Dear Mr. President of The United States of America,

We, the millions of LGBTQIA citizens of India call upon you to voice our concerns to our government that has turned a deaf ear to our grievances. In our country — the world’s largest democracy — where every minority, however small, is protected under the law from mob rule, the LGBTQIA community has no such luck. Our constitutional fight against the existing law that criminalizes our existence (Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code) has been an ongoing affair and while we have had small successes, the government and the judiciary have not necessarily been on our side.

Section 377 defines non penile-vaginal intercourse against the order of nature and punishable by life imprisonment and a fine. The presence of such an archaic law is in itself a threat, irrespective of whether the section is actually used or not.

For decades, ours rights have not been acknowledged and courts have declined appeals even on the basis of human rights pleas. However, we did face a victory of sorts in 2009, when our persistence paid off — the Delhi High Court read down Section 377 with respect to sex between two consenting adults on 2 July, 2009. Our joy was however short-lived. On 12 December, 2013, the same judgment was overturned by the Supreme Court of India with the court stating that an amendment or the repeal of Section 377 should be a matter left to our Parliament, not the judiciary.

The movement has continued, with support from several world organizations and friendly nations. Our government, however, still does not feel the need to give us — the LGBTQIA population of India — the rightful freedom of peaceful existence that we desire so greatly. As a democracy, the rights of the people of this nation should be sacrosanct, irrespective of how minuscule a minority they might be.

We are not a minuscule minority. And we ask you to support us by speaking about our rights when you meet our leaders. Our voices can be ignored by our leaders, yours cannot. Help the LGBTQIA community in India get the freedom and equal rights that they so truly deserve. #ReadDown377.

Warmly and thankfully,

The LGBTQIA community in India