LGBTQ+ people are part of society, says RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat; warns against live relationships | Today’s news
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday said that LGBTQ+ are a part of Indian society and they should not be ostracized.
“LGBTQ+ and all these communities exist. Such tendencies are present in society. Some are innate, determined by nature itself. They were just born that way. Some are acquired later because of mindset or physical propensities,” Bhagwat said at an event on ‘modern motherhood’ organized by Vishwa Mangalya Sabha in Hyderabad on Sunday.
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“Our tradition recognizes their existence. They are also human beings and have a right to life. They are not excluded from society, there is a place for them in the vast tapestry of social life,” he said.
This is not the first time Bhagwat has spoken out about the LGBTQ+ community. In a January 2023 interview, he stated that LGBTQ+ people “should have their own private and social space because they are human and have the right to live like others”. Citing Hindu scriptures and mythology, he argued that Indian civilization historically accommodated such communities rather than socially excluding them.
India decriminalized same-sex relationships in 2018
India decriminalized consensual same-sex relationships in 2018 by repealing Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. However, same-sex marriage and several other rights sought by LGBTQ+ groups remain legally unrecognized.
Bhagwat also said at the same event that marriage is a discipline that inculcates dharma, while the reality of living relationships can be seen all over the world. He said Gen Z is imitative, emotional and doesn’t think with a calm mind, and what they feel like real attractions.
“Marriage is a discipline that instills dharma. Its alternative is a living relationship. Modernity. What are its consequences? We don’t want responsibility, but happiness. Stay together when you want and break up when you don’t. No responsibility. What grows with it? What grows, look around the world,” he said.
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However, he said that modernity is also needed and changing with the times is also the rule in the country’s traditions. In an apparent reference to live-in relationships, he said it is a degradation and blind imitation of Western culture, while modernity is welcomed.
Bhagwat favored the observance of cell phone discipline by parents and emphasized the importance of conversation among family members to answer the questions of the new generation children and solve various family-related problems.
Responding to parents’ concerns about the new generation’s lifestyle, including excessive use of mobile phones, he said the elders must embody what they want to see in the new generation.
Be the change you want to see in society: Bhagwat
“Be the change you want to see in society. Reduce your time on social media. Maintain mobile discipline. We look at government. In our tradition, government comes second; society comes first. (We say) government should make this or that law… we can do it at home,” he said.
“We tell children about mobile discipline, but we are attached to mobiles. So much so that a mother gives the mobile to the child when the child cries,” said Bhagwat.
Marriage is a discipline that inculcates dharma. Its alternative is a live-in relationship. What will grow with it?
He also said that the British government had made the country believe that everything ancient was worthless. Western countries are facing problems due to incomplete vision of various problems which we have also adopted, he said.
