SOCIAL TRENDS 217

Journal of the Department of Sociology of North Bengal University

Vol. 5, 31 March 2018; ISSN: 2348-6538
UGC Approved

LGBT Movement in India

Hena Khatun
Research Scholar, Deptt. of Humanities and Social Sciences
IIT (1SM) Dhanbad
Abstract: Although sexual diversity was prominent in ancient India,
heterosexuality has become the norm of present times. People with different sexual
orientation other than heterosexuality are subjected to various forms of violence
and are made to live on the margin of society. This paper, which is based on
existing literatures and newspaper articles, aims at first to discuss the diverse
sexual past of Indian society and how with the advent of colonial rule,
heterosexuality became the dominant and only ‘accepted’ form of sexuality. It also
aims at discussing the trajectory of LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and Transgender)
movement in India and the role of various NGOs and other organization in it. At
last there are some suggestions regarding social acceptability of sexual diversity
which if comes along with legal safeguards, would create a better society.

Keywords: Sexuality, section 377 (Indian Penal Code-IPC), LGBT (Lesbian,

Gay, Bi-sexual and Transgender).

Introduction
LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) is the initialism generally
used to refer to the people with diverse sexual orientation and gender
identity. It is problematic to bring all diverse sexualities and gender identities
under one umbrella term and therefore many other abbreviations such as I
(Intersexes), Q (Queer) are being added day by day to the initialism LGBT.
Sexual diversity is the integral part of human history; there have always
been people with homosexual (sexual orientation towards same sex),
bisexual (sexual orientation towards both same and opposite sex) orientation
and diverse gender identity (transgender, cross-dresser etc). In ancient
India, there was positive attitude towards diverse sexuality and there is a
number of sculptures, scriptures available indicating to its diverse sexual
culture. It was home for various sexual diversities, as can be seen in various
examples from ancient Indian tradition such as Shiva, one of the three
main deities of Hinduism, is presented as half male and half female in one
of his popular avatars Ardhanariswara, Shikhandi in Mahabharata was a
218 Hena Khatun

eunuch or third gender. It is said in the Vedas and Kamasutra that there
are three types of human nature (Prakriti) i.e. Pums Prakriti (male nature),
Stri Prakriti (female nature) and Tritiya Prakriti (third nature). There
are examples like dual feminine deities in creation myth in Rig Veda, lesbian
sexual postures in temples of Khajuraho and Konark, Queerness in Vishnu
Sharma’s Panchatantra, Vatsyana’s Kamasutra etc. (Dasgupta 2011).
However due to some socio-cultural factors hetero-sexuality became the
norm of society and people who do not conform to this dominant social
norm are subjected to violence, avoidance and humiliation while they are
denied of their basic human rights. LGBT movement is a movement to
bring equal rights for those people who are subjected to discrimination on
the basis of their gender identity and sexual orientation.

Root cause of the movement

India had a tolerant attitude towards homosexuality and Same-sex love
existed in ancient India (Kidwai 2000). Unlike the countries in Europe and
North America, where homosexuality was strictly prohibited and
homosexuals were subjected to humiliation and exclusion until very recently,
the Indian society, on the other hand, was more relaxed with regard to
sexual norms and there are numerous examples of same sex activities in
ancient India. The only opposition came from the Hindu law book, ‘The
Laws of Manu’ which prescribed sexual activities within the procreative
heterosexual context. Homophobia entered into Indian society with the
British and when they came to India, the Laws of Manu was one of the
first texts they had referred. As a result, Laws of Manu became the ultimate
voice of authority by the British and sex became confined to heterosexual
monogamous marriages. This was legitimized in 1860 when the British
government brought in Section 377 of Indian Penal Code according to which
‘whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature
with any man, woman, or animal shall be punished with imprisonment for
life, or with imprisonment of either description for term which may extend
to ten years and shall also be liable to a fine’. It was rooted in the Judeo-
Christian religious morality that abhorred non-procreative sex. Based on
this, homosexuality became illegal in India which was also supported by
the nineteenth century social reformers and nationalists. In order to impress
the British, prominent nationalists left the erotic aspects (because it was
looked down upon by the British) of their tradition and homophobia became
intertwined with modern nationalism.
LGBT Movement in India 219

Therefore, homophobic and transphobic religious attitude combined with

inadequate legal protection against discrimination on grounds of sexual
orientation and gender identity exposed many lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender (LGBT) people of all ages to egregious violations of their human
rights. They are discriminated against in the labour market, in schools and
in hospitals, mistreated and disowned by their own families and singled out
for physical attack – beaten, sexually assaulted, tortured and killed.

Historicity of the movement

The discrimination against people with diverse sexual orientation and gender
identity has its roots in the lack of scientific understanding of sexuality.
Sexuality was primarily understood in terms of religion and there were
various myths associated with it. Before 19th century, there was little or no
formal study of homosexuality and the early efforts to understand the range
of human sexual behaviour came from European doctors and scientists,
including Sigmund Freud and Magnus Hirschfield. Two books on human
sexuality, namely,Sexual Behaviour in Human Male(1948) and Sexual
Behaviour in Human Female (1953) by Dr. Alfred Kinsey opened up the
path to a scientific understanding of human sexuality. For the first time
Kinsey report brings forth the notion that human sexuality is not static but
dynamic.After World War II, some attempts were made to create advocacy
groups supporting gay and lesbian relationships in the United States.The
primary organization acknowledging gay men as an oppressed cultural
minority was the Mattachine Society, founded in 1950 by Harry Hay and
Chuck Rowland. Other important homophile organizations on the West
Coast included One, Inc., founded in 1952, and the first lesbian support
network Daughters of Bilitis was founded in 1955 by Phyllis Lyon and Del
Martin.In 1965, the civil rights movement won new legislation outlawing
racial discrimination, and the first gay rights demonstrations took place in
Philadelphia and Washington, DC, led by long-time activists Frank Kameny
and Barbara Gittings. The turning point for gay liberation came on June 28,
1969, when patrons of the popular Stonewall Inn in New York’s Greenwich
Village fought back against ongoing police raids of their neighbourhood
bar. Stonewall is still considered a watershed moment of gay pride and has
been commemorated since 1970s with ‘pride marches’ held every June
across the United States. All these events had great impact on sexual rights
movements in other countries as well.
220 Hena Khatun

In India, the LGBT movement is still quite young, it has taken its first step
only in 1990s. However, the movement did not start overnight and it was
the result of several visible and invisible developments taking place over
the years at the global and national level. In 1988 two women, Leela Namdeo
and Urmila Srivastava from a rural background in Madhya Pradesh decided
to get married at a temple which was quite a bold step taken by them back
at that time. The role of ‘AIDS Bhedbhav Virodhi Andolan’ (AIDS-Anti-
Discrimination Movement) popularly known as ABVA is very important in
the gay rights protest in India. In 1991 ABVA came up with a report titled
Less Than Gay: A Citizens’ Report on the Status of Homosexuality in
India, which was the first document to publicly demand queer rights in
India. There were many developments, both at the micro and macro levels,
which facilitated LGBT rights movements in India. Prince Manvendra Singh
Gohil from Gujarat regal family openly announced that he is gay which
inspired other common people to ‘come out’ and openly talk about their
sexual orientation. Famous personalities like Amartya Sen, Vikram Seth
demanded repeal of section 377 of IPC. Various gay pride parades were
organized throughout the country and in 1999;the first gay pride parade
took place in Kolkata and subsequently it spread across the country. In
December 2001, an NGO fighting for gay rights, Naz Foundation, filed PIL
seeking legalization of gay sex among consenting adults which was dismissed
by the Delhi High Court in 2004.Since then a number of petitions were
filed by the gay rights activists but every time they were dismissed on the
ground that gay sex is ‘immoral’ and a reflection of a perverse mind and its
decriminalization would lead to moral degradation of society. In 2008 gay
‘pride parades’ held in five Indian cities i.e. Bangalore, Delhi, Indore, Kolkata
and Pondicherry. These pride parades got huge support from common people,
media, celebrities etc. One LGBT magazine Pink Pages and one gay
magazine Bombay Dost were published in 2009. In Madurai first LGBT
Queer Rainbow festival was held in 2012 with demand to eradicate social
discrimination faced by LGBT community and at the same time Kolkata
Rainbow Pride festival was held in Kolkata. After the struggle of many
years on July 9, 2009 Delhi High Court struck down Section 377 of IPC,
decriminalizing homosexuality, which was a victory in the history of struggle
against criminalization of homosexuality. But this did not last long as the
Indian Home Ministry opposed decriminalization of homosexuality, calling
it ‘immoral’ and in December 2013,the Supreme Court of India reversed
the Delhi High Court decision. Therefore, at present, homosexuality is a
criminal offence in India.
LGBT Movement in India 221

Organization, leadership and the goals of the movements

Various NGOs play an important role in spreading awareness about violence
against LGBT community.The Naz Foundation (India) Trust, Humsafar
Trust, and Udaan Trust are some of the organizations that are active in
spreading social awareness. Naz Foundation was established in 1994 and
it acted as the petitioner in the Delhi High Court case that found Section
377 of the Indian Penal Code unconstitutional. These NGOs do not confine
their activities to the national level but they organize many programmes for
LGBT rights awareness in collaboration with many international
organizations. Humsafar trust organized Project Bolo-an Indian LGBT Oral
history project which was funded by United Nations Development
Programme. The main purpose of these NGOs was to enlighten people
about homosexuality and also encourage people with diverse sexuality to
fight for their rights and also to deconstruct the notion that homosexuality
is ‘unnatural’ by organizing various seminars and discussions on the issue.
Major goals of LGBT Movement are:
1) To decriminalize section 377 of Indian Penal Code
2) To make people aware about homosexuality and dismantle the
misconceptions about it
3) To seek people’s attention towards LGBT issue and make them
sensitive towards it
4) To protect individuals from homophobic and transphobic violence
5) To prevent torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment
6) To prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender
identity
7) To safeguard the freedom of expression, association and peaceful
assembly of all LGBT people and their supporters
8) To make LGBT people aware of their rights and encourage them
to fight to achieve them.
222 Hena Khatun

Impact of the Movement

The LGBT movement, although young in India, has brought about some
important changes in the life of LGBT community, particularly in the life of
transgender people. In 1994, transgender community was given the ‘right
to vote’ and on November 12, 2009, election authorities granted independent
identity to transgender community in the voter list. Before this declaration,
members of this group had to mention themselves as male or female in the
electoral rolls but after this declaration they can now tick ‘O’ meaning
‘others’. On April 15, 2014, the supreme court of India has given a landmark
judgment about recognition of transgender or Hijra as a third gender following
which a transgender woman was appointed the mayor of Raigarh,
Chhattisgarh on 5th January 2015, the first of its kind in India. West Bengal
for the first time appointed its first transgender principal in college and
recently many movies are being made both nationally and internationally
based on homosexual themes. As a result, more and more people are now
expressing their feelings publicly; they are gaining confidence voice their
problems in the public. On the 3rdof February 2016, the Supreme Court of
India agreed to re-examine section 377 of Indian Penal Code while accepting
a petition. A five-judge Constitution Bench is hearing the petition.
Furthermore, on 10th January 2018, the Supreme Court has decided to
reconsider its decision of 2013, which criminalized the gay sex.

Conclusion
Despite having a rich tradition of sexual diversity, heterosexuality became
the norm in Indian society particularly since the inception of colonial rule.
As a result, people with sexual orientation other than heterosexuality began
to be considered as ‘criminals’ and were subjected to various forms of
violence and discrimination. Due to inadequate constitutional safeguards
these people could not seek for legal support and suffered both at the hand
of law and society at large; they confine themselves in the closet. However,
there are some positive developments taking place as various NGOs and
other organizations are playing important role in propagating awareness
about the issue and making people sensitive towards LGBT community.
This had a positive impact as some LGBT people have decided to break
the glass ceiling and come out of the closet to work with these NGOs in
order to establish their rights. A long history of fights for equal rights among
LGBT people has brought about some important changes but there is long
way to go. Although some legal steps have been taken to protect the rights
LGBT Movement in India 223

of transgender people the condition of homosexuals is still worse in this

country. Presently homosexuality is a crime under section 377 of IPC, and
the State and the society at large attach social stigma to it. This makes the
life of homosexual people very miserable and leaves no room other than
confining themselves to the margin of the society.

Recommendations
Here come a few recommendations, which, if implemented, would create
a society where everyone will be treated equally irrespective of caste,
class, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation etc.
• The government has the power to repeal laws criminalizing
homosexuality. Under the pressure of a small section of society which
considers homosexuality as sin, the government is not taking any strong
step to provide legal safeguards for the LGBT people. Therefore, we
are still bearing with a law which is more than 150 years old and the
paradox is that the State that had proposed the billreversed its stand in
the fear of public backlash. So, rather than only discussing the issues
from time to time, the government should take a very strong step to
decriminalize Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
• Apart from legal safeguard, the most important thing is social accep-
tance of the LGBT people. Peoples’ attitude towards LGBT community
should change, without which even legal safeguards cannot function
effectively.
• There is also need to bring some changes in the process we socialize
our children. From the beginning the concept of binary sex i.e. male
and female is imprinted in our mind. Children are taught in the same
line through various agents of socialization, such as school, family,
media, therefore they do not get an opportunity to have an alternative,
scientific view about varied gender identity and sexual diversity. So,
there is a need to bring important changes in the socialization process
and along with parents, teachers should play an important part in
educating young minds about sexuality in a healthy manner.
• Anotherimportant step can be taken by the medical science. Rather
than focusing only on reproduction with regard to human sexuality, it
should also focus on other and varied facets of human sexuality. This
would help in overthrowing the notion of homosexuality being a
224 Hena Khatun

‘disease’ and also will help in preventing various barbaric medical

practices for ‘curing’ homosexual.

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