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Dr Rashmi Varma responds to the Supreme Court Judgement in India on Section 377

"Today is indeed a historic day for India, and especially for its LGBTQ citizens. They have fought a long and uphill struggle against social prejudice, moral bigotry and religious fundamentalism. The beautifully crafted judgement makes it clear that the Indian Constitution provides equal rights to all. It seriously undermines the colonial era law as contained in Section 377 that criminalised homosexuality.

"There is of course much more to be done as deep-rooted social prejudice cannot be rooted out overnight. The current Hindu supremacist government in power has orchestrated a groundswell of religious reaction and created a chilling atmosphere of intolerance towards all kinds of minorities. The struggle against intolerance towards homosexuality must therefore be aligned with the struggles against all forms of intolerance."

Dr Rashmi Varma, Department of English and Comparative Literary Studies, University of Warwick