Explained: This article explains the political background, key decisions, and possible outcomes related to Explained : Polyamory, politics and the fear of plurality and Its Impact and why it matters right now.
Writer Arundhati Ghosh has controversial opinions. “Today, we are surrounded by this language of one nation, one language, one leader, one culture. A deep suspicion of multiplicity has entered our public life. And this belief, or rather, disbelief, in the many cannot stop in the living room. It cannot remain in our drawing rooms or our politics alone. It needs to enter our kitchens and our bedrooms,” she says, speaking about polyamory in India at The Hindu’s Lit for Life 2026.
Arundhati was in conversation with journalist Priya Ramani at a session that examined polyamory as both a personal practice and a political position in contemporary India. Drawing from her recently published book All Our Loves: Journeys with Polyamory in India, she described polyamory as “the practice of being in love, with or without sexual intimacy, with more than one person simultaneously, with the consent of all,” adding that she prefers to think of it simply as “loving to your heart’s content”.
Arundhati Ghosh signing copies of her book.
| Photo Credit:
Umesh Kumar V
Setting the context, Priya pointed to the deeply entrenched idea of singular love in Indian society. “We grow up on the idea of ‘the one’, the one true love, the love of my life,” she said, noting that in a country where families often decide who that person will be, any deviation from monogamy becomes inherently political. “Nothing outside these tightly held boundaries is apolitical in today’s India,” she observed.
‘Afraid of abandonment’
Responding to why polyamory provokes such discomfort, Arundhati argued that fear lies at its core. “We are deeply afraid of abandonment, of not being loved,” she said. Popular culture, she explained, conditions people to imagine the heart as a space with room for only one person, where loving someone else automatically implies loss. Patriarchy, she added, intensifies this fear by equating love with possession and control.
She also spoke about discovering early in life that the idea of “one true love” did not align with her lived experience. “If only one love is true, then everything else must be false,” she said, recalling how falling in love with more than one person did not erase earlier bonds but revealed different ways of connecting.
The discussion also examined how Western ideas of polyamory fail to translate seamlessly into India. Here, Arundhati noted, the lack of privacy, joint family structures and social surveillance make non-monogamous relationships particularly difficult. “The bedroom itself is not a private space in India,” she said, pointing out that intimacy often becomes a collective family concern.
Priya drew attention to the language typically used to describe polyamory — words like promiscuous, immoral and shallow, and questioned their validity. In response, Arundhati stressed the emphasis polyamorous relationships place on honesty, consent, and care. “People forget that polyamory has the word ‘love’ in it,” she said. “Loving even one person takes courage. Loving more than one requires even more.”
The session concluded with Arundhati urging audiences to reconsider the assumption that love must be singular. “At the level of the heart, most people already love more than one person. We just refuse to acknowledge it,” she says.
The Hindu Lit For Life is presented by The all-new Kia Seltos. In association with: Christ University and NITTE, Associate Partners: Orchids- The International School, Hindustan Group of Institutions, State Bank of India, IndianOil, Indian Overseas Bank, New India Assurance, Akshayakalpa, United India Insurance, ICFAI Group, Chennai Port Authority and Kamarajar Port Limited, Vajiram & Sons, Life Insurance Corporation of India, Mahindra University, Realty Partner: Casagrand, Education Partner: SSVM Institutions, State Partner: Government of Sikkim & Uttarakhand Government
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Published – January 17, 2026 06:56 pm IST