No Honour for the Homosexuals: Exploring Honour Killing against the LGBTQ Community in India

Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code 1860, which criminalised homosexuality, was struck down by the Supreme Court of India in 2018, which opened up new relationship possibilities for those who had been forced prior to hide their sexual orientation. However, the deep rooted hatred and prejudice against the LGBTQ community within the society, prevented many from being true to themselves even after their rights were recognised. Amidst this social evolution, there were a few brave souls who decided to embrace their sexuality and unfortunately faced backlash not just from the public but also from their own families. In fact, in 2019, just a few months after the landmark judgment, a Kolkata based gay couple were forced to leave home as they were threatened of honour killing by their relatives and neighbours. Interestingly, most of the definitions of honour killing refers to killing of a woman who has brought shame to the family by the family members, making it seem like only a gender based crime although it is shown to affect different sexualities too. It is pertinent to note that horrors of honour killing are not a novel concept in India where religion, caste and patriarchal ideas have deep roots, but this bizarre method of socially accepted punishment have started to extend its claws towards ideas of sexuality and gender identity. This paper thus concentrates on the concept of honour killing as against the LGBTQ community in India in the historic and present perspective and tries to formulate a suitable solution for addressing this emerging social issue.