RSS backs govt stand on same-sex marriage, says ‘in Hindu philosophy, marriage a sanskar’

“The rituals say you are marrying to make social life better. So those who enter grihastha ashram are there to fulfill this ideal. It is not just for physical enjoyment,” says RSS gen secy.

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale with RSS leader Sunil Ambekar addresses a press conference on last day of RSS's 'Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha', in New Delhi. (PTI)

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The RSS Tuesday put its weight behind the stand taken by the Centre on marriage rights for LGBTQ community, saying marriages can only take place between opposite genders.

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“I have said this before on record: You can live with anyone you like, but in the Hindu philosophy of life, marriage is a sanskar. It is not an instrument of only enjoyment. Neither is it a contract. The sanskar of marriage means two individuals getting married and living together, but not just for themselves. They also start a family,” RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale said during a media interaction on the final day of the three-day meeting of the organisation’s apex body, Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha, in Samalkha, Haryana.

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He said marriage was “in the interest of their (the couple’s) native place and the society at large”. “So in Hindu traditions, the ritual mantras say you are coming together to make social life better. So those who enter the grihastha ashram (the institution of marriage) are there to fulfill this ideal. It is not for personal, physical and sexual enjoyment. The institution may require some reform, but marriage will always happen between a man and woman.”

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Hosabale was responding to questions on the Modi government’s affidavit before the Supreme Court on petitions seeking legal recognition for same-sex marriage. On Monday, the Supreme Court referred the matter to a five-judge Constitution Bench, saying the matter raises questions of “seminal importance”.

The government’s affidavit said the matter should be left to Parliament, adding that a “legislative understanding of marriage in the Indian statutory and personal law regime” refers only to marriage between biological men and women and that any interference “would cause complete havoc”.

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The RSS has modified its stand towards same-sex relationships in recent times. In January this year, in an interview to RSS-affiliated Organiser, Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat said the community should get their rightful space in society.

“These people also have a right to live. Without much hullabaloo, we have found a way, with a humane approach, to provide them social acceptance, bearing in mind they are also human beings having an inalienable right to live. We have a transgender community; we did not see it as a problem. They have a sect and their own deities… During Kumbh, they are accorded a special place. They are part of our everyday life,” Bhagwat said.

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“It’s not that these people have never existed in our country. People with such proclivities have always been there; for as long as humans have existed. Since I am a doctor of animals, I know that such traits are found in animals too. This is biological, a mode of life,” Bhagwat said.

In 2016, Hosabale had supported decriminalisation of homosexuality and the acceptance of the LGBTQ community in society, but expressed reservations about granting marital rights to them.