In India’s past, queerness found space in art, literature, poetry, stories, sutras, and sacred texts. Homosexuality and gender diversity flourished openly in ancient and medieval India, visible in temple carvings and epics as well. Despite this rich history, why many remain unaware of it today is largely because of colonial laws that later criminalised LGBTQ lives and pushed them into silence.
For centuries, India’s landscape of sexuality and gender has been more diverse than many realise. Hinduism offers a rich collection of literary and artistic sources that reflect LGBTQ life in ancient India. Ancient texts, temple carvings, and oral traditions tell stories of love and desire beyond rigid binaries.
But it was disrupted by colonial rule, when Victorian morality was imposed through Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, criminalising same-sex intimacy. The legacy of that law persisted for over a century, shaping societal attitudes toward LGBTQ people in India until its repeal in 2018.
Before colonialism, the Indian subcontinent did not classify sexuality into rigid categories like “heterosexual” or “homosexual.” Instead, Ancient stories, traditions, and communities reflected fluid understandings of gender and desire. Even in Kama Sutra, an ancient Indian sanskrit text written by Vatsyayana around 3rd–4th century, it describes homosexual practices in various places as well as explains range of sex, gender and types.
LGBTQ was also recorded in Ancient Hindu texts like the Mahabharata and Ramayana which contain tales of gender transformation, same-sex unions, and non-binary figures, such as the story of Shikhandi, born female but living as a man, and the union of King Bhagiratha’s two mothers highlight ancient acceptance of queer lives.
Not only in ancient texts even Ancient temples also reflected LGBTQ themes through art. For instance, the Khajuraho temples in Madhya Pradesh, built between the 10th and 12th centuries, depict erotic sculptures celebrating intimacy in many forms, including same-sex relationships. These were not seen as “abnormal” but rather a natural part of human love.
There is also a rich history of LGBTQ in Indian Islamic Culture such as in Mughal artwork and poetry. They contained examples of celebrations of male homoeroticism. Even the first Mughal Emperor Babur, wrote in his autobiography Baburnama about his affection and desire for a male companion named Baburi. He wrote "Occasionally Baburi came to me, but I was so bashful that I could not look him in the face, much less converse freely with him. In my excitement and agitation I could not thank him for coming, much less complain of his leaving. Who could bear to demand the ceremonies of fealty?”
Since ancient times, a third gender has also been recognized in India. Communities such as hijras and kinnars held a distinct place in society, performing rituals at births and weddings to bless fertility and prosperity. Though often marginalised, they carried cultural visibility and spiritual significance.
This long and complex history demonstrates that queerness was not foreign to India but an integral part of its cultural fabric.
But this long tradition of openness took a dramatic turn with the arrival of the British. With them came Victorian moral codes that considered non-procreative sex sinful and criminal. They replaced earlier Mughal-era laws from the Fatawa 'Alamgiri with Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. In 1860, Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code was introduced, punishing “carnal intercourse against the order of nature.” Though it was vaguely worded, it became the legal weapon to target LGBTQ people for more than 150 years.
For the first time in India’s history, same-sex intimacy was categorically criminalised. The law pushed queerness into invisibility, forcing communities into silence, secrecy, and shame. Due to this harassment, stigma, and social exclusion deepened both under colonial rule and after Independence. Even when India gained independence in 1947, it inherited not only British institutions but also British morality embedded in law, including Section 377. As a result, many queer Indians were forced to live in fear of blackmail, police raids, and social ostracism.
Through films, literature, and protests, activists began raising their voices. In 1924, Pandey Bechan Sharma “Ugra” published Chocolate in the Calcutta biweekly Matvala, sparking controversy and leading to his imprisonment under sedition charges. Decades later, in 1971, India’s first gay-themed film Badnam Basti depicted a same-sex love triangle. The film was lost for decades but later rediscovered in 2019.
However, it was only in the 1990s that activists started openly challenging the law. In 1991, seven members of AIDS Bhedbhav Virodhi Andolan (ABVA) released Less Than Gay: A Citizen’s Report on the Status of Homosexuality in India. This was the first report to publicly acknowledge the existence and struggles of queer people in India, highlighting the discrimination they faced and demanding equal rights for the community.
In 1999, when demands for gay rights in political campaigns were ignored, activists proposed the Friendship Walk. India and South Asia’s first pride march which was held in Kolkata on July 2, it saw 15 participants wearing bright yellow T-shirts with the motto “Walk on the rainbow.” The march gained support from India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, inspiring future pride parades across the country.
Around 1992, when the HIV/AIDS crisis was at its peak. The AIDS Bhedbhav Virodhi Andolan (ABVA), or the AIDS Anti-discrimination movement was started to spread awareness about AIDS and protest against intolerant practices and discrimination of the Indian government against HIV positive patients. This marks the first public protest against anti-sodomy laws in India in August 1992. Even NGOs like Naz Foundation argued that criminalisation made it impossible to provide health services.
After decades of activism, the fight against Section 377 gained momentum in the 2000s. In 2001, the Naz Foundation filed a petition challenging the law. In 2009, the Delhi High Court decriminalised same-sex intimacy, but this ruling was overturned by the Supreme Court in 2013, re-criminalising homosexuality. This setback only strengthened the movement, with nationwide protests, petitions, and public support growing in the years that followed.
Finally, on September 6, 2018, the Supreme Court struck down Section 377, declaring that “history owes an apology” to LGBTQ people for centuries of injustice. This judgment restored dignity, privacy, and constitutional rights to millions. Yet, even after the fall of Section 377, the community continues to fight for full equality.
India’s LGBTQ history has moved from temples that once celebrated love in all forms to colonial laws that punished it. The journey of queer rights is not about asking for something new but about recognising an old truth that love, in all its form, has always belonged and been recognised since ancient times in India.
(Rh/SG/NS)
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