University of Connecticut students reacted positively to the Sept. 6 news that India’s highest court made a unanimous ruling to decriminalize homosexuality.
Asian American Cultural Center student staff member Sunny Sarker said the move would help LGBTQ+ people become more accepted in South Asian culture.
“It will definitely make people more comfortable with like coming out and expressing themselves,” Sarker said. “If the law supports it, then [LGBTQ+ students] will definitely feel more comfortable.”
The law that made homosexuality illegal, Section 377, was put into place when the British ruled the country in 1861. The law deemed homesexual intercourse as “against the order of nature.” In the past, breaking this law could have resulted in imprisonment, according to CNN.
Though the law was rarely enforced, it still made homosexuality a taboo for years to come, according to TIME.
According to the LA Times, this resulted in LGBTQ+ citizens not reporting hate crimes based on their identity as well as not seeking important healthcare out of fear of being judged and denied by doctors.
There has been strong opposition from conservative religious groups, according to TIME.
However, advocates maintain that this is just the first step in the journey to getting full property and marriage rights for LGBTQ+ people.
Second semester UConn student Marissa Rondinone said she was also happy with the news.
“I think it’s a good thing,” Rondinone said. “It’s a big step forward for that country and it was always really viewed as a really bad thing, but I’m really happy that they eventually overcame that.”
Gladi Suero is a campus correspondent for The Daily Campus. She can be reached via email at gladi.suero@uconn.edu
