ABSTRACT

This research paper aims to understand the struggles and discrimination faced by the LGBTQ+ community and now changes in laws which have came across after these years regarding the term homosexuality. This research paper helped us to know the background of the fight for the rights have started to partially decriminalising the section 377 and later Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2019 prohibits the discrimination happening against them in the field of employment, education, housing, healthcare and other services. The researcher has conducted a survey report asking certain question from the LGBTQ+ community to know their thinking and working out the best for them. As this is just the beginning of coming into a new era leaving out the negative attitude and narrow mindsets as it has a long way to go and work for the benefit for the community. Here, the main objective is to know about homosexuality and the impact which has been seen after the section 377 been decriminalised in the society and in the corporate sector and what we expect.

KEYWORDS: homosexuality, discrimination, impact

1 Student at Fairfield Institute of Management & Technology, Kapashera, New Delhi

INTRODUCTION

HISTORY

The word “HOMOSEXUALITY” was never an easy word to digest, be it in the ancient times or in 21st century . We see that people who are considered to be a part of the LGBTQ+ community face discrimination, the consequences on the basis of their sexuality or have to deal with gender identity issues . We are living in a society where same sex relationship is not being appreciated and even more, the same sex marriages is to be considered as a criminal offence . People won’t believe that the homosexuality existed way back before, and now people opposed to it , as it appears to be against their religion, cultures , their morals and values . But do we really think that it was never “recognised” or being “seen” ?
Well, if we look at the research from the ancient and medieval times , we can figure out that homosexuality and the third gender was present even at that time . The Kama sutra has mentioned about the gays, lesbians and other genders which are inculcated in the LGBTQ+ community . It was said that the Vedic system had various kinds of marriages including the homosexual marriages and were classified as “Gandharva” which has the literal meaning that “a union of love and cohabitation, without the need for parental approval”. And definitely who can forget about the Khajuraho ,known for the homosexuality sculptures as they depict the gender fluidity and the relationships of heterosexual couples as well as for the homosexuals and the transgender . If we talk about the same sex couple from the ancient times , the perfect example would be of Varuna and Mitramentioned in the scriptures of Rig Veda and also believed that they had children too. Also even in Ramayana depicts Hanuman witnessingRakshasa women kissing and embracing those women who had been kissed and embraced by Ravana. This is a clear acknowledgement of same-sex intimacy in India history and tradition. So , we get an idea after looking at the history and mythology , that Indian society accepted and recognised the homosexuals and their relationship even at that time.2

RELATION OF HOMOSEXUALITY AND LAW

The Constitution of India guarantees all persons living in the country have the right to personal life and liberty, equal protection of laws and prohibits discrimination on the basis of
2https://www.thequint.com/voices/opinion/homosexuality-rss-ancient-indian-culture-section-377

their sex . The Constitution act as a medium to bring in the social change in the future . The 21st century’s youth of India accept with the change, and give recognition to the issues by standing out and fighting for their rights they deserve ..In terms of both the functioning of the society as well as its laws. Law being dynamic in nature gives changes to the scenarios and the challenges which has been faced by the LGBTQ+ community . In India , the Gender identities have always been a big deal and opening up about sexuality leads to the discrimination and inequalities in its way.

The first time when people took action was in 1991, where AIDS BhedbhavVirodhiAndolan (ABVA) release a document wherein they release a report which revealed the consequences the gay people face like blackmailing , violence , being harried , especially by the policemen . the report rebelled on the legislature for not making gender protection laws for the LGBTQ+ community . In 2001, A PIL was filed by the NAZ Foundation , a NGO who works with gay men regarding the sexual health challenged the constitutionality of section 377 and asked for the laws to be made for the LGBTQ+ community in the Delhi High Court but was dismissed in the year 2004 . Even after the struggles faced by the NAZ Foundation , they filed a special leave petition in 2006 where a group of NGOs also raised their voice against the section 377,as supreme court considered it to be a matter of the interest of the public while India’s Ministry of Home Affairs files an affidavit against the decriminalisation of homosexuality. In July 2009 , a landmark judgement was passed from the Delhi High Court stated by the bench that section 377 violate the fundamental rights to life, liberty , equity , privacy and equality mentioned in the Indian Constitution . But, as some people were not in favour , so the critics went to the supreme court in 2013 challenging the high court decision, and supreme court favoured the critics and mentioned that section 377 is not unconstitutional overruling the Delhi High Court judgement
. A writ petition was filed in 2016 by an award-winning Bharatanatyam dancer, Navtej Singh Johar, challenging section 377 in the supreme court along with four highly known Indians . When the supreme court ruled out that privacy is a fundamental right in 2017 when petition was made against India’s biometric programme Aadhaar, the bench also believed that “Sexual orientation should also be considered as an essential attribute of privacy. Discrimination against an individual on the basis of sexual orientation is deeply offensive to the dignity and self-worth of the individual,” which raised the hopes of the LGBTQ+ community .KeshavSuri,top hotelier who identifies as gay, joins the fight against section 377 by filing a petition with the Supreme Court in April 2018 .

After hearing out the petition filed by Navtejjohar and others against section 377 , The Bench comprising of chief Justice DipakMisra , Justice RohintonNariman, Justice DY Chandrachudd and Justice InduMalhotradecided to partially struck down the Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code which decriminalises same-sex relations between consenting adults which means that the LGBTQ+ people are now legally allowed to engage in consensual intercourse.3 As they used to criminalizes the consensual homosexual relationships and expression and allowed consenting adults to engage in any form of gender and sexual expression and relationships of their choice. The judgment now acts in favour for the rights of members of the LGBTQI community to life, dignity, liberty, equality and non-discrimination.

Decriminalisation of section 377

The basis of human rights ends with a conclusion that all humans are equal. It believes that all humans have dignity and should be treated as equal. Anything which lowers down their dignity, is a violation and as it violates the principle of equality, it brings on the concept of discrimination.

The human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people (LGBTQ+) has been a major issue around the world, from which several important actions took place in many countries in recent years, which included the adoption of new legal protections for the community .Where the preamble of the Indian Constitution states that justice — social, economic, and political equality of status is for all . The right of equality before law and equal protection under the law is guaranteed in Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution. In 2014, when the Supreme Court of India held out in NALSA vs. Union of India, that the rights and freedom of transgender people in India were protected under the Constitution; the Supreme Court also decriminalized in the Section 377 judgment review. In the case of Navtej Singh Johar and others. Vs Union of India in September 2018 , the Honourable Supreme Court of India decriminalized section 377 of IPC for havingadult consensual same-sex relationshipswhich was criminalized earlier as it violated the right to equality. The Supreme Court verdict turned to be a major milestone for LGBTQ+ identifying people across the country, where homosexuality is still a social taboo and gay people face non-ending discrimination .The decriminalization of Section 377 by the Supreme Court gave LGBTQ+ a separate and dignified status in the society.

3https://qz.com/india/1379620/section-377-a-timeline-of-indias-battle-for-gay-rights/

The court decriminalized it as it was violating the Article 14, Article 19 and Article 21 of the constitution. Article 14 talks about the right to equality, it was being violated since the people of the LGBTQ+ community were not being treated equally and was being discriminated on the base of their sexuality . Article 19(1)(a) talks about freedom of speech and expression but if we look at the people of the LGBTQ+ community were not allowed to express their feelings and emotions in public , therefore, it violated Article 19(1)(a). Whereas the article 21 of the Constitution of India,1949 states the protection of life and liberty in which no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law . It was to bring notice that even the LGBTQ+ community are citizens of India here and they also have the right to protection and liberty but the criminalization was violated as there were no right to protect homosexuals where they are being protected from being discriminated and harassed by the society.

Every citizen of India has the fundamental right to live with dignity and pride, earlier the people of the LGBTQ community were discriminated by society openly or insidiously which affected and harm their dignity due to which they were compelled to live in isolation and are treated badly , therefore, people chose to live without revealing their emotions which intend to violate their right to live with dignity. Many instances have came up with regards to the humiliation which was being faced by the members of this community at their workplaces which eventually led to their resignation. With the decriminalization of section 377, the community got equal rights as compared to the other communities. Though the decriminalization of section 377 will give LGBTQ community a separate and dignified status but at the same time it will fall out the effect on existing laws, especially personal laws such as section 32(d) of the Parsi Marriage and divorce act,1936 , section 27(1-A) of the special marriage act,1954 , section 10(2) of the Indian divorce act, 1869 , section 13(2) of Hindu marriage act, 1955 and many other sections and acts.

The judgments are known to be a landmark in terms of giving value to the constitutional rights and for empowering LGBTQ+persons also being an important moment for LGBTQ+ community but it does not mean that for the LGBT people in India , section 377 has fully been removed. There are still restrictions and discrimination which is faced by them in their day to day lives , which implies that how much work is still left on the part of government which is to be done in India and in the rest of the world to abolish the anti-gay laws still present . Being India, a vast and diverse country

having different attitude towards homosexuality the difference in the mindset between urban and rural India add complexities to understanding homosexuality . But what really stands out that despite of facing various struggles and obstacles , the LGBTQ+ community is not in minority and they believe in raising their voice and stand up for the rights they deserve who didn’t chose to remain silent and want to earn respect .

IMPACT THAT WILL MADE ON INDIAN FAMILY LAW

It has been said and seen that the marriage comprises between husband and wife . all the laws be it special marriage act 1954 , Hindu marriage act 1955 , Hindu adoption and maintenance act , 1956 comprises the laws which are related to the husband and wife which leaves out the people who love the person of the same sex who wants to marry , adopt a child , to be treated equal like the other members of the society ,but these laws restrict them to be one . The main problem which will be faced in the legislation which deals with Indian family laws is in interpreting the terms ‘husband’ and ‘wife’ . Therefore , it will make a huge impact if the constitution allows same sex marriage and adoption and other laws which will bring a change in the existing law .

So, it is an advise made to the legislatures that instead of amending these laws which will shuffle the whole idea and process of inculcating laws for the LGBTQ+ community , they should make a separate act comprising of the laws for the community, so that it does not create any disturbance and the chaos it will create or if creating a new act takes time they should amend laws apart from the personal laws so that quick action can take place and the LGBTQ+ community be treated equal and get their rights without having any identity crises as it will remove the doubtfulness people will be having in mind and would be more clear if such actions will take place .In the end, we could only say that would like to say that since the step of a favourable action has been taken by the Supreme Court , they have a long way to go keeping the social implications and consequences in mind . Therefore , it should work better in practicality too .

IMPACT ON CORPORATE SECTOR AFTER SECTION 377 DECRIMINALISED

The LGBTQ+ community has always face a different attitude, isolation, criticism, societal rejection and inequality in India . The culture of homophobia or transphobia in the workplace comes from the attitudes of the people, the environment they are in . That is the reason why

the Indian workplace has little representation from the LGBTQ+ community, and even less in leadership roles because they are being judged on the basis of their sexuality. Corporate India has pointed out that they should doing something even a little effort in order to include and protect the interest of the LGBTQ+ community because of legal impediments, especially section 377 of the IPC. They have been pushed to carry on with their lives despite the mistreatment and discrimination they face , especially in their work environment. With this law being laid by the Supreme Court, the corporate sector can work unhindered keeping law in mind towards equity and inclusivity of the people from the community .

According to the study done by the World Bank on the economic cost of homophobia on the Indian economy in 2016, the GDP loss from the side of LGBTQ+ employees is reported for about 1.7 percent , which does not include the highly-qualified professionals who move to other countries that need to be included . Accordingly, barring a few select employers, there wasn’t much done in terms of policies or organizational culture to create inclusive and equal opportunity workplaces.

What is Corporate India doing after the judgement?

Just after the ruling laid down by the Supreme Court , everybody was cheering up and supporting the LGBTQ+ community, even the companies .but did they really come up with supporting the community? Yes, they did . Not only the companies but even the Start-ups , small businesses opened their arms for the community within a short time frame . Companies such as Godrej, Barclays already had policies for the LGBTQ+ community to work under them by giving them jobs and treating just like the other employee of the company. They are focusing more on becoming a gender friendly company or organisation making the workplace safe and equitable. Many start-ups and small organisations has collaborated with the LGBTQ+ community NGOs in order to provide them jobs so they can have a better living especially the trans persons .

Certain policies and actions can be taken place like Organising workshops, conducting programs , washroom access that correspond to their gender identity being gender-neutral , employee training on how to get along with the people , internal communication on getting them aware about the laws , the changes in policies must be discussed inorder to create a safe, equitable, dignified, an inclusive environment for the community .

A small yet established set of LGBT+ allies in corporate India includes companies like Nestaway ,Godrej , Wipro , TCS , and Tech Mahindra. Some companies are taking the lead in making offices safer and more inclusive with benefits in insurance, leave and relocation. TCS (Tata Consultancy Services) is one of the few firms in our country to extend health insurance to LGBT employees . At Tech Mahindra, same-sex couples can avail of 12 weeks of paid leave for adoption and three days of bereavement leave. Lalit Hotels has the highest number of LGBT+ employees in the hospitality sector in India. It has a slew of attractive policies for LGBT+ employees and their families.
Best Practices by LGBT-friendly Companies

Formulating thenon discrimination policies is the first step for the including the LGBTQ+ community as policies are the base on which the companies stand by . Companies that lead on LGBT+ inclusion all have non-discrimination policies. Many of these companies also implemented the gender-neutral language , introduced equitable benefits to same-sex couples and requested to all suppliers and business partners on not to discriminate them based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. Companies started focusing on hiring the LGBTQ+ talent as a part of the diversity in the company as it increases the company’s competitiveness globally . India’s first LGBTQ+ job fair was done last year where companies like Uber, Accenture and the Lalit also participated as a part of promoting the recruitment events . To bring newness in our same old thinking , companies host training to make employees understand the sensitivity on the topic and take such bold action in promoting and celebrating homosexuality which gives a boost on the morale to the LGBTQ+ community like Flipkart , Godrej, Infosys, SwiggyandZomato by changing their social media handles to Pride colours or by either releasing public statements of support to celebrate when the supreme court overruled Section 377 in India and even some of them do it every year on pride month .4

Why be an LGBT-friendly company?

4https://www.shrm.org/shrm-india/pages/after-section-377-what-is-corporate-india-
doing.aspx#:~:text=With%20this%20law%20now%20struck,law%20towards%20equity%20and%20inclusivity. &text=Inclusion%20and%20sensitivity%20also%20enable,their%20whole%20selves%20to%20work.

It brings out the diversity at the workplace and the inclusion of the LGBTQ+ community will come out as a change of accepting and being proud of who they are as they feel welcome for being treated equal like the other people of the society . As the companies have the aim to expand and globalize, the factor of inculcating the LGBTQ+ community to get the top level talent as everybody likes a company who works for a social cause and what better than a company giving jobs to the LGBTQ+ community.
Not only the top level talent looks for such cause, it’s also the investors, the assets owners and managers, who focus on increasing diversity brings out an image of having a good corporate governance. A customer is attracted by the qualities of the product and the company has .a company being global, progressive, taking care of the environment and being LGBTQ+ community friendly, anything that relates with a social cause has the higher chance of their brand to shine, especially for the millennial generation.
Also the Inclusion and sensitivity at the workplace also enable organizations to help employees to reach their full productivity as they bring their whole selves to work. It brings different perspectives on the table rather than just the majority of voices and ideas. Organizations will be able to explore newer market opportunities to fulfil the needs of the marginalized and stigmatized LGBTQ+ population. If nothing else, what will make them stand out is the goodwill and a great brand image that can be leveraged in marketing and PR efforts5
Where LalitSuri Hospitality Group, Tata steel ,Godrej, Accenture , IBM, are some of the companies who offer medical insurance to their employees where nominees can be same sex partners andTata Steel, IBM , Accenture and LalitSuri Group also support with the medical expenses that incurred in sex reassignment surgeries up to a limited amount and offer special leave for recovering from the procedures when required . e-commerce companies and online service providers like Myntra, e-Bay offer LGBTQ+ themed advertising and content.
By these ways of implementing the policies, corporate sector came out in the support for the LGBTQ+ community to provide them jobs to live a life with dignity and respect in the society .

5https://thecsrjournal.in/pride-month-2020-lgbt-allies-corporate-india/

LITERATURE REVIEW

The researcher here has tried and figured out certain important information after analyzing the topic which focused on the homosexuality being a taboo and how people deal with their sexuality in a country where having a relationship with the same gender was a criminal offence earlier to fight for it to and decriminalize it and the laws which worked in the favour of the LGBTQ+ community and laws which still has to be worked upon.
Therefore , the researcher went to through observing and studying from various research papers , journals, articles , reports , books in order to get the facts, learning , figures on the topic and some important paper and readings are as follows –

I. “GROWING UP GAY IN URBAN INDIA”6

In this book, author KetkiRanade talks about the sexuality of a person living in India dealing with various things physically and mentally. Not only the author talks about the life of a gay person but it also discusses about the identity development, the accepting of what they are and be proud for it and the identity crises they face at their workplace or any public place where they get harassed, abused, discriminated, the role of intimate relationships having the identity issues and lack of rights.
And, in the present research paper, even the researcher discussed about the history that has been carried from years and years treating homosexuality as a disease, as they tried to treat it with several ways including by putting pressure on the LGBTQ+ community saying it is just a phase, the things LGBTQ+ community deals with, same about the identity crises, discrimination which relates the idea of the author to the idea of the researcher.

II. “Psychosocial Roots of Stigma of Homosexuality and Its Impact on the Lives of Sexual Minorities in India”7

6https://www.springer.com/in/book/9789811083655
7Srivastava, S. and Singh, P. (2015) Psychosocial Roots of Stigma of Homosexuality and Its Impact on the Lives of Sexual Minorities in India. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 3, 128-136. doi: 10.4236/jss.2015.3805.

The paper focuses on the factors on which there has been a negative attitude and behaviour towards LGBTQ+ community. The author has conducted a survey for both the heterosexual and homosexual people wherein the author gets the factor are there in the mind of the heterosexual persons as they have a stigma and a negative attitude towards them and the author also get the answers on how homosexual people deals with the stigma and the discrimination happening in their lives –the impact.
In the present research paper, the survey has been done on the homosexual people asking the effect after section 377 been decriminalized and change in the mindsets of people after years.
III. “Section 377 and beyond”8.
In this , the author has stated the history and the struggles faced before the decriminalization of the section 377 in the year 2018 in the judgement made by the supreme court in the case of Navtej Johar v. Union of India (2018) 10 SCC 1 and gave opinions that leading to the new era as same sex decriminalizes and hoping that there will be further more law amendments which would work and be benefited to the transgender community too focusing on the right to marry, the right of reservations in education and employment, the right to adopt and have a family, inherit property, to have access to public services and the right not to be discriminated as they have the whole right to be treated the same way the other get treated .
Wherein, In the present research paper , the author has discussed the same issues mentioned and as well as focused on how the corporate houses have incorporated and supported the LGBTQ+ community , thinking about the future aspects and the expectations of the people regarding the rights of the transgender community as the step by the legislature is just a baby step as we have a long way to .
IV. “HOMOSEXUALITY IN INDIA- AN INVISIBLE CONFLICT”9

In this research paper mentioned, the author has discussed and bring out the matter of homosexual marriages being an invisible conflict in India as there are still people who discourages the idea and the concept to give rights to the people of LGBTQ+ community and not allowing homosexual marriages as they believe in their own culture and beliefs and treat it as a crime. The author discusses about the homosexual marriages being legalized in certain

8https://southasia.fnst.org/sites/default/files/uploads/2019/05/31/howliberalisindiafinalbook16
-5-19.pdf#page=183
9http://www.delhihighcourt.nic.in/library/articles/legal%20education/Homosexuality%20in%
20India%20-%20The%20invisible%20conflict.pd

countries and the marriage relations . Finally, the author concludes by putting out a research survey and getting the responses from the people about homosexual marriages.
And in this research paper , the researcher has tried to bring out the views and opinions about the future laws and aspects as expected by the LGBTQ+ community of them getting the rights they deserve and not discrimination and the permission of having homosexual marriage which is still not been decriminalised. The researcher believes that the mindset needs to be change from the mind of homophobic persons having a negative approach and behaviour towards the community .
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

In the present research paper , the researcher has adopted the doctrinal form of approach wherein the researcher has gone through various books, journals, articles and research papers which are related to the field of our topic and the research problem , to introspect the challenges which are faced by the community about their sexuality being the issue in the eyes of the society , the fights and struggles made by various people and what impact has come up when section 377 of having same sex is being decriminalised and to look out the solutions which has to be dealt with in the future regarding same sex marriage , same sex adopting child, the rights to the transgender community etc as it fulfils the purpose and the objective of the researcher by taking these steps .
Also, we believe at a secondary form of approach to research to support the matter on which the research is based that is the empirical form of approach in research wherein the researcher has collected the information and done analysis by generating the Google forms as a survey in questionnaire form as they are effective, efficient , and they are reliable with quick results in time to analyze the response being filled up by the 50 participants who are a part of the LGBTQ+ community to get their views , ideas and opinions as they are able to share the difficulties , discrimination, abuse faced regarding their sexuality and what they expect in the future about their rights .
DATA DESCRIPTION

In the present paper , empirical form of research has been done along with the doctrinal form to collect data for the research from the LGBTQ+ community , by doing a survey with the

research method of questionnaire through Google forms . From the present data , the researcher is able to make out the data analyzed and facts checking up on the responses filled.
1. SAMPLE SIZE AND DESCRIPTION
The survey questionnaire is circulated and the primary data has been collected from the age between 18-30. The sample size is 50.

2. SURVEY QUESTIONS
The following are the questions and the responses being filled up by the participants after circulating the Google forms collected by the researcher.

DATA ANALYSIS

Homosexuality and law work as parallel lines in India since from very past years. Before decriminalising section 377, various petitions and cases have been heard, rejected, denied by the court. but as we are moving into the new era, it is very important to understand the legalities and the needs of the LGBTQ+ community as they have struggled to get them recognised and still there are so many laws which has to come up in order to be finally recognised and to get equally treated like the heterosexual persons living in the society. Hence, it is important to analyze the data and to take the survey on how various factors are related to each other.

Here, in the present research paper, the researcher has collected the data from survey made and focused on the ideology of the LGBTQ+ community by asking out questions on the laws, impact, and future expectations of them from the government.
Following is the data analysis from the survey filled by the 50 LGBTQ+ community participants through the researcher –
1. The first question states the sexuality the participants had who filled up the survey wherein the 38% of the participants claimed to be gay and 44%claimed to be bisexual and rest were denoted by others.

2. The second question talks about whom they have disclosed their sexuality or is open to idea of coming out to friends or family as a gay, bisexual, lesbian, transgender, queer and other. Where we can analyse that 42% of the participants have disclosed and come out in front of their friends as opening up with friends is way more easier and the acceptance is more than coming out to your family or to the society , while 38% have still not come out to the society . we can see that only 20% of the participants have reached out and talked about their sexuality to their family ,by this, we can figure it out that the being a homosexual leads to the consequence of discrimination , acceptance, harassment and other things which not only affect the person physically but mentally also .

3. The third question deals about whether they have been bullied on their sexuality or not . The researcher analyse the results and observed that 60.8% of the participants were bullied on their sexuality .this is the major reason why people don’t come out about their sexuality . they know that they will be harassed and bullied and discriminate for loving the person of same sex . it is very hard for the homosexuals to stand up for themselves , raise their voice about the challenges they face. They get judged by the way they speak, they walk , they look , their appearance which makes it hard for them to live in a narrow minded society where loving ,having sex , getting married with the person of same sex is considered to be crime . themindset we have , the negative attitude we have towards the LGBTQ+ community should be removed. Because of being bullied , getting harassed or abused , there are cases where people

have commit suicide because they weren’t able to face the consequences on their sexuality .

4. The fourth question talks about that whether the participants have gone to any pride event which supported the LGBTQ+ community . The results that came was that only 41.2% of the participants have gone to the LGBTQ+ pride event where as 58.8% said that they haven’t gone to any pride event . It is believed that acceptance or being judged is the reason why those 58.8% haven’t gone to any LGBTQ+ pride event . The event is organised for the community to celebrate about their sexuality . But what are we celebrating for ?about the discrimination they face and not getting accepted by the society ? people still hesitate to support the community and by attending any such events they should participate and proud of what they are , but they take a step back because what will the society think . We need to think that it is time to stand for themselves and fight for their rights .

5. The fifth question deals with that whether decriminalization of section 377 has changed the society’s view and the attitude towards them . The response which we could figure out was that 54.9% of the participants felt that there has been only a slight change in society’s view which shows us that yes, the law which has been decriminalised in the favour of the community has worked for the homosexual lives and also on the heterosexual’s mind. But still if we focus on the number , we still think that there is still a scope of improvement as in there are more laws that are still needed to be looked upon like legalising same sex marriages , same sex couple adopting children etc. The decriminalisation acts as a first step to enter into a new era where everyone is to be treated equally without any discrimination on the basis of their sexuality .whereas 24% of the people still believed that yes ,there has been a change in the mindset of the people as they believe that people have started accepting that being a homosexual is not a disease and they have changed their negative attitude which was there . even the corporate houses have initiated and made a place for the homosexuals as they are ready to hire people from the LGBTQ+ community for jobs by giving support to them and treating them equally.

6. The sixth question is that whether LGBTQ+ TV shows or movies has helped people in changing their minds and treat them as equal and with abetter positive attitude?

Well, 50% of the participants chose the option “not really” which seems to be true in some manner as if we talk about Indian shows there are hardly any example where they have portrayed the characters as homosexuals. This shows that in some way we are still lacking behind with the mindset of not accepting the homosexuals. whereas if we look beyond are country’s TV shows and movies , there are shows like sex education , elite , never have i ever which has really stand out when it comes to standing up and portraying the homosexual characters. From these things, we should accept this in our society too as homosexuality is not a disease but it is built by birth and it’s in nature . This does not make them less of our part of society, because if they chose a person of same sex , it’s completely up to their choice, we as a society accept such human nature .

7. The seventh question deals about ever the thought of hiding your sexuality has occurred into the minds of homosexuals after seeing the brutality and the discrimination against the people of LGBTQ+ community. The response that came after the research said that there are 56.9% stated that they never thought of hiding their sexuality whereas 43.1% did. what we must look that there are people who stand out for who they are and believe and fight for their rights , while those 43.1% has their double thoughts only because of the consequences they see , the family pressure, the society pressure which have the most impact on their mind . Now, it is our duty to make them feel safe and give equal treatment and schools, workplaces, colleges, even home and in the society by implementing laws for them giving them the recognition in the society so that they can believe in themselves and be proud about their sexuality and come out a better open person and change the minds of those 43.1% .

8. The eighth question talks about whether people of LGBTQ+ community have ever thought of moving out of their country and get settles where the same sex marriages are allowed . The results showed that 64 % of the people have said yes , they have given this option a thought . Now if we get into much deep into the answer, we will realize that the youth will be going out and get settled . And it is the youth only who will work and generate the income in future .now if they start working in other

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country , then they would be working outside which will give a rise in their GDP , which will have an impact on our country . The economic growth will reduce down .

9. The ninth questionstates that do they believe whether the laws for the LGBTQ+ community need to be more flexible. Without even looking at the results , the answer we know is yes. The laws should be more flexible and be introduced to make LGBTQ+ community a part of society and treating equal . 82% of the people have said yes. There are still restrictions on the art from the government and they still haven’t removed and accepted the homosexuality. there are still more laws to be made on the right to marry, the right of reservations in education and employment, the right to adopt and have a family, inherit property, to have access to public services and the right not to be discriminated .

10. The final tenth question asked the participants that whether do they believe that the laws will be in favour of the LGBTQ+ community in the upcoming years? The response state that 50 % of the participants believe that there will be a change in future regarding the laws for the homosexual people whereas 48% still think that this won’t be possible . It’s like a coin with both sides ,we don’t know what is written in our future but we can surely make it by standing up and fight to get justice and equal and protection rights so that they can live at a better place where they are not being judged by the society , not being discriminated on the basis of who we love be it from the same gender . Court judgements in recent years have led down important law by decriminalising section 377 for the protection from bullying and discrimination on the sexuality and gender identity in India . But since there are more things which need to be done on the protection of the rights on homosexuals , we have a far way to go to sit back .

CONCLUSION

In recent years, the lesbian, bisexual, gay, transgender and hijra people and communities in India have effectively and consistently raised their concerns and voices in a larger society focusing on the social, legal and political matters . There are many things which we need to
focus on be like giving them safe health care services by providing them the knowledge and
19

information regarding the HIV prevention and sexual heath measure , giving the recognition and rights on their sexuality , working towards making strategies for society where all genders and sexualities would be respected and treated equally , identity issues , conducting a community for legal aid and help lines for the community to be a support network . There is a vibrant and political movement fighting for the rights of these communities and peoples. safe spaces for people to be able to reach out to each other .Even though the step which has been taken in favour of the community is considerd to be just a small step from where we want to go and see .

But we cannot forget that how far we have come despite there is still muchmore that remains to be done if the civil rights of LGBT persons in India has to be protected. We have the absolute right to define ourselves in or own terms of sexuality , gender and in our own languages. We have the right to express ourselves and our identities without fear of violence or discrimination . We are the human beings holding out thehuman rights, and we need to recognized as such within the societies we live in. The act of accepting the changes shows that the people are shunning down the clichés that were prevalent in the society. With the change in time, various developments are taking place, people are accepting the changes in a more cordial way, This shows that mentality of the people is changing and they are becoming more flexible towards adopting the changes. Despite the Parliament has passed the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019defining a transperson as someone whose gender does not match the one assigned at birth stating which prohibits discrimination against them in employment, education, housing, healthcare and other servicesbut it still restricts on the part that as it does not allow for self-determination of transgender status. The Act also does not offer the reservations in public employment and education as had been directed by an earlier Supreme Court judgment. Hence , it has been challenged again the Supreme Court .

By the years passing by , we hope that we won’t feel ashamed on disclosing about our sexuality, we hope that LGBTQ+ community gets the right every person living in the society deserves without being discriminated ,living a healthy and better life by having various job opportunities , schooling , getting married and make a family .

This isn’t too much to ask for? Is it?

BIBLIOGRAPHY

ONLINE SOURCES

1. Research gate
2. Google scholar
3. Supreme court observer
4. The Hindu
5. Economic times
6. Times of India

1. https://www.thequint.com/voices/opinion/homosexuality-rss-ancient-indian-culture- section-377

heir%20whole%20selves%20to%20work.
4. https://thecsrjournal.in/pride-month-2020-lgbt-allies-corporate-india/
5. https://www.springer.com/in/book/9789811083655
6. Srivastava, S. and Singh, P. (2015) Psychosocial Roots of Stigma of Homosexuality and Its Impact on the Lives of Sexual Minorities in India. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 3, 128-136. doi: 10.4236/jss.2015.3805.
7. https://southasia.fnst.org/sites/default/files/uploads/2019/05/31/howliberalisindiafinalb ook16-5-19.pdf#page=183

8. http://www.delhihighcourt.nic.in/library/articles/legal%20education/Homosexuality%2 0in%20India%20-%20The%20invisible%20conflict.pd