RSS says homosexual marriages against nature amid SC verdict

The RSS Thursday reacted cautiously to the Supreme Court verdict that homosexuality is not a crime, saying it agrees with the judgment but stressed its opposition to same-sex marriage, a view shared by the government which made it clear that it will challenge any move to legalize such marriages.

A senior government functionary spoke off the record on the issue due to its sensitivity, more so as conservative Hindus are seen to be strong supporters of the ruling BJP.

He said decriminalizing sex between two consenting adults of the same gender is alright but the government would oppose any demand to legalize marriages between them.

Asked whether the verdict would give way to demand to accord legal sanction to gay marriages, he said the country is "deeply divided" on the issue and there is a lot of debate on this across the globe.

Even in the US, he said, same-sex marriage is not legally barring a few states.

The Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh echoed the government's view.

"Like the Supreme Court's verdict, we also do not consider this (homosexuality) as a crime," Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) 'prachar pramukh' Arun Kumar said in a statement. 'Prachar pramukh' is the designated spokesperson of the Sangh.

However, he maintained the Sangh's old stand and said gay marriage and such relationships were not "compatible with nature". "These relationships are not natural, so we do not support this kind of relationship."

He claimed that Indian society "traditionally does not recognize" such relations. Humans usually learn from experiences, so this topic needs to be discussed and handled at the social and psychological level, Kumar added.

A constitutional bench of the Supreme Court in a landmark judgment Thursday unanimously decriminalized part of Section 377, which had made sexual relations between people of same-sex an offense.

The RSS has traditionally been opposed to homosexuality, terming it "unnatural", but its view on the contentious issue has evolved of late with senior functionaries like Dattatreya Hosabale, a joint general secretary, speaking in favor of decriminalizing such relations.

In 2016 he had triggered a debate, saying one's sexual preference cannot be a crime.

The government functionary noted that they had left to the apex court to take a call on the issue.

Bharatiya Janata Party leaders maintained that they respect the Supreme Court judgment but did not speak on the record.

However, its Rajya Sabha member Subramanian Swamy claimed that homosexuality is a genetic flaw.

Swamy said,"It does not hamper your position in the society -- politically, socially and economically. And the relation between the partners of the same sex should not be criminalized, it is being done in private.".