Hyderabad, July 26, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday said members of the LGBTQ+ community should not be isolated from society, asserting that they are human beings with the right to live with dignity and have a rightful place in the social order.
Addressing a gathering in Hyderabad, Bhagwat said Indian traditions had historically acknowledged the existence of such communities and accommodated them within society without discrimination.
He observed that diverse sexual orientations and gender identities have always existed, with some being innate and others developing over time due to psychological or physical factors. According to him, such realities were neither unique to the modern era nor absent from Indian society.
Bhagwat said that traditional Indian society dealt with these issues with sensitivity rather than exclusion. While some individuals could overcome such tendencies and others could not, he maintained that all deserved respect and should not be looked down upon or pushed to the margins of society.
Referring to the Mahabharata, Bhagwat cited the example of Shikhandi, saying the character fought alongside great warriors, which, he argued, reflected the existence of social space for such individuals in ancient India. He also noted that members of these communities continue to have their own religious traditions, places of worship and spiritual leaders, including participation in events such as the Kumbh Mela.
The RSS chief further said Indian society gradually drifted away from its traditional values after the period of the Mahabharata and that repeated invasions disrupted social institutions. He claimed that colonial rule later fostered an inferiority complex among Indians, leading many to regard indigenous traditions as inferior while accepting Western ideas as superior.
Bhagwat also criticised what he described as an incomplete understanding adopted from Western societies. He said that India had embraced concepts that, in his view, had themselves created unresolved social challenges in the West, resulting in continued confusion over such issues.
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