Students celebrate Sec 377 verdict

KOLKATA: Students across campuses in the city erupted in jubilation on Thursday after the Supreme Court decriminalised gay sex, a verdict many felt will pave way for sexual minorities to claim their rights like equal citizens of the country.


On Friday, members of the LGBTQI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer,

intersex

) community at

Jadavpur University

(JU) organised a Pride March on campus, students at Presidency University greeted each other with “happy independence day”.

“People belonging to the community cannot marry, adopt children and inherit property. The judgement will pave them to claim the rights which the constitution grants to all citizens,” said Zoya Khan, who is pursuing her BSc in Mass Communication and Videography at St Xavier’s College.

Student activists felt that decriminalising gay sex is just one step ahead in the direction of equality and much more needs to be done.

“Thursday’s verdict is definitely a big shot in the arm. But it does not resolve all issues that we face on a daily basis,” said Biplab Maity, a transman in JU.