Will RSS support to LGBTQ translate to govt backing for same-sex marriages?
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat has openly supported the LGBTQ+ community in an interview recently, saying they, too, should have their “private space”. His remark is significant because the government is about to respond to the Supreme Court regarding petitions on the legalisation of same-sex marriages.
In an interview with the RSS-affiliated weeklies Organiser and Panchjanya, Bhagwat said, “People with such proclivities have always been there, for as long as humans have existed… This is biological, a mode of life. We want them to have their private space and to feel that they, too, are a part of society. This is such a simple issue. We will have to promote this view because all other ways of resolving it will be futile,” he said, citing Hindu scriptures and mythology to justify his support.
Also read: Muslims must give up ‘rhetoric of supremacy’: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat
No mention of same-sex marriages
Bhagwat did not mention anything about same-sex marriages, though. But the debate around the topic is set to be renewed as the apex court has admitted petitions to recognise same-sex marriages in January. Four gay couples have pleaded in court that without legal recognition, they cannot have access to certain rights, including adoption. The hearing is set to resume in March.
The RSS-backed BJP government at the Centre has in the past refused to legalise same-sex marriage even though the Supreme Court decriminalised homosexuality in 2018. In September 2020, the Union government refused to recognize same-sex marriage, arguing before the Delhi High Court that our “law, society, values don’t recognise marriage between a same-sex couple.”
RSS kinder to rights, not marriage
Also, historically, the RSS has been kinder to homosexual and transgender rights, but refused to extend that support to their right to marry. In a book titled The RSS Roadmaps For The 21st Century released in 2019, RSS sah sarkarvyah Dattatreya Hosabale was quoted as saying: “I don’t think homosexuality should be considered a criminal offence as long as it doesn’t affect the lives of others in society. Sexual preferences are private and personal.”
Last week, the Supreme Court clubbed and transferred to itself all petitions regarding the legal recognition to same-sex marriages pending before different high courts across the country. A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala asked the Centre to file its joint reply to all the petitions on the issue by February 15 and directed that all the petitions will be listed in March.
Therefore, whether the Sangh’s — and the government’s — support is extended to same-sex marriages remains to be seen.
(With agency inputs)
