"I am what I am. Take me as I am."
With these lines, history was made in India.
In a 493-page verdict on 6 September 2018, the Supreme Court read down Section 377, a groundbreaking verdict on Navtej Singh Johar & Others. v. Union of India – decriminalising homosexuality in the country.
Three years later, people from the community and their allies took to Twitter to celebrate the landmark verdict that loudly, and clearly spelt out that it was no longer a criminal offence to be gay in India.
'The Morning Everything Changed'
Senior Advocate Menaka Guruswamy, one of the lawyers who fought the case, said that while 'so much changed' on the morning of 6 September, there was 'a distance to go'.
Many others marked the day, pointing that the verdict was a 'breath of fresh air.'
'Our Life, Dignity Was Restored'
Some pointed that the reading down of Section 377 ensured that the dignity of homosexuals was restored and while it was redundant for a long time, it needed 'systemic courage' to decriminalise same-sex raltionships.
'Joyous Rainbow In the Sky'
From dancing with dhol to sneaking phones to get updates on proceedings, people also spoke about what they were doing on the day the verdict came out.
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