LGBTQ+ Rights in India: Social Attitudes and Adapting in a New Era
India's LGBTQ+ community has won important legal recognition in recent years, yet social stigma, family expectations, and the fight for marriage equality…
อ่านภาษาไทย
Contents
When people think about inequality and the caste system that so starkly represents human inequality, many immediately picture countries where caste and social class visibly structure human society, such as India. And it is India itself that ranks near the top of the list of countries with the greatest inequality when it comes to sexual diversity and orientation.
Although the law criminalizing same-sex relationships was struck down in 2018, so that being gay is no longer an illegal act in India, people's attitudes do not seem to have changed much. Male same-sex couples in particular still face discrimination and bullying meant to strip away their dignity and humanity.
India: A Deeply Conservative Society
Back in 2008, Indian society was still deeply conservative. Saxena and Kotia, both still university students at the time, fell in love for the first time. The two kept their relationship secret for years out of fear of a conservative society that could harm them.
"We were quite afraid of the consequences," said Saxena, a public policy researcher at Oxford University. "We were more vulnerable and fragile than young couples just discovering themselves, and you know, something this harsh damages you in some aspects of who you are."
Over the past few years, as Indian society began to accept same-sex relationships more and much of the country's LGBTQ+ community started celebrating their identities openly, the two used that moment to share their feelings with their families and with a wider community understanding enough to embrace the full humanity of both of them.
LGBTQ+ India: Tensions Still Waiting to Boil Over
Today marks nearly 15 years that the two have been together, from their university days until now. Both are about to do something challenging that could change the course of Indian history: filing a petition with India's Supreme Court to make same-sex marriage legal. Three other gay couples have filed similar petitions, which the country's highest court will hear this March.
If it is legalized, India would become the second place in Asia, after Taiwan, to recognize same-sex marriage, a crucial right for the country's LGBTQ+ community. More than four years after the Supreme Court ruled that gay people could engage in same-sex relations, a favorable decision would make India the largest democracy in the world to grant this right to LGBTQ+ couples. But that would run counter to the position of the Hindu nationalist government, which opposes same-sex marriage.
"Our relationship has had no social definition for a long time, and we want it to be embraced in the same way as any other couple's relationship," Saxena said.
Legal rights for LGBTQ+ people in India have expanded significantly over the past decade, and most of these changes have come through interventions by the Supreme Court. In 2014, the Court legally recognized non-binary and transgender people as a "third gender," and three years later it defined a person's sexual orientation as an essential aspect of the right to privacy.
The historic 2018 ruling that overturned a colonial-era law punishing same-sex relations with up to 10 years in prison expanded constitutional rights for the gay community. The decision was seen as a major victory for gay rights, with one judge saying it "would pave the way for a better future."
The Law on Same-Sex Marriage
Despite this progress, the legal recognition of same-sex marriage faces opposition from the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In a court filing last year, the government stated that same-sex marriage would cause "complete devastation to the delicate balance of the country's personal laws." Sushil Modi, a legislator from Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party, told parliament in December that such marriages would "go against the cultural and ethical values of the country" and that the decision should not be left to "a few judges to decide." Even so, India's Supreme Court signaled that it might challenge the government's position.
In January, a collegium made up of the Chief Justice of India and two other judges said the government had opposed the nomination of a judge who is gay, partly because of his sexual orientation. India's central government did not respond to the allegation.
Gay Couples and LGBTQ+ Activists in India
There is an argument that by refusing to recognize same-sex marriage, the government is depriving same-sex couples of the equality guaranteed by the constitution and of the opportunity that heterosexual couples have to marry.
"Fundamentally, you have to be treated like every other citizen. It is not a special privilege being requested, but a right that every citizen has," said Ruth Vanita, a gender studies expert and author of "Love's Rite: Same-Sex Marriage in India and the West."
In India, marriage is governed by a set of laws tailored to the country's religious communities, along with a secular law for interfaith couples called the Special Marriage Act, all of which restrict marriage to a man and a woman.
Because same-sex marriage has no legal recognition, many couples say they face numerous obstacles. Indian law limits property ownership and inheritance to individuals, gay and lesbian couples are not permitted to have children through surrogacy in India, and LGBTQ+ people can apply to adopt only as single parents.
Many couples believe that legally recognizing same-sex marriage would not only be a significant step toward equality but would also lead more people to come out and strengthen their ties to the state.
"We want the state to recognize marriage as a family institution for same-sex couples … for acceptance at the level of society," said Kotia, an economics scholar at the London School of Economics.
Attitudes Toward Same-Sex Couples in India
Same-sex relationships have long been stigmatized in traditional Indian society, even as attitudes toward same-sex couples have shifted in recent years. India now has openly gay public figures, and some well-known Bollywood films have taken on gay themes. According to a Pew survey, acceptance of same-sex relationships in India rose 22 points to 37% between 2013 and 2019. Yet many same-sex couples still face harassment in numerous Indian communities, whether Hindu, Muslim, or Christian.
In December, India's LGBTQ+ community received support from an unexpected quarter. The head of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the Hindu nationalist group that is the ideological parent of Modi's party, said LGBTQ+ people are "part of Indian society" and that Indian civilization has traditionally accepted the community. The remarks by Mohan Bhagwat, which could pressure the government to reassess its stance, mark a departure from the group's long-held views on same-sex relationships, which have a complicated history in India, even though some of Hinduism's oldest texts acknowledge same-sex couples.
"In the West, until the 19th century, people were executed for having same-sex relationships, or else imprisoned. India, as far as we know, has no such history. We have often written about this (same-sex love), talked about it, and discussed it," Vanita said.
Read other related articles
Without a legal right to marry, many LGBTQ+ couples still hold commitment ceremonies, especially in large cities. Such unions carry no legal weight under Indian law, but that does not stop couples from marrying in the Indian tradition.
Saxena and Kotia say they are making similar plans. If the court rules in their favor, "I think we want a big wedding. Our relatives and family and friends want an even bigger wedding," Saxena said.
Reference: NBC News
Verified references
Links and relevance to the article’s main topic were reviewed on 13 August 2026. Each source supports only the scope stated in the original document and does not replace personalised medical, legal, or service advice.
- Supreme Court of India: Same-sex marriage judgment Accessed 13 August 2026
- OHCHR: LGBT rights fact sheet Accessed 13 August 2026
