[12][13][14] Since the 2010s, LGBTQ people in India have increasingly gained tolerance and acceptance in society,[15] with a 2023 Pew Research Center poll finding that 53% of Indians supported the legalisation of same-sex marriage, while 43% were opposed.

Likewise, the Kama Sutra describes lesbians (svairini, who engage in aggressive lovemaking with other women), bisexuals (referred to as kami or paksha), transgender and intersex people.

[citation needed] Ancient Hindu gurus often offered social guidance, but this was not usually adopted in general law and custom,[30] and often referred to conduct for the upper class of monks and priests, rather than for lay people.

[49][50] In 1884, a court in north India, ruling on the prosecution of a hijra, commented that a physical examination of the accused revealed she "had the marks of a habitual catamite" and commended the police's desire to "check these disgusting practices".

of NCT of Delhi of 2009 found Section 377 and other legal prohibitions against private, adult, consensual, and non-commercial same-sex conduct to be in direct violation of fundamental rights provided by the Indian Constitution.

Any discrimination on the basis of one's sexual orientation would entail a violation of the fundamental right of freedom of expression.The Supreme Court also directed the Government to take all measures to properly broadcast the fact that homosexuality is not a criminal offence, to create public awareness and eliminate the stigma members of the LGBTQ community face, and to give the police force periodic training to sensitise them about the issue.

[96] In April 2024, as per the direction of the Supreme Court in the Supriyo verdict, the Modi government established a six-person commission to evaluate and receive feedback on the needs of the LGBTQ community at the federal level.

[98][99] On August 28, 2024, India's Ministry of Finance issued an advisory declaring that persons from the LGBTQ community face no restrictions in opening joint bank accounts or nominating their partners as beneficiaries.

[123][124] On 19 December 2022, Sushil Modi, a prominent BJP lawmaker, told Parliament that "India is the country of 1.4 billion people and two judges cannot just sit in a room and decide on such a socially significant subject.

[125][126] On 14 March 2023, during the press conference at the end of Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha, RSS General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale backed the BJP-led Union Government's opposition to the extension of the right to marry for same-sex couples.

Several other Islamic organisations including Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, All India Muslim Personal Law Board, and Telangana Markazi Shia Ulema Council also voiced their opposition to legalizing same-sex marriage.

[134] During the hearings, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who's representing the government noted that five individuals should not decide for the entire nation and issues related to human relationships, such as marriage should be addressed by parliament.

[135][136][137][138] On 20 April 2023, a five-judge Constitution bench led by Chief Justice D. Y. Chandrachud hinted at their intention to legalize same-sex marriage, despite objections by the Indian government and religious groups.

[158] LGBTQ activists are encouraging people who have faced discrimination because of their sexual orientation or gender identity in other non-state areas to mount challenges in court, seeking to test the jurisprudence set by the two rulings.

[169] On 15 April 2014, the Supreme Court of India declared transgender people a socially and economically suppressed class entitled to reservations in education and jobs, and also directed union and state governments to frame welfare schemes for them.

Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thaawar Chand Gehlot stated on 11 June 2015 that the Union Government would introduce a new comprehensive bill for transgender rights in the Monsoon session of Parliament.

[190][191][192] On the eve of the 2024 Indian general election, the ruling party of the BJP expanded the coverage of the Ayushman Bharat scheme in order to cover all members of the LGBTQ community.

[207] In January 2018, the Kashmiri Finance Minister introduced a proposal to the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly that would grant transgender people free life and medical insurance, and a monthly sustenance pension for those aged 60+ and registered with the Social Welfare Department.

[208][209] The Government of Delhi announced its intention in May 2018 to establish a seven-member committee to review issues surrounding the transgender community, including concerns of sexual abuse, discrimination at work as well as other societal problems.

The Gujarat board provides various welfare programmes for employment and education, and coordinates with state departments to ensure that the transgender community is able to take advantage of government schemes.

The American College in Madurai also introduced Maraikappatta Pakkangal ("Hidden Pages") as a course book for "Genderqueer and Intersex Human Rights studies" as part of the curriculum for Tamil and English department students in 2018.

He clearly stated in the judgment that the responsibility to change, the burden of unlearning stigma, and learning about the lived experience of the LGBTQ people lies on the society and not the queer individuals.

[239] Till the legislature comes up with an enactment, the LGBTQIA+ community cannot be left in a vulnerable atmosphere where there is no guarantee for their protection and safety.On 7 June 2021, in delivering the verdict on this case, Justice N Anand Venkatesh prohibited Conversion Therapy.

Groups focused on LGBTQ women include ASQ (Bangalore), Labia (Mumbai), Sappho for Equality (Kolkata), Sahayathrika (Thrissur), Chennai Queer Cafe, among others.

Numerous foreign embassies (Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States) expressed support for LGBTQ rights in India, and reaffirmed their countries' commitment to promote human rights.

[172] On 22 April 2019, the Madras High Court issued a landmark judgment in which it upheld the marriage rights of transgender women,[190] and directed the state of Tamil Nadu to ban sex-selective surgeries on intersex infants.

[277][278] Track athlete Pinki Pramanik was accused by a female roommate of rape and later charged, gender tested and declared male, though she and other medical experts dispute these claims.

[280] In 2016, some sports clinicians stated: "One of the fundamental recommendations published almost 25 years ago ... that athletes born with a disorder of sex development and raised as females be allowed to compete as women remains appropriate".

[291] A Gallup poll in June 2023 found that 43% of Indians thought that their country was a good place to live for gay people, with a sharp decline compared to the previous year.

[294] According to Ipsos' LGBT+ Pride 2021 Global Survey, 53% of Indian respondents support laws banning discrimination against LGBTQ people when it comes to employment, access to education, housing and social services, etc.