Highlights:
- Menaka Guruswamy becomes India’s first openly queer Rajya Sabha MP
- Elected unopposed from West Bengal by the Trinamool Congress
- Key lawyer in the 2018 Section 377 decriminalization case
- Distinguished academic career across top global law schools
- Recognized among the world’s most influential thinkers in 2019
Indian Parliament has marked history by introducing India's first openly queer member on Monday (6), named Menaka Guruswamy. She was sworn in today as a member of parliament from the regional political party Trinamool Congress from West Bengal. Her inclusion in the Indian parliament is a significant step towards LGBTQ+ representation.
Guruswamy is a senior advocate by profession and played a key role in the landmark case of 2018 before India's top-most court, the Supreme Court, that led to the reading down of Section 377, a colonial-era law that had criminalized homosexuality.
Her contributions to the case were instrumental in achieving a judgment that decriminalized same-sex relationships and reshaped the country's legal and social framework.
Guruswamy was elected unopposed from the political party Trinamool Congress in the Rajya Sabha (Indian upper house parliament). Her appointment is being viewed as a step towards expanding representation for historically underrepresented communities in India's political system.
Born in Hyderabad in 1974, Guruswamy has built a distinguished academic and professional career. She studied at the University of Oxford, Harvard Law School, and the National Law School of India University. During her academic journey, she was awarded the Rhodes Scholarship at Oxford and was a Gammon Fellow at Harvard.
In addition to her legal practice, Guruswamy has held teaching and research positions at several prominent institutions. She has served as a visiting faculty to one of the most prominent Ivy League colleges, Yale Law School, New York University School of Law, and the University of Toronto Faculty of Law.
Between 2017 and 2019, she was the BR Ambedkar research scholar and lecturer in law at Columbia Law School, where she taught courses on constitutional design in post-conflict democracies.
Her work has also extended beyond academia and litigation. Guruswamy has advised international organizations, including the United Nations, on issues related to human rights. Her contributions in this area have further established her as a prominent voice in global legal and policy discussions.
The Section 377 case remains one of the defining achievements of her career. By arguing for the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals, Guruswamy helped secure a judgment that dismantled a long-standing legal barrier and contributed to a broader transformation in societal attitudes.
Her influence has been recognized internationally. In 2019, she was named among the 100 most influential global thinkers by Foreign Policy magazine. The same year, she and Arundhati Katju were included in Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people.
With her swearing-in as a Rajya Sabha MP, Guruswamy’s career enters a new phase, bringing her legal expertise and advocacy into India’s legislative framework while marking a historic first for openly queer representation in Parliament.
