Section 377: India's battle with colonial-era law for same-sex love
A colonial-era law that criminalizes homosexual sex is viewed by many as a blot on the idea of India as a liberal democracy Current Affairs News : Five judges on India’s Supreme Court are hearing a challenge to a law that criminalizes homosexual sex — Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, introduced by British colonial authorities in 1861 and kept on the books in independent India. The Indian government told the court, which began hearings last Tuesday, that it would leave it to the wisdom of the judges to decide whether Section 377 violates fundamental rights to life, liberty and personal security as long as it does not get into broader issues like marriage, inheritance and adoption. But these are inevitable. Menaka Guruswamy, a lawyer for the plaintiffs against Section 377, argued that it was love that needed to be “constitutionally recognized” and not just sex. Social media and newspapers are filled with conversations and reports about Section 377, but L.G.B.T. life i...