In Letter To SC, RSS Body Claims Same-Sex Marriage ‘Will Affect Minds Of Children’; Criticised

Backing the Centre’s stand on the ongoing debate surrounding marriage equality in India, an affiliate of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on Wednesday, in a letter to the Supreme Court, said that legalising same-sex marriage will defeat the very objective of the Hindu Marriage Act. 

"Legalising same-sex marriage is against our religious and cultural beliefs as marriage is a relation between a man and a woman and not of the same sex," said Shweta Sharma, the legal advisor to Samvardhini Nyas, an affiliate of the women’s wing of the RSS wrote in a jarring letter addressed to the Supreme Court's registrar.

The five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, was hearing arguments for the ninth day on a batch of pleas seeking legal sanction for same-sex marriage.

Claiming how such laws depicting liberal thoughts of other religions and Western countries are "overpowering" India and affecting the "nature of Hinduism", Sharma said that such a decision will shake the "cultural roots" of the Indian society and turn "everything upside down".

The letter sought to draw the apex court's attention towards the "devastating effects" of same-sex marriage if legalised, saying it will also impact the growth and personality of the children to be raised by such parents as well as affect youngsters.

"Legalising same-sex marriage will vanish the very meaning, motive or belief of the Hindu Marriage Act, clearly depicting how liberal thoughts of other religions or western countries are overpowering our country and affecting the nature of Hinduism," the letter read, adding that "bringing any such change or even accepting such relationships will shake the cultural roots of India and the Indian society."

The Centre told the apex court that it received responses from seven states on the issue of same-sex marriage and that the governments of Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Assam have opposed the petitioners' contention. 

Sharma argued that changing the traditional definition of marriage would go against the "fundamental principles of our beliefs and values".

She claimed that various international studies and articles have shown that the children "growing up in same-sex families have a higher probability of suffering from mental and psychological issues".

"Watching the parents accepting same-sex marriage will affect the mind of the children and they will not consider it as a taboo. In fact, they themselves will go for same-sex marriage, normalising it, and lose the difference and importance of opposite-sex marriage," claimed Sharma in the letter.

She also claimed that such children raised by same-sex parents will have a "limited exposure" to "traditional gender roles" which will impact their understanding of "gender roles and gender identity".

The Survey

The RSS women’s wing had earlier conducted a survey that many LGBTQ rights activists described as "dangerous and misleading", and accused the RSS body of "spreading disinformation".

According to the survey, several doctors and allied medical professionals believe that homosexuality is a "disorder" and instances of it will increase further in society if same-sex marriage is legalised.

"Such a study is dangerous and misleading for a society that is unaware. It goes against basic dignity and amounts to defamation. Who are these doctors covered by the survey? Their licences should be cancelled. Be it the Yoga Institute, which was founded in 1918, or the Indian Psychiatric Society -- both have maintained that homosexuality is legitimate and normal. It is natural, in-born and choiceless," said Sharif Rangnekar, author and advocate for equal rights, who also pointed out that Hinduism is replete with references to homosexuality.

Activist Harish Iyer said psychiatric bodies from across the world and India have maintained that homosexuality is not an "aberration, but a variation". It is beyond any reasonable doubt, he said.

"No religion that claims to be a protector of humanity can also support this labelling of LGBTQIA+ individuals as deviants. It is against the ethos of our nation and also against the very grain of the belief of every religion that is based on the principle of love and acceptance.

"If you believe that your god has created all of humankind, then god has made me too. And standing up against LGBTQIA+ individuals is akin to working against the intent of your god. God has made me this way," Iyer said.

Activist and Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Subhashini Ali has also slammed the survey by calling it "idiotic", "unscientific" and "inhuman".