Gay India Latest News A Taboo Subject

The gay rights movement in India may be given a boost if the National AIDS Control Organization continues to successfully lobby the government.
The group, the principal governing body for HIV/AIDS, established under the Ministry of Health and Welfare, has called for homosexuality to be legalized.

The National AIDS Control Organization filed an affidavit in Delhi High Court supporting the call to scrap Section 377 of Indian Penal Code, which declares homosexuality an offense. The law prohibits "carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal."



Despite having an ancient history, homosexuality is still considered a taboo subject by both society and the government. India's anti-gay laws are courtesy of British imperialism, harking back to 1860.


In evidence before the Delhi high court, NACO said that more than 8 percent of gay men in India were infected with HIV, compared to fewer than 1 percent of the general population. The Supreme Court sent the case back to the Delhi high court.

Figures released by the United Nations in May estimated that about 5.7 million Indians lived with AIDS

None of the major Indian political parties has endorsed gay rights in its campaign. The minor political parties choose to either ignore the issue or view homosexuality as a Western decadence.