When we look at the romantic associations between two people in the society, and observe the laws, traditions and norms that allow and govern such relationships, we realize that nowadays heterosexual monogamous relationships are an individual’s main emotional outlet. What we fail to realize, however, is that the insistence on the heterosexual monogamous practices is fairly new and relatively recent. In the past, many societies would allow a person to have a primary emotional attachment to a friend that may or may not be of same sex, and still be considered a responsible spouse.
The Subcontinent is littered with examples of men falling for men and women loving other women. Much of this evidence comes from the literature and poetry of this region in which tales of men swooning at beauty of men and women being enamored by women are shared frequently. There is no evidence of men or women being persecuted in the former Indian Subcontinent for loving someone of their own sex. There is no historic evidence to prove that anyone was executed for being a homosexual in India of the pre-nineteenth century. Without a doubt these individuals had to face a lot of difficulties to gain respect and approval from society, but they did not have to face the outright condemnation like the gender non-conforming people of today.
There is a misconception that sodomy in India was an import and was introduced into the region by the Muslim invaders. All anyone has to do to discredit this line of thought is to look at the ways of lovemaking described in the Kamasutra, a text that predates Islam. When the Muslims came to this region they too were already familiar with the concept of same sex attachments. Sultan Mehmud Ghazni who is often credited as being one of the first Muslim rulers to conquer parts of India was famously in love with his slave Ayaz. This was the kind of society where marriage and procreation were part of an individual’s social duty that once fulfilled allowed a man freedom to seek emotional attachment elsewhere. In the literature of the Subcontinent instances of romantic attachments outside of marriage are widespread and considered legitimate. Historically, men of the Subcontinent have been known to keep concubines, frequent brothels, liaise with courtesans and form emotional attachments with other males without it ever being considered a threat to marriage.
The poetry of a number of early Urdu poets was homoerotic in its inclinations. A lot of these poets despite having openly confessed their feelings for members of the same sex were held by their contemporaries and successors in high esteem. It was only later that modern commentators ignored this aspect of the poetry in the Subcontinent and made attempts to heterosexualize the work of some major poets. One such poet is Mir Taqi Mir who is considered by many as one of the greatest Urdu poets to have ever lived. A major chunk of Mir’s poetry is addressed to men and he is often seen idolizing the beauty of young boys.
These pert smooth-faced boys of the city,
What cruelty they inflict on young men.
In another couplet he says,
If not him, there is his brother
Mir, are there any restrictions in love?
Another renowned mystic poet of the region Amir Khusro was even more vocal in expressing his love and desire for his beloved Nizamuddin.
Khusro has given himself to Nizam
You made me your bride when our eyes met
On another occasion, when describing the good looks of the youth of Delhi, he said;
Because of these pure Hindu boys.
Tied up in their locks,
Khusro is like a dog with a collar.
Then there is the tale of the great love between Shah Hussayn and Madho Lal who are now without fail always mentioned as a single person Madho Lal Hussayn. The two in their life managed to be together despite many obstacles. Madho was a Hindu youth from a Brahman family who at one point was ostracized by his family for associating with Hussayn and his friends. But the two never parted and his affair with Madho though not always appreciated or accepted, never jeopardized Hussayn’s standing as a Sufi mystic and saint in society.
O Madho! I have been greatly defamed!
After drinking last night from my cup of sorrows,
I have wandered from morning till evening.
What can I say that I had drunk of?
People say it was the forbidden wine!
In short, there is strong historical evidence from the Subcontinent to show that same sex relationships were not a foreign import. This should also help youth of today with homoerotic inclinations realize that people of this region were used to the presence of gender non-conforming people in their lives. The society was much more tolerant and accepting of homosexuals and in certain situations such associations were appreciated and celebrated. Without fully accepting diversity in society and encouraging each member to realize his/her full potential we cannot build a society which is more tolerant, better informed and less conflict ridden. Being emotionally, romantically or sexually inclined towards someone of your own sex should not be considered a psychological disorder as it does not stop anyone from being a successful member of the society.
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- http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/09/opinion/09douthat.html?hp&_r=0
- J.Matini, “Ayaz” in Ehsaan Yarshater, ed., Encyclopedia Iranica (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1989), 133–34
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostitution_in_India
- C. M. Naim, “The Theme of Homosexual (Pederastic) Love in Pre-Modern Urdu Poetry,”
- Z.A.Abbasi, ed., Kulliyat‑i Mir, vol. 1 , (12810)
- Z.A.Abbasi, ed., Kulliyat‑i Mir, vol. 1 , (12446)
- Z.Ansari, Khusrau ka Zahni Safar, (123)
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shah_Hussain
9 Responses
Though i have not checked the rest of the resources, but user generated content (like Wikipedia) can never be used as an authentic reference. I have known Madho Lal and Shah Hussayn as spiritual fellows rather than having any relationship based on sexual attraction. If this is the case, how would you explain the relationship of Rumi and Shams Tabreezi?
High reservations regarding the information presented in this article. Among all the references, only one reference is academic in nature (C. M. Naim, “The Theme of Homosexual (Pederastic) Love in Pre-Modern Urdu Poetry,”). If you have to prove a point with certainties, you must present more academic references.
Complete bullshit this article things said and taken out of contest.
Nizam/Nizammudin mentioned as Amir Khusro’s beloved and he mentioning himself as his bride is symbolic not literal…Hazrat Nizammudin Auliya was a famous Sufi saint of India and Amir Khusro one of his disciples…and this concept of considering yourself/your soul as the bride of your Master/Prophet/God that goes back to him after marraige(death) is very famous in sufi and bhakti cult…so though the idea presented in this article is very good but these things should not be confused.
To me I think the Indian society has undergone a reform and has taken up values that have been prophesized directly by God (we have many Godmen these days who start their breakfast at God’s table). However, it so happens and people acknowledge that the Indian society today is corrupt to the core and heart. I would let it rot and die as told in the Mahabharata. It is all beyond redemption and must be destroyed.
Hmmm.… Still theres no evidence or a piece or literature by any “hindu” on this subject…(only) urdu poets have done this job (according to you here).… While accepting that HS is totally not a foreign thing(cause we also see it in animals round the world..it’s sort of natural & thus tends to be everywhere) .…there is still no evidence that in acient India it was seen a regular thing.…… BTW nice article
PS: Just don’t get killed..
I fully agree with Siddharth. After reading this article, my impression is that the research work is poor and writers could have developed authentic basis for the main argument of the article. I also want to say that one should not confuse sufi love and expression of love with the same sex relationship.
Thank you The Laaltain for bringing this issue on discussion forum. This is in fact a very good effort. Thanks to all readers and for taking time and writing their feelings as well. I have just few words on that.
The article written here is neither a West thing nor a lie.. Its a very Subcontinental history and based on factual narration of Mugal and Pre Mugal accounts of same sex love.. and in fact its a very little part of what is present there in literature.
I would request all to please don’t see homosexuality from your own eyes. Denying things doesn’t mean that they don’t happen. If you see homosexuality as a sin, than please also don’t speak lies, offer prayers and don’t deceive others.
“EVERYTHING WHICH IS NOT COMMON IS NOT ALSO ABNORMAL”.. So don’t claim that homosexuality is abnormal because you don’t see it common.. actually most of the time, people deny it.
This article actually doesn’t promote homosexuality but an attempt to take off clothes of an ALREADY NAKED SOCIETY.
I would also request you to please check the references given in the article for more information and don’t decide things based on your own perceptions of what is right and wrong.. Knowledge is ultimate source of looking for answers, here The Laaltain has put a question, you may quest to get answer!!
Stay blessed and happy 🙂
I am just posting comment as I post over FaceBook…
Thank you The Laaltain for bringing this issue on discussion forum. This is in fact a very good effort. Thanks to all readers and for taking time and writing their feelings as well. I have just few words on that.
The article written here is neither a West thing nor a lie.. Its a very Subcontinental history and based on factual narration of Mugal and Pre Mugal accounts of same sex love.. and in fact its a very little part of what is present there in literature.
I would request all to please don’t see homosexuality from your own eyes. Denying things doesn’t mean that they don’t happen. If you see homosexuality as a sin, than please also don’t speak lies, offer prayers and don’t deceive others.
“EVERYTHING WHICH IS NOT COMMON IS NOT ALSO ABNORMAL”.. So don’t claim that homosexuality is abnormal because you don’t see it common.. actually most of the time, people deny it.
This article actually doesn’t promote homosexuality but an attempt to take off clothes of an ALREADY NAKED SOCIETY.
I would also request you to please check the references given in the article for more information and don’t decide things based on your own perceptions of what is right and wrong.. Knowledge is ultimate source of looking for answers, here The Laaltain has put a question, you may quest to get answer!!
Stay blessed and happy..
According to the Quran, Lot was a prophet and a nephew of Abraham. A group of angels visited Abraham as guests[8] and gave him glad tidings of a son “endowed with wisdom”;[9] they told him that they had been sent by God to the “guilty people”[10] of Lot[11] to destroy them[12] with “a shower of stones of clay”[13] and deliver Lot and those who believed in him, except his wife saying “she is of those who lag behind”.[14][15] The Quran also draws upon Lot’s wife as an “example for the unbelievers” as she was married to a righteous man but cheated him by not believing in his message and was thus condemned to Hell.[16][17]
The people of Sodom and Gomorrah, the twin cities which Lot was sent to with God’s message, transgressed consciously against the bounds of God. Their avarice led to inhospitality and robbery, which in turn led to the humiliation of strangers by mistreatment and rape. It was their abominable sin of sexual misconduct which was seen as symptomatic of their attitudes,[18][19] and upon Lot’s exhorting them to abandon their transgression against God, they ridiculed him,[20] threatening with dire consequences;[21] Lot only prayed to God to be saved from doing as they did.[17][22]
Then two angels in the disguise of handsome young boys came to Lot, who became distressed knowing the character of the people, and feeling himself powerless to protect the visitors; he said, “This is a distressful day.”[23] When the people – overjoyed at the news of new young boys in the village – came to snatch them away from Lot,[24] he tried to convince them to refrain from practising their lusts on the visitors, and offered his own daughters to them (to marry, according to the translation of Abdullah Yusuf Ali) in return for the boys’ free release,[25][26] but they were unrelenting and replied “we have no need of your daughters: indeed you know quite well what we want!”[27] The Quran remarks “they moved blindly in the frenzy of approaching death”.[17][28]
Lot was powerless to protect the boys, but they revealed to him that they were indeed angels sent by God to punish the people for their transgressions. They advised Lot to leave the place during the night and not look back, informing him that his wife would be left behind on account of her sinful nature and that they “were about to bring down upon the folk of this township a fury from the sky because they are evil-doers”.[3] Keeping his faith in God, Lot left his home and the cities during the night with his family and others who believed in him, and only his wife stayed behind. When morning came, God turned the cities upside down, and rained down on them stones hard as baked clay,[29] putting an end to the lives of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah once and for all.[17]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lot_in_Islam
one for u from one of the same places of ur information.. its what u want to judge nothing else.…. on another place Allah Almighty said ” dont mix good with evil”. so plz dont judge homosexuality as a good thing…yes i agree it happens. but we must not make it a sign of liberty to accept this phenomenon. yes its common. some of my friends are homos. i know what they go through .. what hell they are living in. what they have to bear and pay for their life style. they are abandoned by their families. some of them live in misery because none of us is ready to accept their way of living. but man this cant b a reason to accept the phenomenon. as a Muslim we believe its wrong and we must try to eradicate it not to publicize it.