Homosexuality in India

Homosexuality in India has shown its presence in the traditional native philosophies of the nation, and legal rights continue to be advanced in mainstream politics and regional politics. Homosexual cohabitation is also legally permitted and comes with some legal protections and rights.

Various artworks and literary works attest to the presence of homosexuality in ancient India. There were no known strict legal restrictions against homosexuality up until Islamic rule and European colonialism. Some scholars believe that discrimination against homosexuality was largely imported through Islam and the Christian-derived morality during European colonialism, starting in the second millennium and ultimately culminating in the 17th century Fatawa 'Alamgiri of the Mughal Empire and the 17th century Indian Penal Code of the British Empire.

After a nine-year period of legal battles, a part of the Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code was eventually struck down by the Supreme Court of India on 7 September 2018, making homosexual sex legal again. However other parts of Section 377 were not struck down, and were the only parts of the penal code that could be used to prosecute homosexual rape of adults. With the replacement of the Indian Penal Code by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita in December 2023, there is no longer any language equivalent to Section 377, and as a result homosexual rape ceased to be illegal throughout India.

Estimates on the LGBTQ population vary, with the Government of India submitting a figure of "at least 2.5 million" in 2012 based on self-declaration, and with activists estimating a figure of around 125 million people. Ipsos released a survey conducted between 23 April and 7 May 2022 which showed that just under 30% identified with the LGBTQ community.

Homophobia is prevalent in India. Public discussion of homosexuality in India has been inhibited by the fact that sexuality in any form is rarely discussed openly. In recent years, however, attitudes towards homosexuality have shifted slightly. In particular, there have been more depictions and discussions of homosexuality in the Indian media and cinema. Before striking down the colonial-era law several organisations have expressed support for decriminalising homosexuality in India, and pushed for tolerance and social equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer people, and others with marginalised identities traditional to India. India is among countries with a social element of a third gender. Mental, physical, emotional and economic violence against the LGBTQ community in India remains a problem. Lacking support from family, society or police, many gay rape victims do not report the crimes.

According to Equaldex, India received a score of 60 out of 100 in LGBTQ rights, and ranked 5th among 44 Asian countries that were assessed.

Estimates on the LGBTQ population vary, with the conservative Government of India submitting a figure of "at least 2.5 million" in 2012, year when homosexuality was still illegal in india, based on self-declaration. However, gay rights activists and global estimates believe they number at least 10% of the population, or more than 135 million.

Multinational research firm Ipsos released report on LGBT+ Pride 2021 Global Survey conducted between 23 April and 7 May 2022. The survey was conducted as a 620 market survey conducted by Ipsos on its global advisor platform through interview on a small sample size of almost 50000 individuals in India. The report shows that 17% of the Indian population identify as non-heterosexual: 3% identify as gay or lesbian, 9% identify as bisexual, 1% identify as pansexual, and 2% identify as asexual (the remaining 2% as "other"). 69% identified as heterosexual (excluding 'do not know', and 'prefer not to answer').