RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat on LGBTQ+ Community: 'They Are Part of Our Society and Deserve Dignity'

ON JULY  26, 2026 , Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Chief Mohan Bhagwat said that the Indian society has long made space for the LGBTQ+ community. They are an integral part of society and deserve dignity and equal respect, these people deserve acceptance rather than exclusion. Bhagwat was addressing the audience at an event in Telangana, Hyderabad, where he highlighted that LGBTQ+ individuals should not be looked down upon or discriminated against.

Mohan Bhagwat said: “There is a place for them within the vast tapestry of social life.” He said that LGBTQ+ community is present worldwide and hence, it cannot be claimed that they were absent in India. 

RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat On Live-In Relationships And Gen Z

While addressing an event organized by Vishwa Mangalya Sabha on ‘Contemporary Motherhood,’ Mohan Bhagwat said "LGBTQ+ and all these communities exist. “Such tendencies are present in society. Some are innate, determined by nature itself. Some are acquired later due to mindset or physical inclinations.”

See also: “Hindustan Is a Hindu Nation,” Mohan Bhagwat Says India’s Hindu Identity Is a Civilisational Truth; No Constitutional Approval Needed

He also spoke about the traditions of the community and how Indian society “maintained a sympathetic attitude toward the LGBTQ+ community” and recognized them as an integral part of our society. He said Gen Z is emotional and imitative, often reacting to what appears to be genuine without a calm reflection. 

Mohan Bhagwat has expressed his opinion about homosexuality and the LGBTQ+ community earlier also. In January 2023, when giving an interview to RSS-linked magazine, Mohan Bhagwat said that "LGBTQ+ people and community should have their own private and social life and space as they are humans and have the right to live as others." He also cited Hindu mythology and scriptures that Indian civilization had accommodated such communities rather than excluding them.

See also: “What is Sangh?”: Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge Questions  RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat, Demands Official Registration and Tax Filing from RSS on Its Centenary

India decriminalized Same-Sex Relations in 2018

In 2018, India decriminalized same-sex marriage and relationships by striking down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The RSS welcomed the Supreme Court's refusal to grant legal recognition to same-sex marriage in 2023. RSS spokesperson Sunil Ambedkar said that "The Supreme Court's decision on same-sex marriage is worth welcoming. Our democratic parliamentary system can seriously discuss all the problems related to this and take required decisions.”

RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat said, "Be the change you want to see in society. Reduce your time limit on social media platforms. Follow mobile discipline for productivity. In our tradition, the government is second; society is first. The government should make this law or that law... we can do that at our home.”

"We tell our children about mobile discipline, but we are attached to mobile phones. So much so that a mother gives a mobile to a child if the child is crying," he further added.

(Proofread by Khushboo Singh)

Suggested reading: