They have been together for over 20 years, but bharatanatyam dancer Navtej Singh Johar and journalist Sunil Mehra felt they were equal citizens only this month, after India's Supreme Court struck out a 157-year law banning gay sex.
The couple are among a clutch of petitioners behind the legal battle to decriminalise homosexuality, which was an offence under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. The section banned "carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal" and was interpreted to include consensual gay sex, creating an atmosphere of fear and repression.
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