RSS chief Bhagwat speaks in support of LGBTQ community
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) head Mohan Bhagwat spoke in support of the LGBTQ community, stating that they are humans and have the right to live like others. He also said that different sexual preferences were biological, and the issue was not new to Hindu society or Indians. Furthermore, he claimed that western societies are now converging around the Hindu viewpoint on gender discourse.
Why does this story matter?
Bhagwat's comments come just a few days after the Supreme Court transferred all petitions pending before different high courts regarding the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to itself on Friday. A bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and PS Narasimha and Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud instructed the central government to reply to the petitions by February 15.
Hindu society doesn't see LGBTQ community as an issue: Bhagwat
During an interview with the RSS English mouthpiece Organiser, Bhagwat said the Hindu society does not see transgender people as an issue and claimed that LGBTQ community should have their own social and private space. The RSS chief also added that the new-found aggression among Hindus is because they have awoken to the reality that they have been at war for over a millennium.
We want them to have their own private space: Bhagwat
"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 feel that they, too, are a part of society," he said. "We will have to promote this view because all other ways of resolving it will be futile," the RSS chief added.
Bhagwat speaks on women's participation in RSS
On women's participation in RSS, Bhagwat claimed that the Sangh already had its women's wing in Sevika Samiti form. "There are some places where school and college-going girls also attend Shakhas. Today, we do not tell them 'This is not for you.' We encourage them to form separate groups and observe a minimal distance during Prarthana. Or recite the Samiti Prarthana," he said.
SC's landmark judgment on Section 377
Demands for the lawful recognition of same-sex marriages gained momentum after the Supreme Court decriminalized homosexuality in a landmark judgment. In 2018, the country's apex court declared the 156-year-old "tyranny" of Section 377 as "indefensible, irrational, and manifestly arbitrary" while knocking it down.
