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Indian minister calls homosexuality an 'unnatural' disease
Last reviewed: 30.06.2025
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In India, where homosexuality was only decriminalized in 2009, the oppression of sexual minorities continues. For example, the country's health minister has declared that homosexuality is an "unnatural" disease that is "spreading rapidly" in India.
"Despite the fact that homosexuality is unnatural, it exists in our country and is spreading rapidly, which makes it difficult to detect," the official said.
"Homosexual relations, which are more common in developed countries, have unfortunately come to our country too," Indian Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said at an AIDS conference in Delhi. "Despite the fact that (homosexuality) is unnatural, it exists in our country and is spreading rapidly, making it difficult to detect." "Attitudes are changing, men are now having sex with men. It is now easier to find female prostitutes and educate them, but it is problematic to detect men who have sex with other men," Ghulam Nabi Azad complained.
However, representatives of organizations advocating for the rights of sexual minorities condemned the minister's speech, calling his words inappropriate. And the UN special rapporteur on the right to health, Anand Grover, openly criticized the Indian official: "It is unfortunate, regrettable and completely inappropriate that a minister of his caliber... is insensitive to the concerns of vulnerable groups of people such as gays."
It is worth noting that it was only in 2009 that homosexual relations were no longer a criminal offence in India. A court overturned a colonial-era law that defined homosexual relations as a "crime against human nature". The ruling was widely welcomed by India's gay community, who hoped that discrimination in their country had ended.