Public Policy Discourse and Sexual Minorities: Balancing Democratic Aspirations, Political Expediency and Moral Rights

Abstract

LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and asexual) is an evolving issue which needs to be debated in the legislatures and political space in general to deconstruct and redefine the narratives which have been influenced by the dominant sociocultural stereotypes. This is important in the context of the changing scenario worldwide involving the LGBTQIA+ community where assertions are being witnessed to reclaim the democratic space and civil rights to give shape to a more egalitarian and inclusive civic culture. This article highlights the changing character of the public discourse on LGBTQIA+ community in India in recent times and its impact on the judiciary and the political system. In the light of the recent Supreme Court landmark verdict of decriminalising Section 377 of Indian Penal Code (IPC), the present article seeks to examine a vast array of possibilities and challenges before the LGBTQIA+ community. The legal safeguards guaranteed through judicial pronouncements by the Supreme Court (6 September 2018), however, do not ensure the creation of an enabling social environment to accept homosexuality as a ‘normal behaviour’. Hence, unless corresponding corrective measures are taken to bring about social reforms for change of perception towards the homosexuality community, no amount of judicial intervention will guarantee their inclusion in the mainstream.