Revision summary
LGBTQ refers to sexual and gender minorities beyond compulsory heterosexual kinship. Navtej ended the criminal stigma of 377 for consenting adults. Marriage equality was not granted as a judicial right in 2023. Without marriage, partners lack many family-law protections. Resistance is tied to caste endogamy and Seed-and-Earth kinship.
Model answer
Copper italics in this answer — like this — are the key facts. Each one is unpacked in the Facts & figures rail.
Introduction
LGBTQ names lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people whose gender or desire does not fit compulsory heterosexual kinship. Marriage rights in India remain the sharp edge of that exclusion.
Body
Understanding LGBTQ
- It is a political and social identity cluster, not a disease category. Navtej Singh Johar (2018) read down Section 377 and affirmed constitutional privacy and dignity.
- Transgender persons have a statutory identity path, still entangled with family honour and police practice.
- Leela Dube’s Seed and Earth family assumes a male seed and a female field; LGBTQ lives refuse that reproductive script.
Marriage rights
- Same-sex marriage is still not a statutory civil status. The 2023 Supreme Court majority in the marriage-equality petitions left the matter to the legislature.
- Without marriage, partners lack automatic inheritance, adoption, insurance, and hospital authority that the patriarchal family grants a husband-wife pair.
- Chosen families and contracts try to patch the gap. They do not equal the Hindu and Special Marriage architecture.
- Social issues remain: violence, workplace POSH gaps for gender-diverse persons, and caste-class differences inside the rainbow.
Sociological stake
- Marriage is how Indian society reproduces jati. Opening it threatens endogamy as Ghurye described it, which is why resistance is fierce.
Flow diagram
flowchart TD L[LGBTQ identities] --> D[Dignity Navtej] L --> M[Marriage still denied] M --> G[Gaps in inheritance care parenthood]
Conclusion
LGBTQ names lives outside compulsory heterosexual kinship. Decriminalisation was a dignity win. Marriage rights remain incomplete, so citizenship in the family is still graded.
Quick related
Students also ask
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Elaborate urbanism as a way of life in India
Next question on this syllabus topic (2019 · Q5(c)). View answer →
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Is live-in enough?
Courts have given some protection. It is not the full bundle of marital status.
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Do all LGBTQ people want marriage?
No. Those who do still lack equal civil access.
Same topic · past papers
UPSC has asked this before
These previous-year questions sit on the same topic. Open one to practise the earlier ask.
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2020 · Q1(d) · Sociology GS 2 · 10 marks
Explain the definitional problems concerning the tribal communities in India.
More from this topic
Q5(e) · UPSC Mains 2026 · Sociology GS 2 · 10 marks · Solution
Bring out the debates of 'insiders' and 'outsiders' approaches in understanding Indian society.
Perspectives on the study of Indian society
• The insider (emic) approach studies Indian society using native categories, sacred texts, and cultural immersion, championed by G.S. Ghurye and D.P. Mukerji. • Critics argue the insider view suffers from upper-caste bias and ignores ground realities in favor of normative texts. • The outsider (etic) approach applies universal models and comparative frameworks, famously used by Western scholars like Louis Dumont. • Critics dismiss the outsider view as orientalist reductionism that imposes Western concepts and misinterprets local idioms. • Modern Indian sociology bridges this binary through a reflexive methodology combining cultural familiarity with analytical rigor. • Ultimately, combining native insights with objective scrutiny is essential to capture India's complex social dynamics.
Q5(a) · UPSC Mains 2026 · Sociology GS 2 · 10 marks · Solution
Discuss the challenges faced by the aged people in receiving 'elder care'.
Perspectives on the study of Indian society
• India's aging population faces severe elder care challenges due to the breakdown of traditional joint families and youth out-migration. • Over 80% of seniors lack formal pensions because they worked in the informal sector, worsening financial vulnerability. • High out-of-pocket medical costs for chronic illnesses quickly drain meager personal savings. • Public hospitals suffer from an acute shortage of geriatric specialists, dedicated wards, and rehabilitation facilities. • Implementation of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 remains weak, leaving legal tribunals overburdened. • Solutions require shifting from a welfare approach to a rights-based framework, combining community care networks with strict legal enforcement under Article 41.
Q4(c) · UPSC Mains 2026 · Sociology GS 2 · 10 marks · Solution
Compare G. S. Ghurye's and A. R. Desai's approaches used in understanding Indian society
Perspectives on the study of Indian society
• **Ghurye’s Indological Approach:** Relied on sacred texts and classical literature to study Indian society through civilizational continuity. • **Core Themes in Ghurye:** Focused on caste, kin, and how Hinduism historically integrated diverse tribal and regional groups. • **Desai’s Materialist Approach:** Rejected textual idealism in favor of Marxist political economy to study social structures. • **Economic Formations:** Analyzed Indian society through successive modes of production—ancient, feudal, and colonial capitalist. • **Caste vs. Class:** Viewed caste and religion as superstructural elements that mask underlying economic exploitation. • **Critique of State and Nationalism:** Argued that the nationalist movement was bourgeois, leaving agrarian inequalities intact post-independence. • **Key Contrast:** Ghurye highlights cultural tradition and integration, while Desai emphasizes economic power and class conflict.