Judgment opens the doors for further legal victories
At the Constitution Club in Delhi on July 7, the weekend before the five judge Supreme Court (SC) bench began its deliberations on Section 377, the mood was sombre. All of us gathered there knew well how precarious our hope was.
Three days later, as the SC hearings began, millions of Indians held their breath. It was a chance to witness history being created. Advocate Menaka Guruswamy emphasised that her petitioners, a clutch of Iitians were the makers of modern India, but were forced to be closeted. She said: “It is not just consensual sex between homo- sexual partners that this Court should recognise, but their love for each other. How strongly must you love knowing that you are unconvicted felons under Section 377?”
The law matters, protects and empowers. This progressive judgment adds another layer of protection.
The constitution bench has established jurisprudence that will protect our country’s LGBT citizens and also opens the doors to further legal victories. Globally, LGBT equality has led to the legalisation of marriage, rights for same sex couples to adopt children, and inherit their partner’s property, and I see no reason why India should not embark on a similar journey too.
In his comments about the Union government’s stand on Section 377, our law minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad, stated: “Maybe sexual preference is also a personal choice…other issues like same sex marriage are a sep- arate matter.” Additional solicitor general, Tushar Mehta, openly remarked in court that he was “worried” that scrapping Section 377 would open the door to the granting of further rights to India’s LGBT citizens. Why shouldn’t these doors be opened? We are no longer criminals. Why should we be anything less than equal to other citizens of this country?
We will have to work collectively on transforming the bigoted views expressed by those opposing decriminalisation. One of the places where we can achieve results is the Indian workplace. A 2016 MINGLE report stated that two-thirds of Indian employees hear homophobic remarks. Transpersons are routinely harassed and denied jobs. Despite these challenges, I see a new India forming itself each day in offices across our country.
At Godrej, I am part of the recruitment team for bringing in new talent. Almost every college campus I go to, I speak about LGBTQ inclusion. Most of them now have LGBT initiatives, like IIM Ahmedabad’s Ally, or conduct their own Pride Marches on campus, like the Indian School of Business did recently on their Mohali campus. For the future generation of this nation, accept- ance and inclusion of LGBTQ individuals is the norm.
There is enough data now showing that focusing on LGBTQ issues for corporations is good business sense. According to the venture capital firm LGBT Capital in 2015, globally the spending power of the LGBTQ community was between $3.7 trillion to $4.6 trillion. In India, according to the 2016 World Bank, our country’s loss in GDP due to homophobia was valued at $32 Billion, or 1.7% of our GDP. I believe that corporate India — out of enlightened self interest — will push for change more and more over the coming years.
The SC judgment has enabled queer India to have our own tryst with destiny. I couldn’t be happier to be part of this new India.
Parmesh Shahani heads the Godrej India Culture Lab, is a senior TED Fellow, and member of the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders network. The views expressed are personal