQ party on Thursday night.