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[[File:Homosexuality in Khajuraho sculpture.jpg|thumb|Erotic sculptures of two men (center) at the [[Khajuraho Group of Monuments|Khajuraho temples]].]]
[[File:Ardhanari Gangaikonda.jpg|thumb|[[Ardhanarishvara|Ardhanariswara]], the [[Androgyny|androgynous]] form of [[Shiva]] and [[Parvati]], from [[Gangaikonda Cholapuram|Gangaikondacholapuram]]]]
[[LGBT]] in [[India]] has been documented for different times. In recent times the unbanning of homosexuality and promotion of [[LGBT rights]] has caused large amount of researches and opinions regarding the LGBT in India.

==Ancient India==
Ancient Indian texts are relevant to modern [[LGBT]] causes. Religion has played a role in shaping Indian customs and traditions. While injunctions on homosexuality's morality are not explicitly mentioned in the religious texts central to [[Hinduism]], the largest [[religion in India]], Hinduism has taken various positions on the topic, ranging from containing homosexual characters and themes in its texts to being neutral or antagonistic towards it. The ancient Indian text [[Kamasutra]] written by [[Vātsyāyana]] dedicates a complete chapter on erotic [[homosexual]] behaviour.

===Arthashastra===
The [[Arthashastra]], a 2nd century BCE Indian treatise on statecraft, mentions a wide variety of sexual practices which, whether performed with a man or a woman, were sought to be punished with the lowest grade of fine. While homosexual intercourse was not sanctioned, it was treated as a very minor offence, and several kinds of heterosexual intercourse were punished more severely.<ref name="History1">{{harvnb|Vanita|Kidwai|2001|p=25}}</ref>

Sex between non-virgin women incurred a small fine, while homosexual intercourse between men could be made up for merely with a bath with one's clothes on, and a penance of "eating the five products of the cow and keeping a one-night fast" – the penance being a replacement of the traditional concept of homosexual intercourse resulting in a loss of caste.<ref name="History1"/>

==Medieval period==

Homosexuality and pederasty was rare in medieval society with [[Al-Biruni]] saying that it was greatly disapproved of. Under the Muslim rule, this grew more common with the sultans of the [[Delhi Sultanate]] themselves establishing relationships with men despite the prohibitions against it in [[Sharia]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vyEoAwAAQBAJ&q=delhi+sultanate+pederasty&pg=PT460|title=The Age of Wrath: A History of the Delhi Sultanate|first=Abraham|last=Eraly|date=Apr 1, 2015|publisher=Penguin UK|access-date=Aug 15, 2019|via=Google Books|isbn=9789351186588}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P2nprDLPRLwC&q=delhi+sultanate+same+sex+relations&pg=PT151|title=Same-Sex Love in India|first=Ruth|last=Vanita|date=Oct 20, 2008|publisher=Penguin Books Limited|access-date=Aug 15, 2019|via=Google Books|isbn=9788184759693}}</ref>

== Mughal Empire ==

The noble class of the Mughals engaged in both homosexuality and pederasty, the latter considered as "pure love" and prevalent among those from [[Central Asia]]. In India, however, this wasn't as rife. The governor of [[Burhanpur]] was murdered by a boy servant with whom he tried to be intimate with. [[Sher Afghan Khan|Ali Quli Khan]] was recorded to have homosexual relations with males.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/?id=76daSuNVMTcC&pg=PT146&dq=mughals+pederasty#v=onepage&q&f=false|title=The Mughal World|first=Abraham|last=Eraly|date=Jul 17, 2007|publisher=Penguin Books Limited|accessdate=Aug 15, 2019|via=Google Books|isbn=9788184753158}}</ref>

The biography of [[Sarmad Kashani]] published by caretakers of his shrine states that he had fallen for a Hindu boy named Abhai Chand whose father eventually relented and allowed them to be together.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P2nprDLPRLwC&q=abhai+chand+sarmad&pg=PT196|title=Same-Sex Love in India|first=Ruth|last=Vanita|date=Oct 20, 2008|publisher=Penguin Books Limited|access-date=Aug 15, 2019|via=Google Books|isbn=9788184759693}}</ref>

Urdu poetry of the late medieval era used the term "chapti" to refer to sex between people of same genders. "Amarad Parast" referred to those with preference for young males.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QatPAQAAQBAJ&q=mughals+poem+homosexuality&pg=PA145|title=The Crisis of Islamic Masculinities|first=Amanullah De|last=Sondy|date=Nov 7, 2013|publisher=A&C Black|access-date=Aug 15, 2019|via=Google Books|isbn=9781780936932}}</ref>

The Dutch traveler Johan Stavorinus reported about male homosexuality among Mughals living in [[Nawabs of Bengal and Murshidabad|Bengal]], "The sin of Sodom is not only universal in practice among them, but extends to a [[Zoophilia|bestial communication with brutes]], and in particular, sheep. Women even abandon themselves to the commission of unnatural crimes."<ref>[Johan Stavorinus, Voyages to the East Indies, G G. Robinson (London), 1798, pp. 455-56. Cited in Grcenberg, p. 180.]</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2pw-CgAAQBAJ&q=is+not+only+universal+in+practice+among+them%2C+but+extends+to+a+bestial+communication+with+brutes%2C+and+in+particular+with+sheep&pg=PA180|title=The Construction of Homosexuality|first=David F.|last=Greenberg|date=Oct 29, 2008|publisher=University of Chicago Press|access-date=Aug 15, 2019|via=Google Books|isbn=9780226219813}}</ref>

The [[Fatawa-e-Alamgiri]] of the [[Mughal Empire]] mandated a common set of punishments for homosexuality, which could include 50 lashes for a slave, 100 for a free infidel, or death by stoning for a Muslim.<ref>{{cite web|last=Baillier|first=Neil B. E.|date=1875|title=A digest of the Moohummudan law|url=https://archive.org/stream/digestmoohummud00bailgoog#page/n57/mode/2up|access-date=May 10, 2021|pages=1–3}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=How did the Mughals view homosexuality?|url=https://history.stackexchange.com/questions/42157/how-did-the-mughals-view-homosexuality|website=History Stack Exchange}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Khalid|first=Haroon|date=17 June 2016|title=From Bulleh Shah and Shah Hussain to Amir Khusro, same-sex references abound in Islamic poetry|url=https://scroll.in/article/810007/from-bulleh-shah-and-shah-hussain-to-amir-khusro-same-sex-references-abound-in-islamic-sufi-poetry|access-date=7 September 2018|work=Scroll.in|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Sarmad Kashani Tomb in Jami Masjid, New Delhi, India - Archive - Diarna.org|url=http://archive.diarna.org/site/detail/public/1931/|website=archive.diarna.org}}</ref><ref>{{citation|author=V. N. Datta|title=Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and Sarman|date=2012-11-27|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b7-bAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT32|isbn=9788129126627|quote=Walderman Hansen doubts whether sensual passions played any part in their love [sic]; puri doubts about their homosexual relationship}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=1 March 2016|title=Of Genizahs, Sufi Jewish Saints, and Forgotten Corners of History - UW Stroum Center for Jewish Studies|url=https://jewishstudies.washington.edu/global-judaism/sarmad-kashani-sufi-jewish/}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Kugle|first1=Scott A|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HJ1vpC_SeLcC&pg=PA309|title=Sufis and Saints' Bodies: Mysticism, Corporeality, and Sacred Power in Islam|date=1 Sep 2011|publisher=Univ of North Carolina Press|isbn=9780807872772|location=Chapter 4 - Note 62-63|page=309|access-date=20 September 2017}}</ref>

== British Colonial period (1858-1947 CE) ==
[[File:Two women embracing and using carrots as dildoes. Gouache Wellcome L0033073.jpg|thumb|Two women using carrots as dildos, 20th century [[gouache]] painting. ]]
The [[British Raj]] criminalized sexual activities "against the order of nature", including homosexual sexual activities, under [[Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code]], which entered into force in 1861. The [[Goa Inquisition]] prosecuted the capital crime of [[sodomy]] in [[Portuguese India]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.deccanherald.com/content/66330/xavier-aware-brutality-inquisition.html|title=Xavier was aware of the brutality of the Inquisition|date=27 April 2010|work=Deccan Herald|access-date=18 September 2017|publisher=Deccan Herald}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://indiafacts.org/the-portuguese-inquisition-in-goa-a-brief-history/|title=The Portuguese Inquisition in Goa: A brief history|last1=Sharma|first1=Jai|website=Indiafacts.org|access-date=18 September 2017}}</ref>

==Republic of India (c. 1947 CE - present)==
{{See also|Hijra (South Asia)|Kothi (gender)}}
In 1977 [[Shakuntala Devi]] published the first<ref>{{Cite journal | title=Globalizing queer? AIDS, homophobia and the politics of sexual identity in India | author=Subir K Kole | journal=Globalization and Health | doi=10.1186/1744-8603-3-8 | date=2007-07-11 | pmid=17623106 | volume=3 | pages=8 | pmc=2018684 }}: "The first academic book on Indian homosexuals appeared in 1977 (The World of Homosexuals) written by Shakuntala Devi, the mathematics wizkid who was internationally known as the human computer. This book treated homosexuality in a positive light and reviewed socio-cultural and legal situation of homosexuality in India and contrasted that with the then gay liberation movement in USA."</ref> study of homosexuality in India.<ref name="worldoh">{{Cite book | title=The World of Homosexuals | author=Shakuntala Devi | publisher=Vikas Publishing House | year=1977 | isbn=9780706904789 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PBwbAAAAYAAJ }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book | title=Homosexuality and Religion | author=Jeffrey S. Siker | publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group | year=2006 | isbn=9780313330889 | page=127 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PUqn33H-uDYC&q=%22The+World+of+Homosexuals%22&pg=PA127 }}: "In her 1977 book, mathematician Shakuntala Devi interviewed..."</ref> Whilst convictions under Section 377 were rare,{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}} with no convictions at all for homosexual intercourse in the twenty years to 2009,{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}} [[Human Rights Watch]] have said that the law was used to harass [[AIDS|HIV/AIDS]] prevention activists, as well as [[sex worker]]s, [[men who have sex with men]], and other LGBT groups.<ref>{{cite web |title=India: Repeal Colonial-Era Sodomy Law |url=http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/01/11/india12398.htm |publisher=[[Human Rights Watch]] |access-date=March 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080413042710/http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/01/11/india12398.htm |archive-date=April 13, 2008 |date=January 11, 2006 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The group documents arrests in [[Lucknow]] of four men in 2006 and another four{{Clarify|date=May 2010}} in 2001.

Homosexual intercourse was a criminal offence from the introduction of [[Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code]] in 1860 until the Delhi High Court's 2009 decision in ''[[Naz Foundation v. Govt. of NCT of Delhi]]''.<ref name="History">{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-25927595 |title=Where is it illegal to be gay? |access-date=11 February 2014 |work=BBC News |date=10 February 2014}}</ref> After the Delhi court's ruling was overturned in 2013, homosexual intercourse was re-criminalized until the Supreme Court of India's 2018 ruling in ''[[Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India]]''. This made it an offence for a person to voluntarily have "carnal intercourse against the order of nature."

===2009-2013===
[[File:Anjali gopalan.jpg|thumb|285x285px|Asia's first [[Genderqueer]] Pride Parade at [[Madurai]] with [[Anjali Gopalan]] (July 2012)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newindianexpress.com/education/edex/One-Who-Fights-For-an-Other/2015/04/13/article2756559.ece|title=One Who Fights For an Other|work=The New Indian Express}}</ref>]]
This law was struck down by the 2009 Delhi High Court decision ''[[Naz Foundation v. Govt. of NCT of Delhi]]'', which found Section 377 and other legal prohibitions against same-sex conduct to be in direct violation of fundamental rights provided by the Indian Constitution.

Decisions of a High Court on the constitutionality of law (i.e. judicial review) apply throughout India, and not just to the territory of the state over which the High Court in question has jurisdiction.<ref name="Kusum Ingots v 2004">''Kusum Ingots v. Union of India'', (2004) 6 SCC 254: "An order passed on a writ petition questioning the constitutionality of a Parliamentary Act, whether interim or final, keeping in view the provisions contained in Clause (2) of Article 226 of the Constitution of India, will have effect throughout the territory of India subject of course to the applicability of the Act."</ref> However, even after the pronouncement of verdict, there have been (rare) incidents of harassment of homosexual groups.<ref>{{cite news|author=Pervez Iqbal Siddiqui|url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-12-28/india/28251262_1_saharanpur-management-student-gay-party |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121106033901/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-12-28/india/28251262_1_saharanpur-management-student-gay-party |url-status=dead |archive-date=6 November 2012 |title=Crackdown on gay party in Saharanpur, 13 held |date=28 December 2010 |work=[[The Times of India]]|access-date=20 January 2011}}</ref>

On 16 February 2012, the [[Supreme Court of India|Supreme Court]], during a hearing of a bunch of appeals filed against decriminalisation of gay sex, observed that homosexuality should be seen in the context of changing society as many things which were earlier unacceptable have become acceptable with the passage of time.

The two-judge bench, composed of Justices G S Singhvi and S J Mukhopadhaya, opined that homosexuality should be seen in the light of changing times where phenomena of live-in relationship, single parents and artificial fertilisation have become normal. They had also pointed out that many things, which were considered immoral 20 years ago, have become acceptable to society now. The bench said that gay sex was not an offence prior to 1860 and referred to [[Khajuraho Group of Monuments|paintings and sculptures of Khajuraho]]. Senior Advocate Amrendra Sharan, who opposed the Delhi High Court order of decriminalising gay sex on behalf of the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights, had then submitted that social issues cannot be decided on the basis of sculptures. The apex court bench, however, observed that it is a reflection of society of that time and homosexuality should not be seen only in terms of sexual intercourse. Earlier, the Supreme Court bench had asked the anti-gay rights groups, challenging legalisation of gay sex to explain how such acts are against the order of nature as submitted by them. The apex court was hearing petitions filed by anti-gay rights activists and also by political, social and religious organisations which have opposed the Delhi High Court verdict decriminalising homosexual behaviour.

However, on 23 February 2012, the [[Ministry of Home Affairs (India)|Union Home Ministry]] of the [[United Progressive Alliance|UPA government]] replying to a Supreme Court observation, told the Supreme Court that it was opposed to the decriminalisation of gay sex. "This is highly immoral and against the social order," the Home Ministry told the apex court. It said that India's moral and social values were different from other countries, and therefore, the nation should not be guided by them.<ref>[https://archive.today/20120908234817/http://www.mumbaimirror.com/article/3/2012022320120223141327934d025428/Homosexuality-Govt-opposes-HC-verdict-in-apex-court.html]</ref> The Central Government reversed its stand on 28 February 2012, asserting that there was no error in decriminalising gay sex. This resulted in the SC pulling up the Centre for frequently changing its stand on the issue. ''Don't make a mockery of the system and don't waste the court's time,'' an apex court judge told the government.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/supreme-court-pulls-up-centre-for-flipflop-on-homosexuality/917743/?google_editors_picks=true|title=Supreme Court pulls up Centre for flip-flop on homosexuality - Indian Express|website=archive.indianexpress.com|access-date=Aug 15, 2019}}</ref>

Also in 2012, a guide titled 'Creating Inclusive Workplaces for LGBT Employees in India' was developed by IBM, Goldman Sachs, Google together with Community Business, a non-profit organization.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-10-09/india/34342194_1_lgbt-employees-lgbt-community-lgbt-issues | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130605121337/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-10-09/india/34342194_1_lgbt-employees-lgbt-community-lgbt-issues | url-status=dead | archive-date=2013-06-05 | work=[[The Times of India]] | title=Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender resource guide for employers}}</ref>

In December 2013, however, India's top court upheld the law that criminalises gay sex, in a ruling that reverses a landmark 2009 Delhi High Court order which had decriminalised homosexual acts. The court said it was up to parliament to legislate on the issue.

Indians have traditionally interpreted Section 377, a 153-year-old colonial-era law, as condemning a same-sex relationship as an "unnatural offence", and also considering it punishable by a 10-year jail term. Political, social and religious groups petitioned the Supreme Court to have the law reinstated in the wake of the 2009 court ruling.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-25329065 | work=BBC News | title=India top court reinstates gay sex ban | date=11 December 2013}}</ref><ref>The text of the law actually reads, "Unnatural offences.--Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal, shall be punished with 1*[imprisonment for life], or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine. Explanation.-Penetration is sufficient to constitute the carnal intercourse necessary to the offence described in this section. " See {{cite web |url=http://districtcourtallahabad.up.nic.in/articles/IPC.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2013-12-11 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140211040454/http://districtcourtallahabad.up.nic.in/articles/IPC.pdf |archive-date=2014-02-11 }}.</ref>

===2013-present===
The protests against the reinstitution of Section 377 took place across India, and resulted in political activism across political parties to declare their support for the law's repeal. By April 2014, the month of the upcoming [[2014 Indian general election|election]], at least three major political parties - the [[Aam Aadmi Party]], the [[Indian National Congress|Congress]] and the [[Communist Party of India (Marxist)]] - had included support for decriminalization of homosexual relations in their election manifestos,.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/manifestos-bring-hope-to-lesbians-gays-et-al-election-special-114032800670_1.html|title=Manifestos bring hope to lesbians, gays et al (Election Special)|date=Mar 28, 2014|access-date=Aug 15, 2019|via=Business Standard}}</ref>

In July 2014 first book on [[Genderqueer]] in Tamil and first Tamil book on LGBTQIA was from Srishti Madurai was released by BJP’s state general secretary, Vanathi Srinivasan, at the 6th Hindu spiritual service foundation’s sixth service fair, Chennai.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/madurai/Its-a-great-honour-to-be-awarded-for-book-on-gender-variants-Gopi-Shankar/articleshow/38769130.cms|title=It's a great honour to be awarded for book on gender variants: Gopi Shankar | Madurai News - Times of India|website=The Times of India|access-date=Aug 15, 2019}}</ref><ref>http://www.asianage.com/india/bjp-supports-tn-leader-book-lgbt-157<nowiki/>{{Dead link|date=July 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/news/india/BJP-leader-launches-LGBT-rights-book-in-TN/articleshow/38157614.cms|title=BJP leader launches LGBT rights book in TN|website=Mumbai Mirror|access-date=Aug 15, 2019}}</ref>

In June 2016, a dating platform called [[Amour Queer Dating]] was launched in India, for LGBTIQ people seeking long term companions.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://amourqueerdating.blogspot.in/|title=Amour - A dating platform for Queer|website=amourqueerdating.blogspot.in|access-date=Aug 15, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://scl.io/|title=GetSocial|website=scl.io|access-date=Aug 15, 2019}}</ref>
In May 2017 the first [[Bhopal Pride March]] was conducted, gathering the participation of around 200 members.

On 6 September 2018 the Supreme Court of India invalidated part of [[Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code|Section 377]] of the Indian Penal Code making homosexuality legal in India.<ref name="auto">{{Cite news|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/sc-delivers-historic-verdict-section-377-gone-being-gay-no-more-a-crime-in-india/articleshow/65696771.cms?from=mdr|title=Section 377: SC rewrites history, homosexual behaviour no longer a crime|last=Rautray|first=Samanwaya|date=6 September 2018|work=The Economic Times|access-date=6 September 2018}}</ref>
In striking down the colonial-era law that made gay sex punishable by up to 10 years in prison, one judge said the landmark decision would "pave the way for a better future."<ref>{{cite web|title=India's Supreme Court strikes down law that punished gay sex|url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/indias-top-court-decriminalizes-homosexual-acts-57639411|website=ABC News|access-date=6 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180906232222/https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/indias-top-court-decriminalizes-homosexual-acts-57639411|archive-date=6 September 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Timeline of South Asian and diasporic LGBT and queer history]]
* [[Kolkata Rainbow Pride Walk]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
{{LGBT in India}}
{{Asia topic|LGBT history in}}

[[Category:LGBT history in India| ]]
[[Category:LGBT culture in India]]
[[Category:LGBT in India]]
[[Category:Sexuality in India]]
[[Category:Social issues in India|Homosexuality In India]]

LGBT history in India - Revision history

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