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 Today a court in Delhi has ruled that homosexual intercourse is not an illegal act. Laws had been in place since colonial India -when the British Empire ruled India - that prohibited same-sex acts, describing them as an 'unnatural offence.'
But the ruling states that this law was discriminatory and violated Indian's fundamental human rights.
Police brutality against homosexuals is commonplace in India, and so this ruling is a significant step in positively affecting the lives of gay people in the country. But the struggle for the gay community is not yet over in India, as the stigmas attached to homosexuals will likely prevail. In fact many religous groups and figure-heads have already spoken against the ruling, saying that they will not suppport it.
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The Stonewall riots of June 28, 1969 were the first real turning point for a gay rights movement and signalled a direct call to action for all gay men and women around the world to fight for their place in society. The riots themselves lasted throughout the week and although violent were sparked by years of oppression and contempt towards homosexual individuals. Even today these riots are remembered each year around the world by the numerous Pride events that often fall at the end of June or early in July to ensure that the significance of the Stonewall riots and what preceded is not forgotten. It is the events that built towards that night of June 28 that are the focus of the fascinating documentary Before Stonewall (released on DVD 22nd June). The documentary, through archive interviews and a thorough and brilliantly well researched look into the building tensions in American society throughout the 50s and 60s is a must see for the generations who cannot remember a time when being homosexual was illegal deemed immoral and classified as a mental illness.