CNN –
It wasn’t love at first sight when Aditi Anand met Susan Dias at a book club in Mumbai.
“We didn’t get along at all,” said Anand, a filmmaker, with a smile as she recalled the encounter. “We were always hostile to each other’s views on the books we read.”
Weeks later, when the two women met in a phone store, Dias even met Anand ignored.
“She tried so hard not to acknowledge me. But unfortunately, or rather fortunately for both of us, we found each other at the telephone counter,” said Anand. “We said hello and exchanged numbers.”
More than a decade later, Anand and Dias have built a life together. They have co-founded their own businesses, are raising a son, own a home and have adopted a dog.
But there was one thing they couldn’t do in their home country: get married.
Courtesy of Susan Dias
Aditi Anand (left) and Susan Dias (right) are among the 18 petitioners challenging the law.
India, the world’s largest democracy and most populous country, does not recognize same-sex marriage, effectively denying millions of LGBTQ couples access to some of the legal benefits associated with marriage on issues such as adoption, insurance and inheritance.
In the case of Dias and Anand, for example, current law recognizes only one of them as the legal parent of their son, which affects issues such as who can make medical decisions on his behalf.
However, things could soon change.
In a landmark case that is livestreamed daily to the public and watched by tens of thousands of people, India’s Supreme Court has been hearing petitions since April from activists challenging the law.
Advocates acting on behalf of 18 petitioners say it is time for India to treat the country’s LGBTQ community as equal citizens under its constitution.
But they face a tough opponent: the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, which argues that same-sex marriage is a “Western” concept without “any basis” in the constitution. In a recent filing, the court told the court that such unions were an “urban” and “elitist” concept and therefore not welcome in the country.
A decision from the court is expected soon.
If the activists succeed, it could change the fabric of a traditionally deeply conservative country.
“I want my son to have two legitimate, legal parents,” said Dias, who like Anand is among the 18 petitioners. “And that’s why this petition is important to us.”
Dipa Chakraborty/Eyepix Group/Future Publishing/Getty Images
Members and supporters of the LGBTQ community hold the rainbow flag while participating in the annual LGBTQ Pride parade.
India’s attitudes towards LGBTQ issues are complex.
Centuries-old Hindu mythology is about the transformation of men into women, and characters of the third gender appear in sacred texts. However, same-sex intercourse was criminalized and the right to marry was limited to heterosexual couples. This was done in 1860 through a penal code introduced by India’s former British colonial masters.
Since then, India’s LGBTQ community – probably one of the largest in the world given its population of 1.4 billion people – has faced widespread marginalization from society.
Both elements of the colonial-era penal code remained in force 70 years after India’s independence in 1947 (and years after they were abandoned by the former colonial master – England and Wales legalized same-sex intercourse and same-sex marriage in 1967). In 2013).
During their nearly decade in office, Indian leader Narendra Modi and his ruling BJP party have sought to shake off India’s colonial baggage, rename streets and cities and push for India to be in control of its own destiny. But Victorian same-sex marriage laws are a throwback to the colonial past his party fought to preserve.
When the couple Vishwa and Vivek married in 2017, homosexuality was still a crime – punishable by up to 10 years in prison. They held an intimate Hindu ceremony at Vishwa’s parents’ apartment just outside New Delhi, inviting only a few of their closest friends and family.
“We had to do it very quickly. It had to be short,” said Vivek, who works for an NGO. “My family wasn’t present.”
Courtesy of Vivek Kishore
Vishwa and Vivek on their wedding day in 2017.
That same year, award-winning Indian filmmaker Karan Johar wrote about what it means to be gay in India.
“Everyone knows what my sexual orientation is,” he wrote in his memoir “An Unsuitable Boy.” “I don’t have to shout it out…. I’m not going to do that just because I live in a country where I could potentially go to prison if I said that.”
But there are signs that attitudes are beginning to change.
In 2018, after a decades-long battle, the Supreme Court struck down the colonial-era law that criminalized same-sex intercourse — but left the legislation limiting marriage to heterosexual couples untouched.
In recent years, same-sex relationships have become increasingly embraced by both Bollywood, the country’s influential Hindi film industry, and major cities such as Mumbai and Bengaluru, which celebrate Pride month with parades and major events.
Vishwa says these are major achievements for the community and have encouraged efforts to further change the law, even in the face of strong government opposition. Even a verdict against the plaintiffs could have a silver lining, he said.
“Maybe it’s not a victory. Most of us have made peace with it,” Vishwa said. “But we know that any positive statement from the Supreme Court will benefit us in the future, and we are very ready to continue the fight.”
Whatever the court decides, its verdict will affect millions of people in India for generations to come.
Supporters say a positive ruling will bring legitimacy and greater influence to the countless Indians who are currently struggling to come to terms with their sexuality and face harassment on the streets, in schools and in the workplace.
Celebrity chef and LGBTQ activist Suvir Saran is among those criticizing the government’s stance, saying it sends a message that India does not accept people as they are.
In rural parts of the country, where discrimination is widespread, the consequences of coming out can be particularly dire, Saran says.
“If you come from a country where there is no access to quality education or even the basic amenities of life, you are broken. “You’re broken even before you get to your sexuality,” Saran said.
Anish Gawde, founder of Pink List India, an organization that tracks the LGBTQ views of Indian politicians, said many people without support have been forced from their homes and forced to live in isolation.
“In fact, marriage equality is more important to these tens of thousands of queer people in India,” Gawde said. “They love and love despite social stigma and oppression.”
Vivek hopes that a positive verdict would legitimize his relationship with his husband in the eyes of the general public.
“I want to be known as Vishwa’s partner before the law,” he said. “Marriage is a social contract. It is also a financial contract. The rights afforded to heterosexual couples are so important for people like us to build a life together.”
Since petitioning the Supreme Court, Dias said she has realized that they are not doing this for themselves, but for the millions of people who do not have the means to fight.
“It’s really become a collective effort now. I do this for those who can’t, just as I do it for myself,” she said.
Anand agreed, adding that what started as a conversation in their home has turned into a movement uniting India’s LGBTQ community.
“We ask, ‘Can we be equal?’” she said.