Aligarh writer Apurva Asrani has made his 11-year-old relationship official with musician Siddhant Pillai. Recently Supreme Court decriminalised section 377. Asrani took to his Facebook account on September 10 to announce the news of his relationship.
Changing his profile photo on Facebook to one that has Apurva and Siddhant in front of the Eiffel Tower, the writer posted, “11 years of togetherness. We loved openly even when the law tried to stop us. The only difference now is that we can share our love with the world.”
After Section 377 verdict, Asrani told a leading daily, “For too long, we have lived in a democracy that is unevenly applied. Because of what I do with another consenting adult in my private space, the law has been able to call me a criminal. So, my heterosexual brother, for example, has different rights from me. He can fall in love with a person of his choice get into a recognised union with her and then choose to adopt a child. I do not have any of those rights.”
“Heterosexual couples get respect by default. Even we want that,” said Apurva. “On September 6, 2018, the Supreme Court awarded us not just long-overdue recognition, it also issued an apology for the suffering we went through while justice was delayed. It gave us respect,” said the Aligarh writer.
