The background
The legal battle against Section 377 started when the Naz Foundation challenged the Section before the Delhi High Court. In its historic judgment in 2009, the Delhi High Court decriminalised homosexual intercourse between consenting adults. It voiced legal commitment to upholding the dignity of all individuals and to the principles of non-discrimination and inclusiveness. The Naz decision of Delhi High Court was celebrated by the LGBT community and their supporters throughout the country as it gave them relief from the criminal law that had been used to stifle their freedom to live and love.There was a wave of optimism and celebrations as the LGBT community finally broke free from the legal chains that required them to keep their sexuality and love hidden.
Photo source: Flickr/Vinayak Das
Unfortunately, this victory was short lived. In 2013, the Supreme Court reversed the Delhi High Court verdict and upheld the validity of Section 377. In 2014, it dismissed the review petitions filed against its 2013 decision and reinstated Section 377. Sexual expression by same sex partners was again criminalised and many stories emerged of harassment of LGBT individuals. The Supreme Court decisions were a major setback and disappointment for all supporting the basic human rights of LGBT. The Supreme Court had summarily dismissed the stories of struggle and harassment of LGBT people, referring to them as a miniscule minority in its judgment. The decision reinstated the colonial era’s Victorian morality by re-criminalising sexual expression by members of the LGBT community. It left open the possibility of Parliamentary action to decriminalise homosexuality. Although, the ruling party then had voiced its support in favour of striking down Section 377, no action was taken. After the change in government, the latest efforts for introducing a private bill to decriminalise Section 377 have also failed. With little support from political avenues, it is left to the courts to protect the rights and dignity of LGBT persons. Minority rights have often been vindicated by the courts by recognising the validity of their pleas when the legislature had failed to act. Therefore, a lot of hope and apprehension is riding on the Supreme Court’s verdict.Like this story? Or have something to share? Write to us: contact@thebetterindia.com, or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter (@thebetterindia).
About the authors: Swati Agrawal is the Associate Director at Increasing Diversity by Increasing Access. Aishwarya Suresh is an intern at IDIA. It is a pan-India movement to train underprivileged students and help transform them into leading lawyers and community advocates.
Irom Sharmila’s elder brother, Irom Singhajit, 14 years her senior, is a staunch supporter of his sister. (Credit: Tripti Nath\WFS)[/caption]
"It was always hard to get her to change her mind. When she was younger, she didn’t complete her school. She studied only till Class XI, all she said was I know how to read and write. I don’t need a degree. That was it, no one could argue. She wanted to learn shorthand, she said, and she did. We had to agree," he says.
She wasn’t a big girl, she’d never been in a fight, she avoided confrontation, or even complaint for that matter. She never seemed heroic, she wasn’t good at sports and not much could be said about her grades. She was just Sharmila, lanky, perhaps a little boyish, and inclined to be just herself and by herself.
The one time Sharmila dressed up in finery and wore jewellery and make up, she surprised everyone. Her closest friend Romita, almost a sister, was getting married to a young man who worked in the accounts department of a private firm. Part of the same Irom clan, Romita and Sharmila lived two houses away from each other. They would spend many an afternoon together.
Dressed in skirts and blouses they would cycle on the streets, look around at the loveliness of the trees or a bird in flight or simply sit in their courtyards and talk, eating fruit or singju - a type of salad made with finely chopped banana stem, laphu tharo or banana flower, cabbage, lotus stem and komprek, a scented herb. It was a special bond. Sharmila had visited Romita at her husband’s house during her pregnancy, gifting her two eggs laid by her hen. It was a sudden visit. Romita’s marital home was far away.
Sharmila had complained of the bad roads and stayed back for lunch. A vegetarian dish of cabbage was prepared specially for her. Months later, their lives intersected again when Romita gave birth to a baby girl on the 5th of November in 2000, just as Sharmila began her fast. Romita would often tend to her baby and listen to the radio hoping to catch any news related to her friend and her fast. She and her husband would talk about Sharmila, they understood the magnitude of what she had undertaken. But Romita now recognised the stillness that was a part of her friend’s being, the unnaturalness of her personality, as if there was a mist, a veil that separated her from everyone.
Descriptions of Sharmila rarely venture beyond her fast, her unique feeding form and her resilient spirit. To describe her solely like this would be to not get her at all. Here was a woman infinitely comfortable in her own skin; comfortable with her tapering fingers that ended in long, broken nails, the delicate slope of her shoulders, her bony cheeks, unkempt hair, her black- brown eyes, pale skin, and sensual mouth. Without the nasal tube and behind the strong profile in photographs, she was an ordinary person, sensitive and easily hurt.
Beneath her physical confidence there was a layer of timidity, shyness, a childlike impatience, even despair. Sharmila, would sometimes remove the tube attached to her nose, turn on her side and read. Or simply mumble and moan in a slow halting voice, a voice that rarely betrayed any sense of urgency or discomfort. Simple movements would be difficult sometimes, but even the physical pain, some believe, had almost vanished. Or maybe it hadn’t, it was sitting in some dark corner like a cobweb. Most people had just stopped seeing it, because they had stopped seeing Sharmila as one of them. Heroes don’t hurt.
At her modest home in east Imphal, Irom Sharmila’s Shakhi Devi. (Credit: Tripti Nath\WFS)[/caption]
Only once, after Sharmila’s return from Delhi in 2006, mother and daughter had come face to face, but not quite. Sakhi was unwell and had been admitted to the same hospital as Sharmila. The daughter, unable to hold herself back, thinking that her mother was dying, had tiptoed into her room at night. Sakhi was sleeping. They didn’t exchange a word.
(Excerpted from Mother, Where’s My Country: Looking for Light in the Darkness of Manipur by Anubha Bhonsle; Published by Speaking Tiger; Pp: 250; Price: Rs 499/Hardcover.)
The procedure for opting for various categories is the following
Although it’s been a long fight for their rights, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community in India is holding on to hope.[/caption]
The relief, however, was short-lived. Because in 2013, after hearing the appeals brought against the Delhi High Court judgment by various individuals and groups, who all claimed to be acting in the interests of the ‘Indian public’ and protecting the Indian way of life, the Supreme Court passed an order striking down the Delhi High Court judgement.
The Apex Court observed that the Delhi High Court order relied heavily on judgments of foreign jurisdictions.
The Supreme Court recently took in a curative petition to rethink its 2013 judgment on reinstating Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code.[/caption]
P. S. Jaya[/caption]
“I want everyone to realise how the caste system works in India,” she says, “We know through history that it was widely present and people were divided into two sections, the touchables and untouchables.” There was hope that when India became a republic, it would usher in change. “We thought that we would be free not just from foreign rule but also discrimination of all kinds.” But that hasn’t happened yet, she adds with a sigh.
Lamenting the downhill situation in India, Jaya questions people’s attitude about casteism. It’s the 21st century, and the country is progressing, both scientifically and economically. Yet, why is it lagging behind on social reforms?
The process of dabbing paint[/caption]
P. S. Jaya (centre) with Sheethal Shyam (LGBT activist) and Aswathi Rajappan (activist), at Kalakakshi[/caption]
As per the 
The height of any numeral that is part of the above mandatory information will conform to certain standards. The height of the numeral in the display will not be less than what is mentioned in the above table if the net quantity is declared in terms of weight or volume.
The height of the numeral in the display will not be less than what is mentioned in the following table if the net quantity is declared in terms of length, area or number.
The height of letters in the display should not be less than 1 mm height and when blown, formed, moulded, embossed or perforated, the height of letters shall not be less than 2 mm. The width of the letter or numeral in the display should not be less than one third of its height, except in the case of numeral ‘1’ and letters (i) and (I).
He is a Dalit activist and a Community Correspondent with 
In April 2014, the Supreme Court of India recognised the right of transgender persons to adopt their self-identified gender as male, female or ‘third gender.'[/caption]
Redrafting of the Rights of Transgender Persons Bill
Transgender persons express their happiness with victory signs after the Supreme Court directs Centre and States governments to provide healthcare and education facitlies to transgenders, saying they are socially backward community.[/caption]
First transgender band in India[/caption]
The legal developments relating to the rights of transgender persons have led to the emergence of many stories that showcase greater inclusion and acceptance of transgender persons in the society. Transgender persons need no longer hide their identity. In fact, many are breaking barriers to emerge as leaders of their fields. For example, the Karnataka government recently honoured a transgender rights activist with the 
Jockin Arputham[/caption]
Twenty-one-year-old Jockin Arputham came to Mumbai in search of better opportunities and a better life. He was a resident of the Janta Colony of Dharavi.
Arputham found the conditions in which this section of the urban populous lived, deplorable and unacceptable. And upon a hill on one fateful day, he decided that something had to be done. This led to a series of events and protests that proved fruitful in bringing tangible changes in the nearby community. With that, he started the Bombay Slum Dwellers Federation in 1975, which later went on to become the National Slum Dwellers Federation.
India has come a long way since Independence; better education, modernization and industrialization allow the country to offer the best of the world's facilities to its people.
But a walk in the lanes of the Paharganj Slums of New Delhi or Dharavi in Mumbai will tell you a different story. While a large chuck of our population demands sanitation, shelter and security as a basic right, there is another world of 65 million people in our own cities to whom these amenities seem more like luxuries.
Bricks and mortar don’t make a society worth living in; people do.
“When Bhuri approached me with this problem, I could relate to her. I have a differently-abled husband and an aging mother-in-law. I know how important even a few hundred rupees is in an impoverished person’s life. It means food, medicine and security to many,” Tanju says.
Over the last decade, Tanju, a 
Underprivileged students have been most affected by this move, since the shutting down of the library has made access to academic books financially unviable. A good reference book, on a single subject or topic, can cost students a minimum of Rs. 2,000. Should students decide to buy the reference books, few are likely to have any money left to pay the expensive tuition fees.
Many students are now being forced to rely on notes, but it is clear that a lack of access to academic books is resulting in a debilitating impact on their studies and their marks; a fact made more distressing by the fact that the books they so desperately need are only a locked door away.
Some students have made the effort to get answers from the University authorities, but to no avail: “Earlier, they said that they had shut the library for renovation purposes. But no such thing has happened either,” Amir reveals.
In the beginning of October, 2016, Amir and his classmates yet again presented their case before the Student Welfare Dean. However, no action was taken.
Purnima Devi Barman takes out a rally[/caption]
Purnima Devi Barman is a wildlife biologist working with Aaranyak, a well- known NGO working to save species and protect habitats in Assam. However, today she is better known as the guardian angel of the Greater Adjutant Stork, one of the 20 species of storks that are on the verge of extinction. There are just 1200 to 1800 of these five feet tall storks in the world – 800 of them are in Assam and about 156 in Bihar, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. For Purnima Devi, however, they are like her babies. She cradles this tall, rather ugly, smelly bird that acts as a scavenger, and reasons with the village communities of Dadara and Panchariya, Kamrup district, not to chop down the trees on which they nest because that would lead to extinction of the species.
For her efforts to save the hargila, the local name of the adjutant stork, Purnima Devi was recently recognised as an Earth Hero by an international bank that supports projects working with communities in critical forests and wetland ecosystems. Through its Earth Heroes Awards, it recognises individuals and institutions for exemplary work in the environmental landscape.
Adjutant Storks[/caption]
This angers villages and they chop down the trees. One day, Purnima saw a tree being cut and a dozen chicks falling out of the nests on the tree; this is when she became their saviour. She began talking to women’s self-help groups about animals to be saved. “Do we only save animals like the tiger that have an aura or should we give importance to all animals, even those that are ugly and dirty? Each of them serves a purpose in the eco-system,” she would say.
Campaigning since 2009, she has been able to stop the cutting of trees and arrest the shrinking numbers of the Adjutant Stork. Not a tree has been cut since 2010. Working with some 10,000 villagers, she has motivated SHG members to weave the Adjutant Stork as the border motif in traditional gamchas and shawls as a part of their conservation efforts. If a chick has to be saved, she scampers up a tree even in a sari.
Dr. Nikita Prakash in the laboratory in Pinjore[/caption]
The other recipients of the ‘Save the Species’ award are Dr. Vibhu Prakash and his wife Dr. Nikita Prakash, working at the Pinjore Vulture Conservation Breeding Centre in Haryana for the last 15 years to revive the population of Swachh Bharat’s biggest scavenger, the vulture. Dr. Vibhu is the principal scientist of the Bombay Natural History Society and Programme Head for vultures, and Dr. Nikita is an avian egg incubation expert or a kind of foster mother to the chicks. After a long struggle to ban the veterinary drug Diclofenac that decimated 99.9 percent of the vulture population in India and Nepal, breeding 225 vultures from different states, and nurturing incubated and natural eggs, the Prakash team hopes to release the first batch of the vulture fledglings early next year. Of the eight birds to be released, six will be captive bred fledglings and two are adult wild-caught vultures that have been at the Pinjore Centre for many years without showing signs of breeding. The adults will guide the fledglings to the world outside their sheltered existence in Pinjore.
Explaining the difficulties in rejuvenating their population, Dr. Nikita points out vultures lay just one egg at a time in a year. If that egg is removed within 10 to 15 days, the confused mother lays another egg.
Nikita tending to the incubating eggs[/caption]
The temperature in the incubator has to be constantly controlled and the egg rolled around from time to time delicately like its father or mother would. There is danger of the egg cracking and getting infected. “It is as tricky as bringing up a baby,” she says.
A humble scavenger, the vulture today is king in Pinjore. Kept in large, roomy aviaries, the birds are fed goat meat twice a week and their movements monitored through CCTV cameras fitted on the aviaries. Humans are not allowed near them so that it is easier for them to adapt to the outside when released.
Tanya Balcar and Robert Stewart. Growing one of the rarest trees in the world - Elaeocarpus blascoi[/caption]
Winners of the Earth Guardian Award, Robert Stewart and the late Tanya Balcar set up the Vattakanal Conservation Trust some 30 years ago and through it restored the Shola grasslands, the unique eco-system of the Western Ghats, home to several endangered species of flora and fauna.
They established nurseries for Shola plants, restored lost habitats and trained and educated the local population for Shola restoration work. Working through the Trust they were able to rediscover several species that are important components of the biodiversity of the Western Ghats. The Trust also undertook large scale reintroduction of endangered species of flora into the wild. Recognizing the value of engaging with the wider public, especially students, the Trust supplies saplings to schools, colleges, and civil society groups. Since October 2014, it has also been cleaning up on a daily basis solid waste from the local river Pambar.
The work of the Trust has resulted in extensive restoration of the Shola grassland ecosystem, documentation of plant growth and biology over 25 years, documentation of best practices and adaptation of the methods and protocols developed by the Trust by other forest divisions.
Dr. Varad Giri[/caption]
Dr Varad Giri, who won the Inspire Award, has done research and conservation work of herpetofauna in India, the Western Ghats in particular. Working tirelessly for 15 years in remote areas, he has discovered 35 new species of reptiles and amphibians. His findings have helped in declaring a World Heritage Site and Wildlife Sanctuary in the northern Western Ghats. He has inspired many budding wildlife biologists and corporates to take up herpetology as a career and do research on amphibians and reptiles.
Dr. Amit Mallick and his team with the seized ivory.[/caption]
Dr Amit Mallick, winner of the Green Warrior Award, is an Indian Forest Service officer of the Kerala cadre, whose extraordinary skills of planning, investigation and team leadership have cracked elephant poaching and ivory syndicates. He was able to seize 19 elephant carcasses and 538 kg of ivory and arrest 73 people. He was also able to seize 28 illegal guns and seven vehicles and check poaching and trafficking of wildlife across the country. As field director of Periyar Tiger Reserve in Kerala, he has made it one of the best managed national parks of the country.
Khageshwar Nayak[/caption]
Another Green Warrior Award recipient, Khageshwar Nayak , retired Indian Forest Service officer, played a significant role in the management of the Kanha National Park in Madhya Pradesh in the early 90s when it was in the grip of left wing extremists. Those were tough times, Khageshwar recalls. The forest staff was constantly being threatened and bullied and restoring their confidence was a big challenge. He personally led the foot patrolling even in the monsoon months. He also played a significant role in the management of the grasslands for restoration of the barasingha population, which had dropped to a dismal 70. Today this population has increased tenfold and the barasingha can be seen in all 12 ranges of Kanha.
Dr. Karan Singh receiving the Earth Heroes award.[/caption]
The Earth Hero award for a life time commitment to environment was given to Dr. Karan Singh, one of India’s longest serving Parliamentarians and Cabinet Minister in the Congress government. He initiated Project Tiger, set up the Indian Board for Wildlife and had the vision to assess the potential of harnessing tourism for conservation long before the term eco-tourism became fashionable.
For the common man to have this power in his hands is uncommon, but extremely productive for his locality as a whole. How many times otherwise would garbage, electricity, water, pot holes, lack of transport, and many other problems that concern our daily lives receive the purview of and solution by the local politician or corporator? It’s little wonder that despite living amidst problems such as these on an everyday basis, and being greatly inconvenienced by them, the common man would rather live with them than chase after the officials who will help resolve the issues. If a complaint is raised, it is almost impossible to follow up with the concerned governing bodies.
NetaG’s wide acceptance is because it saves them footwork and effort but gets them a solution from the relevant people. Local politicians and leaders are also realising that NetaG is a powerful tool to help them connect with their supporters. Once the public issue is resolved, the app allows the case to be closed from either end.
Irrespective of the problem, all it takes is one complaint from anybody using the app. The councilor or local politician in-charge then takes it upon himself/herself to resolve the issue. The instantaneous, hassle-free, and anonymous system has met with a success rate of 95% for problem resolution.
The app’s UI is simple but smart, with an option to include a photograph and description of your issue. Everyone can view and reference the sourced GPS location and tabulated issue. However, the app does not take or maintain any personal data about the complainant. The complainant marks the issue as resolved on the app after resolution.
NetaG has ascended the popularity charts as an app that actually does the job. For example, a local politician recently conducted a children’s sports event. There, people raised the issue of increasing dengue and mosquito menace in the locality through the app. The concerned officials immediately cleaned up a huge community tank the very next day, under orders from the politician. Authorities have rectified multiple cases of electricity outages within hours of a registered complaint. Having the complaint on a transparent platform makes the leaders work towards a solution. It also helps the leaders gain respect and support from the people around him/her.
With local elections just around the corner, the platform has major plans, including new ways to raise seed capital.
To know more about the app and try it yourself, visit the 
Under the watchful eyes of police officers, who stood uneasily at the periphery of the gathering, the group of few dozens gradually swelled into hundreds. It was a day to celebrate fluid sexual identities, gender identities and to show support for a group that continues to be marginalized and vulnerable in Indian society.
The setting off of a confetti-filled cracker sent a thrill through the waiting crowd and marked the start of the parade from an intersection on Barakhamba Road.
They marched under a colourful rainbow made of balloons. Here was a space where it was alright not to conform, to express oneself through eclectic attire, body art and tattoos. Rainbow-colored flags were handed out, along with customized badges and masks.
The march was a vibrant mix of young college students, middle-aged folks, and a smattering of older folks. Some were loud and brazen, others shy and sophisticated, some danced unabashedly and some had to be coaxed into the celebrations. Even a handful of foreigners were spotted in the crowd, along with many media persons and photographers. There was a lot of handholding, embracing and exclamations of joy.
The parade had the zest of a wedding celebration, complete with drum beats and dancing. But in the midst of the festivities, there was also sloganeering. The chants loosely reflected the demands put forth by the Delhi Queer Pride Committee, which organised the march.
The marchers also called for the implementation of the Supreme Court’s 
On its Facebook page, the Committee put out a statement that said:
As the parade wound down in the early evening, many of the participants stepped back into their mundane everyday lives, back into a world where even travelling by Metro required deciding between being identified as man or woman.
It was 1993 and I was in Kamathipura, Mumbai, for an assignment. It is Asia’s second largest red light area. I was a journalist working for a Gujarati newspaper back then, and a film star was having a press meet in the area. Prior to that day, I had never stepped foot there. Curiosity got the better of me and I wanted to see what the badnam gaaliyan (infamous bylanes) were all about. I randomly strolled into one of the brothels after the press meet. Standing in the hall of one of those houses, I felt a deep sense of disgust. On returning home, I shared my experience with my husband Balkrishna Acharya and he was saddened too.
Like most among us, I too thought that these girls – all decked up in bright lipstick and revealing clothes -- were prostitutes by choice. I later discovered that it is not true in most cases.
A few days later my husband asked, “Why are they not allowed to leave if they don’t want to be a part of this business. And what happens if one of them runs away?” A friend of his had fallen in love with one of the girls from Kamathipura and wanted to marry her. She wanted the same. “You are a journalist. You should be able to help her escape,” he said. I told him I’d try.
I got in touch with the cops who along with Balkrishna and his friend went to bring the girl back. Just as they were leaving, 13 more girls came forward begging for help. The cop sternly told us, “Just take the girl you are here for and leave. Don’t take responsibility of the others.” Balkrishna couldn’t leave; he was sensitive that way. So we ended up having 13 girls in our Kandivali home. This was the start of something we had not planned for.
Of the 13 girls, a majority were from Nepal. We reached out to a Nepal-based NGO named Maithi Nepal that rescued girls from sex-trafficking. The girls got a new life after that. My husband decided he didn’t want to give up working for this cause. He shut down his electronic store, which he had started after returning from 15-years of service in the Indian Military. “Triveni, you don’t quit your job. We can use your contacts as a journalist to help more girls,” he said. I agreed.
We worked in our limited capacity for about three years, spending whatever we could from our own pockets. In 1996, we opened a branch of Maithi Nepal in Mumbai because majority of the girls were from Nepal. We would rescue the girls and hand them over to the NGO. A few years later, Rescue Foundation was born to rescue girls from other regions.
In 2003, a noble person donated a seven-storeyed building and Rescue Foundation got its first shelter home in Kandivali. Two years later, Balkrishna died in a road accident. I was certain it wasn’t just an accident. During those days, he would receive a lot of threats. I was broken. There were times I wanted to give up. But then I thought of the 15-year-old girls with HIV. How could I, as a woman forgive people who sell young girls as commodities? I resigned from my job in 2005 to work full-time against sex-trafficking.
I fondly recall my husband saying, “Triveni, we all have to die someday and have no control over how death with come to use. So let’s not worry and continue doing our work.” His words keep me going.
We have three shelter homes – in Kandivali, Thane and Pune - and the fourth one is about to start in Delhi. Rescue Foundation has 125 staff members and a slew of undercover investigators and informers. Being accredited by the Government of Maharashtra, Rescue Foundation receives some funds from the government. We are working towards becoming self-sustainable through farming, milk production, and selling craft products.
The girls are not in their best mental and physical health when they are rescued. Some are pregnant and some are HIV-infected. It takes one to three years to deal with legalities. Meanwhile, we counsel them and provide them with education and vocational training. At times some pregnant girls decide to undergo abortion, if it is possible. Some give their babies up for adoption, while others chose to keep their children.
I don’t take holidays to unwind. I find sukoon (peace) being among these girls. Their smiling faces give me strength.
I often sing this song for the girls:
“Pochh kar ashq aapney aankho se, muskuraao toh koi baat bane.
Sar jhukane se kuch nahi hoga, sar uthao toh koi baat bane…”
I don’t fear threats, nor do I worry about being attacked when raiding a brothel. The mission will continue with or without me. I’ve prepared my staff to taken over. We have lit the torch for a better tomorrow and we will keep it burning.
Rescue Foundation received a Stree Shakti Award for Women Entrepreneurs in 2008. In 2011, Triveni Acharya won the Civil Courage Prize of The Train Foundation, awarded annually to those "who resolutely combat evil". She was presented the Asia Democracy and Human Rights Award of the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy by Taiwanese president Ma Ying-Jeou in 2010 and became the Humanitarian Honoree of World of Children Award in 2013. She can be reached at