Love without Limits or Labels

The writer mounts a strong case for ethical open relationships and holds historical significance for introducing polyamory to Indians

- By MAYANK JAIN PARICHA

In ancient Greek, an "apology" was understood as a defense of ideas, not an expression of regret. It was only later that the usage of the word changed, evolving alongside shifts in social realities and interpersonal morality. In that sense, Arundhati Ghosh's book All Our Love: Journeys with Polyamory in India can be seen as a kind of apology, a defense of polyamory, a relationship form often viewed as morally obtuse.

For the first time, someone attempts to present a nuanced case for polyamory in the Indian context. Ghosh points out that with the advent of private property and concerns around inheritance, monogamy emerged as a social agreement. She writes, "...in the contemporary world of relationships, we have conflated love with marriage or partnerships, and the normative conditions of monoamory and monogamy—loving one person at a time—strengthen each other's existence and justification."

Ghosh further argues that polyamory is "natural for humans." To support this, she cites several examples of communities that practice polyamory in some form, including the Barí of Venezuela, the Irigwe of Nigeria, the Marquesans of the Pacific, and the Nyinba of Nepal, among others.