44% Believe RSS’ Findings Would Exacerbate LGBTQ Communities’ Condition in India

In a recent development, an affiliate of India’s right-wing RSS party stigmatized homosexuality as a “psychological disorder.” The statement was made by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the RSS.

The ABVP’s statement has been met with widespread criticism from LGBTQ+ rights activists and society. They have called the statement “hateful” and “discriminatory.”

The RSS is a Hindu nationalist organization that has been accused of promoting Hindutva, a form of Hindu extremism. The RSS has also been accused of being involved in violence against Muslims and other minority groups.

The ABVP’s statement is a reminder of the challenges that LGBTQ+ people face in India. Despite the decriminalization of same-sex marriage in India in 2018, LGBTQ+ people continue to face discrimination and violence.

Hence, Real Research, an online survey app, launched a public opinion on affiliate of India’s right-wing RSS party calling homosexuality a ‘disorder’ to gauge public opinion on the LGBTQ rights movement in India.

Highlights:

• 36.31% somewhat agree with the survey findings on the RSS Party calling homosexuality a “disorder.”
• More than half of respondents (52.56%) claim RSS’ survey data is extremely significant.
• 28.82% believe RSS’ findings would somewhat likely impact the Indian LGBTQ community.

First, we asked survey participants if they were aware of the RSS party’s assertion that homosexuality is a “psychological disorder” and that legalizing same-sex unions may worsen social disorder rather than help it.

According to the findings, 36.27% of respondents were aware, 31.08% were only dimly aware, and 32.65% were not.

We then polled the respondents to find out their opinions about the survey seeking opinions on the RSS Party calling homosexuality a “disorder.” 26.15% agreed entirely with the survey’s conclusions, whereas 36.31% agreed only partially.

In contrast, 6.99% of respondents absolutely disagreed with the results, while 30.55% disagreed only somewhat.

Respondents’ Opinions: How Significant Is the RSS Survey Data?

An RSS affiliate asserts that it interviewed more than 300 medical professionals nationwide and came to the conclusion that homosexuality is a “psychological disorder.” More than half (52.56%) of those who responded to our survey on the RSS Party calling homosexuality a “disorder” considered the findings extremely significant.

Furthermore, 8.96% said it was fairly insignificant, 4.74% said it was extremely insignificant, and 33.74% said it was rather significant.

Potential Impact on India’s LGBTQ Community

We questioned survey participants about their opinions on the findings’ potential effects on the LGBTQ community in India.

Results showed that 22.46% stated quite likely and 28.82% said it was fairly likely. While just 13.6% and 25.53%, respectively, believed it was highly unlikely. Meanwhile, 9.59% were still unsure.

The following survey poll seeking opinions on the RSS Party calling homosexuality a “disorder”, revealed the specific impacts. 44.09% said that it would exacerbate LGBTQ communities’ condition in the country, 31.28% said it would impact the upcoming policies for the LGBTQ community, and 7.65% said the findings would be met with public outcry and boost support for the community.

Furthermore, 2.86% said there would be no impact on the LGBTQ community or the policies and 6.81% of respondents remained unsure.

Moreover, when we asked the respondents whether the findings would impact Indian policymakers’ decisions regarding the LGBTQ community in the future, 37.9% said highly likely, and 36.07% said somewhat likely.

On the other hand, 12.64% said somewhat unlikely and 4.21% said highly unlikely. Meanwhile, 9.18% remained unsure.

According to sources, LGBTQ activists have condemned the survey conducted by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) women’s wing, the Bharatiya Mahila Morcha (BMM), where the RSS women’s wing claimed homosexuality as a disorder was “dangerously misleading.”

Lastly, based on our survey results on the RSS Party calling homosexuality a “disorder,” 37.25% somewhat agreed with the statement by the activists, 26.65% completely agreed, 25% somewhat disagreed, and 11.1% completely disagreed.