Menaka Guruswamy, Mukesh Ambani among TIME’s list of 100 most influential people

New York: Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani and public-interest litigators Arundhati Katju and Menaka Guruswamy, who spearheaded a historic legal battle for LGBTQ rights in India, are among the Indians who have been named by TIME magazine in its prestigious list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

The Time 100 Most Influential People 2019 list was released on Wednesday, naming the world’s most influential pioneers, leaders, titans, artists and icons of the year. The list includes Indian-American comedian and TV host Hasan Minhaj, US President Donald Trump, Pope Francis, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, iconic golfer Tiger Woods and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Award-winning actor Priyanka Chopra wrote a profile for Ms Katju and Ms Guruswamy, the pioneering women who led from the front in the fight to ensure equal rights for the LGBTQ community in India and were among the lead lawyers representing gay petitioners to have the ban on consensual gay sex struck down in the country.

“Arundhati and Menaka have helped take a giant step for LGBTQ+ rights in the world’s largest democracy. In their committed fight for justice, they have shown us that we as a society must continue to make progress, even after laws are changed, and that we must make an effort to understand, accept and love,” Ms Chopra said.

The Supreme Court struck down Section 377 of the IPC in a unanimous vote in September 2018.  The outdated legacy of the British colonisation of India, Section 377 rendered all sexual activities “against the order of nature” punishable by the law.     

Time list also includes Michelle, Mueller
New York, April 17: Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani and public-interest litigators Arundhati Katju and Menaka Guruswamy, who spearheaded a historic legal battle for LGBTQ rights in India, are among the Indians who have been named by TIME magazine in its prestigious list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Ms Chopra said the “landmark judgment”, overturning a 157-year-old law, was the outcome of a long-term campaign orchestrated by two “amazing” public-interest litigators, Katju and Guruswamy.

Writing the TIME 100 profile for Mr Ambani, Anand Mahindra, chairman of business conglomerate the Mahindra Group, said Ambani’s father Dhirubhai was a visionary in Indian business, whose Reliance Industries conglomerate pioneered ways of targeting global scale.

The illustrious list also includes US Open winner Naomi Osaka, actor Mahershala Ali, Oscar-winning actor Rami Malek, former first lady Michelle Obama, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa, Oscar-winning singer and actor Lady Gaga, Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed, Special counsel Robert Mueller and Speaker Nancy Pelosi.