LGBT rights in British India

See also: LGBT rights in Pakistan, LGBT rights in Republic of India, and LGBT rights in Bangladesh

Defunct British India LGBT flag of Rights.

The Battle of Plassey led to the end of Muslim rule in Bengal. The British East India Company sat in the governance until the Indian Rebellion of 1857, after which Queen Victoria took responsibility of India and established the British Raj. In 1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay officially criminalized Homosexuality by enacting Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, modeled after Buggery Act 1533 of England. The law stated that:

Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal, shall be punished with transportation for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to a fine.

— Thakore, Dhirajlal Keshavlal, The Indian Penal Code, Section 377. Of Unnatural Offences.

Comments clarifying this section listed sodomy and the "carnal knowledge committed against nature by man with man" as a punishable offence.

Bengali Renaissance occurred in 19th century and early part of the 20th century, though it was limited only between Bengali Hindus of West Bengal; homosexuality was never mentioned positively by anyone in this period, no one tried talk on behalf of homosexuality, though female homosexuality never come under punishment according to the British law. Some Hindu writers e.g. Ishwar Chandra Gupta and Jagadish Gupta wrote on behalf of lesbianism.

Bibliography

• Ruth, Vanita (2008), Same-Sex Love in India: Readings from Literature and History, Penguin Books India Limited, ISBN 9788184759693
• Murray, Stephen O; Roscoe, Will (1997). Islamic Homosexualities: Culture, History, and Literature. New York University Press. ISBN 978-0-8147-7468-7. Search this book on
• Lewis, David (2011). Bangladesh: Politics, Economy and Civil Society. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521886123. Search this book on
• Copf, David (2012). "Bengal Renaissance". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. Search this book on
• Sengupta, Nitish (2011). Land of Two Rivers: A History of Bengal from the Mahabharata to Mujib. Penguin Books India. ISBN 9780143416784. Search this book on
• Sen, Sukumar (1997). Bangala Sahityer Itihas, Vol.I, (in Bengali), Kolkata: Ananda Publishers. Ānanda Pābaliśārs. ISBN 81-7066-966-9. Search this book on
• Allchin, Bridget; F. Raymond, Allchin (1982). The rise of civilization in India and Pakistan. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-24244-8. Search this book on
• Zbavitel, Dušan (1976). Bengali Literature: A History of Indian Literature. West Germany: Harrassowitz Verlag. ISBN 978-3447016735. Search this book on

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