India has a vibrant LGBTQ culture, especially in its large cities due to growing acceptance in the recent years.
Hinduism does not condemn homosexuality. A significant number of literary works and artworks contain positive references to homosexuality, and negative views on homosexual sex are within the context of sexual misconduct (for the class of monks and priests who are sometimes expected to be celibate) that affects both heterosexual sex and homosexual sex, with homosexual sex often punished less severely than heterosexual sex. Traditional festivals associated with LGBTQ include the Koovagam festival in Tamil Nadu.[2][3][4]
Some commentators in the 2000s felt that social issues such as those faced by LGBTQ were ignored in mainstream news media,[5] but by 2023 the Press Council of India published guidelines on how to cover LGBTQ topics in news media, and joins the glossary of LGBTQIA+ Terms issued by the Government of Tamil Nadu in 2022.[6]
In the years following the decriminalization of homosexuality under the BJP government, there has been a significant rise in the production of digital media (such as films and television programs) that show LGBTQ in a positive light.[7]
There are numerous establishments that cater for LGBTQ, especially in the major cities such as cafes, restaurants,[8] bars and nightclubs,[9] and hotels. Gay men complain that they are discriminated against unfairly by some establishments that privileges women (including transgender women) over men,[10] but recently restaurants and hotels across India have pledged to be more inclusive of LGBTQIA.[11]
India is also host to several western festivals such as film festivals and pride parades, which are held in most major cities throughout the country and also in many smaller cities and towns in recent years.[12]
Hinduism
The Ramayana included depictions of transsexuality and homosexuality.[13][14][15] The Indian concept of transsexuality (third gender) also appears in many other Hindu artworks and literature.[16]
Some Hindu texts mention homosexuality and support them. The Kamasutra mentions homosexuality as a type of sexual pleasure. There are also legends of Hindu gods change gender or are hermaphrodites and engage in relations that would be considered homoerotic in the other case.[17] Though, it also forbids the educated Brahmins, bureaucrats and wisemen from practicing Auparishtaka or oral sex.[18] Homosexuality was also practiced in the royal families especially with servants.[19] Kamasutra also mentions the "svairini" who used to live by herself or with another woman.[20] The king Bhagiratha is described as being born of sexual union of two queens of the king Dilip, however there is also a patriarchal background represented as the king left no heir and his younger wife took on the role of a man.[21]
Hinduism describes a third gender that is equal to other genders.[16] There are certain characters in the Mahabharata who, according to some versions of the epic, change genders, such as Shikhandi, who is sometimes said to be born as a female but identifies as male and eventually marries a woman. Bahuchara Mata is the goddess of fertility, worshipped by hijras as their patroness.
"Hindu society had a clear cut idea of all these people in the past. Now that we have put them under one label 'LGBT', there is lot more confusion and other identities have got hidden."[22]
Alka Pande says that alternate sexuality was an integral part of ancient India and homosexuality was considered to be a form of the sacred, drawing upon the examples of the hermaphrodite Shikhandi and Arjuna who became a eunuch. Ruth Vanita argues that ancient India was relatively tolerant and views on it were ambiguous, from acceptance to rejection.[24]
Erotic sculptures of two men (centre) at the Khajuraho temples.
Ardhanariswara from Gangaikondacholapuram
Two women using carrots as dildos, 20th century gouache painting.
Media representation
Social media
Urban centers are important hubs of the LGBTQ+ movement.[25] In India, city hubs have helped the community gained visibility since the 1970s. Since the early 2000s, social media and online venues have played a critical role in strengthening LGBTQ+ communities and identities in these cities.[25]
The internet has created new spaces for social interaction and community formation.[26] Social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter and Facebook have been used to create pages and posts that increase queer awareness and visibility in India.[26] Some examples are Instagram profiles "Gaysifamily", "nazariyalgbt", and "lgbthistoryindia". The Gaysifamily website describes their mission "to provide a voice and a safe space to Desis from the South Asian subcontinent that identify as LGBTQ+".[27] They sell and share stickers, artwork, personal stories and zines made by queer Indians.
Social media platforms are also important for the development of intimate relationships between queer people in India.[26]
Even before social media became a platform for queer visibility, the internet created possibilities for communication and community building in the LGBTQ+ community. Khush-list, the first mailing list for LGBT South Asians, predominantly Indians in metropolitan cities and those living abroad, was established in 1993. In 1999, LGBT-India was established on egroups, and later transitioned to yahoogroups. Such mailing lists, established well before the advent of social networking sites, continue to remain the mainstay for discussion among middle-class, English-speaking Indians, and include LGBT-India, GayBombay, Good As You (Bangalore), Pratibimb (Hyderabad), and Movenpick/Orinam (Chennai). GayBombay.org (established in late 1998) and Orinam.net (established in 2006) are among the oldest websites that function as online resources catering to a local (Mumbai and Chennai, respectively) and national readership. Dating websites provide an alternative way for meeting people; online communities also offer a safe and convenient environment for meeting gays in India.[28] Online magazines like Pink Pages and Gaylaxy also publish regular issues.
Radio
Delhi Queer Pride poster
On 11 September 2013, India's first Queer Radio channel, Qradio - Out and Proud, completely dedicated to LGBT audience was launched . With variety of talk shows, music, debates etc., the channel now runs 24 hours a day[29][30]
In February 2014, "Wonderful Things Happen" was founded with the objective to serve the Indian lesbian/bi women community.
Film and Television Depictions
Though Bollywood has gay and transsexual characters, they have been primarily ridiculed or abused. There are few positive portrayals of late like Onir's My Brother Nikhil, Reema Kagti's Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd., and Parvati Balagopalan's Rules: Pyaar Ka Superhit Formula but they have been sporadic and not mainstream. Shelly Chopra Dhar's Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga was perhaps the first mainstream explicitly lesbian romance in Bollywood history after Fire (1997). There also been a few independent films that deal with homosexuality like Sridhar Rangayan's Gulabi Aaina – The Pink Mirror, Girlfriend, Yours Emotionally, 68 Pages and Ashish Sawhney's Happy Hookers. The first Indian film to deal openly with homosexual relations was Fire by Indian-Canadian director Deepa Mehta. With its 1997 release in India, it stirred up a heated controversy throughout the country.
In 2004 The Journey Malayalam feature film written, directed and produced by Ligy J. Pullappally, inspired both by her short film Uli and a true story of two lesbian lovers in the South Indian state of Kerala was released. Fire is explicit in stating that the main characters enter their relationship due to the failure of their heterosexual marriages but The Journey is a film about two lesbians who fall in love with each other.
In 2010, a Tamil film Goa, dealt with gay couples, their love and romance. In 2016, Aligarh (2016 film), was released centering on the life of a gay professor who was accused of homosexuality. The release of Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga in 2019 was a landmark in LGBT representation in media. The character of Sweety played by actress Sonam Kapoor is a lesbian and is shown to be in a relationship with Kuhu (played by Regina Cassandra). The film mainly focuses on coming out to an Indian conservative family and throws light on the struggles of a young gay teenager and the insecurities they carry well into adulthood.
Indian television has also begun to depict gay characters. In 2011, the popular soap opera "Maryada: Lekin Kab Tak?" ( English: Honour: But at What Cost?) featured a plotline involving a gay couple, and was among a handful of television shows including gay characters.[31]
Portrayal of Homosexuality in Bollywood and Indian Cinema
Bollywood and Indian cinema are not new in portraying homosexual characters on the screen; this is often done in satirical, comical, or stereotypical ways[citation needed]. Many contemporary Bollywood films, such as Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan, Kal Ho Naa Ho, Dostana, Kapoor And Sons, Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga, Badhaai Do and Aligarh, to name a few, either have homosexual characters or portrayals of homosexual relationships.[32][33] Going back to the 90's, homosexuality has been portrayed in cinema. Fire is one of the prominent examples of it.
Some critics argue that same-sex friendship within Bollywood movies is portrayed for a "gay viewership".The use of terms such as "yaar" (friend/lover) can be seen as a way to deter from using the language of "homosexuality" or "gayness".[34]
In recent movies, there has been a move away from the portrayal of homosexuality in a satirical and comedic way, and instead of showing a more sensitive, and empathic representation of the struggles that the community has to face. Aligarh and Kapoor And Sons are two of the more recent blockbuster Bollywood movies, both released in 2016, that have made an impact on the portrayal of homosexual men in Indian media. Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga has shown that there are major strides taken in the positive portrayal of homosexuality in cinema. These movies are turning a new page for the role of homosexuality in Bollywood by challenging the previous stereotypical roles portrayed on screen. This is achieved by portraying homosexuality in a new, more truthful and complex light than has been done previously.[32] Manipuri actor and filmmaker Priyakanta Laishram's 2022 movie ONENESS is the first gay-themed movie of Manipur, Northeast India.[35]
Indian Queer Film Festivals
Other than specific Bollywood films that showcase homosexual characters or relationships, Indian Cinema in general has been branching out; one way is through queer film festivals that are held in India.
KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival is one way through which film is urging for change in the way that the Indian community views homosexuality. The festival includes films from around the world, including Indian queer films.[36]
Bangalore Queer Film Festival is another film festival that has been running since 2008. The festival showcases both Indian and international films. The festival also seeks to voice concerns and issues that the LGBT community faces. In 2017, the festival featured 55 films from 21 countries.[37]
Chennai International Queer Film Festival, also known as Reel Desires: Chennai International Queer Film Festival, is a three-day event that usually takes places on the last weekend of July. It main organisers are Orinam in partnership with Goethe-Institut, Chennai along with volunteers from various community groups and NGOs, including Nirangal, East-West Center for Counselling, RIOV, and SAATHII. They screen short films as well as Feature-length films from all over the world. The last day is usually performances along with a panel discussion, usually to discuss and bring out the challenges faced by community members.[38] In 2014, the event had a photography exhibition, featuring queer/trans photography Shilpa Raj.[39]
Calcutta International LGBT Film & Video Festival, also known as DIALOGUES: Calcutta International LGBT Film & Video Festival, was first launched in 2007.[40] It's a three-day festival that happens in the November each year. This Film Festival was started by 'Sappho For Equality' and 'Pratyay Gender Trust', along with Goethe-Institut /Max Mueller Bhavan, Kolkata.[41]
Celebrities, represented in the general Indian media, have voiced their opinions and have advocated for the LGBTQ community in the country.
After the 2013 Supreme Court Decision to reinstate S.377, the court agreed to refer the decision to a five-judge constitutional bench based on a curative petition. Many celebrities, have voiced their support for the curative petition and the decriminalization of homosexuality, by repealing S.377. A news article by Akshay Kaushal in the Hindustan Times (3 February 2016), outlines some of these public comments; this includes: Onir, one of the few openly gay film directors who stated, "Now hopefully the five-judge constitution bench will take the decision in our favour. And this law should have been scrapped the day the Britishers left India. So hopefully, the 2009 verdict of the Delhi Court, that decriminalized gay sex among consenting adults, will be back soon." Delhi-based fashion designer, who married his partner Rahul Arora stated, "I am hopeful and positive that the five-judge constitution bench will scrap section 377 and make this country a better place for us to live". National Award-winning filmmaker Apurva Asrani, who wrote the film Aligarh, when referring to the five-judge constitutional bench stated, "the Supreme Court has allowed itself a chance to redeem itself from a blemish on its otherwise spotless image." "This (homosexuality) has been accepted even in our Hindu scriptures. I stand by my gay friends" said Actor Raveena Tandon. "Today’s decision is a great step. However, I think a disparity that can easily be addressed by amending the Indian Penal Code shouldn’t have to be a 15-year-long struggle" said actor and gay rights activist Celina Jaitley.[42]
Along with the curative petition, submitted by NGOs, to the Supreme Court of India, leading to the five-judge constitutional bench to re-consider the repeal of section 377, a petition was filed by five gay celebrities.
The petition was covered by various news articles, including The Times of India, stating, "The petitioners are lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGBT) citizens of India whose rights to sexuality, sexual autonomy, choice of sexual partner, life, privacy, dignity and equality, along with the other fundamental rights guaranteed under Part-III of Constitution, are violated by Section 377." This is the first time those that are directly effected by the 2013 decision have addressed the court in his manner. The petitioners are, NS Johar (dancer), Sunil Mehra (journalist), Ritu Dalmia (chef), Aman Nath (hotelier), and Ayesha Kapoor (business executive).The petition was not reviewed or added by the Supreme Court; stating that there are already petitions of the same nature that the court is reviewing at the moment, and advised the celebrities to wait until the decision is out before further pursuing this issue.[43]
In 2019, Nartaki Natraj became the first trans person to receive the prestigious Padma Shri.[44]
Events
Gay Pride March in Bangalore (2013)
While the discussion on homosexuality is happening in India, the below pride parades have been established in various major cities of India:
West Bengal- Kolkata (1999): Kolkata Rainbow Pride Walk – This is the first pride march to be organised in South Asia, that was organised by members of the support group Counsel Club, and witnessed participants walking down the streets of Kolkata starting from Park Circus Maidan.
A tradition in Indian pride parades is the wearing of colorful masks for the partial purpose of hiding the wearers' identities from public view and avoiding altercations with family members. This is expected to change as less reprisals are feared from the general public, as shown with the inaugural Pune Pride Parade in December 2011, which required participants to dress professionally and avoid wearing masks or colorful makeup.
Participants in the parades hail from various indigenous gender and sexual minority groups and infuse the largely-Western-derived aesthetic of pride with local and national cultural trappings. Western and international tourists also participate in pride celebrations in India.
The Free Hugs Campaigning conducted in Kochi (Ernakulam)[61] and TVM in Kerala.
Groups of various kinds and NGOs (non-governmental organizations also known as non-profit organizations) have long been a bedrock for queer and lgbtqia+ culture in India. Queer/lgbtqia+ groups in India come in many forms and operate under various organizational structures: some are social and/or support groups with several regulars who act as conveners and may help provide structure by, for example, setting conversation topics for each week's meeting; other groups identify specifically as "collectives" perhaps to reflect certain aspects of their organization or particular socio-political commitments such as to shared work; still other groups are more freewheeling, and, while they congregate under a group name, do not seem to have a designated leader, though there are members who are "moderators" of the group's Facebook group. The language that groups and individual members use to talk about and label genders and sexualities also varies. Some prefer lgbt, lgbtqia+, or a similar acronym, while others prefer queer, which some see as linked to a politics of intersectionality and/or inclusion, and some use lgbtqia+ and queer interchangeably.[67] To acknowledge each position, this section uses both simultaneously, joined by either "and" or a slash. When it is clear that a group or individual prefers a specific term, that language will be used.
Such groups and NGO spaces provided—and still provide—indispensable social spaces for queer/lgbtqia+ people, perhaps because, at least until quite recently, other publicly accessible social or meeting spaces geared towards queer/lgbtqia+ people (such as bars) did not exist.[68] Some bars and cafes are more frequently known to be "queer friendly" rather than catering specifically—if not almost exclusively—to queer/lgbtqia+ people in the way that gay bars are in some other countries;[69] several such examples are Kitty Su, the LaLit hotel chain's swanky night club chain, and Q Café in New Delhi, which recently closed down in 2019.[70]
Some queer/lgbtqia+ groups follow a nomadic style, meeting periodically at different coffee shops, restaurants, book shops, and similar public areas.[71] Others have a fixed meeting spot—often the offices of an NGO.[71]
Public visibility and understanding of queerness and lgbtqia+ experiences is increasing rapidly in India—particularly during and after the more recent Delhi High Court (2009) and India Supreme Court rulings (2013 and 2018) that toggled back and forth the legality of IPC (Indian Penal Code) section 377.[72] The Supreme Court's final ruling, in September 2018, read down section 377 to legalize, between consenting adults, what is generally referred to as "homosexual sex"—although the precise wording of section 377 outlawed "anal intercourse against the order of nature." Nonetheless, queer and lgbtqia+ groups remain an indispensable central axis of queer sociality—alongside several secret and/or private Facebook groups, some of which correspond to social and support groups that periodically meet in the physical world (or IRL—in real life—to use internet terminology).[73]
The sections below list, and provide information about, queer and lgbtqia+ groups, businesses, and notable figures. These lists are not intended to be comprehensive, and at the end of each section is a list of additional queer and lgbtqia+ groups around India. The section concerning groups includes several that are now defunct but whose contribution to lgbtqia+ culture in India is significant as the groups shaped the lgbtqia+ community while they existed—and after.
Groups, formal and informal (in alphabetical order)
Alternative Law Forum
The Alternative Law Forum (ALF) in Bangalore, Karnataka (South India) is an organization that "integrates alternative lawyering with critical research, alternative dispute resolution,"[74] and additional education and community engagement on a range of issues. Frequently referred to as ALF, the Alternative Law Forum is known across India. ALF's motto, "lawyering for change,"[74] succinctly captures the organization's philosophy and body of work.
A group of lawyers who desired a forum in which to conduct legal work grounded in social justice concerns founded ALF in 2000,[75] ALF is regularly involved in assisting individuals who run afoul of potentially corrupt or discriminatory police, such as transgender and queer people.[76][77][78][79] Members of ALF took part in action against the Indian Government's August 2019 revocation of Jammu and Kashmir's special status.[80] The organization hosts a small library and a variety of public events.[81]
Dragvanti
Dragvanti is a non commercial India's first drag and Lgbtqia+ community and web portal for Indian and south Asian drag performers in India founded by Patruni Chidananda Sastry.[82][83][84] Dragvanti has organised Indians first drag conference called Hyderabad Drag Con in 2019.[85]
The Kinky Collective
The Kinky Collective is a group of people who are interested in Kink—that is, BDSM (Bondage, Domination or Discipline, Submission or Sadism, and Masochism)—and/or who identify as kinky,[86] Based in Delhi, the collective seeks to spread information to those who are interested in BDSM. Not exclusively a queer space, The Kinky Collective includes many queer/lgbtqia+ individuals, explaining on their website that, fundamentally, "we want India to be a safer and sexier place for all people."[86]
Labia--A Queer Feminist LBT Collective
Labia is "a Queer Feminist LBT [lesbian, bisexual, and trans] Collective"[87] based in Bombay. LABIA, long-dedicated to intersectionality,[88] does queer and feminist activism and organizing.
Several name evolutions undergone by LABIA reflect the changing politics of global queer/LGBTQIA+ conversations and the evolution of conversations occurring within LABIA meetings and between its members.[89] Originally known as Women to Women,[71] the group then became Stree Sangam—meaning "confluence of women"[90]—a name which would not stand out as particularly queer for those affiliated with the group yet hoping to remain discrete.[88] Stree Sangam later took on a new and more overt name, Lesbian and Bisexuals in Action, or LABIA for short.[90] Finally, in acknowledgement that the group included and recognized a multiplicity of genders and sexualities "Lesbians and Bisexuals in Action" became simply "LABIA—a Queer Feminist LBT Collective.[89]
The Pratyay Gender Trust
The Pratyay Gender Trust is a Kolkata-based organization focused on transgender people. In 2015 Pratyay Gender Trust assisted in the production of a unique Durga idol for Kolkata’s annual Durga Puja; for the first time a puja idol was crafted to appear masculine on one side and feminine on the other.[91] The idol, described by some as a transgender idol, was made by the artist China Pal in Kolkata.
Prakshye is a magazine produced by Pratyay Gender Trust and released quarterly.[92] Very little information about Pratyay Gender Trust is available online. Alongside Sappho for Equality and The Goethe Institute, Pratyay Gender Trust organizes Kolkata’s Dialogues queer film festival.[93]
PRISM
PRISM was a non-funded queer collective that figures in much anthropological and activist writing about Indian queer communities and activism in the late 1990s and 2000s.[71][94] Although the acronym originally stood for People for the Rights of Indian Sexual Minorities, PRISM eventually became, simply, PRISM.[71]
Sangama
Sangama is an NGO that is based in and operates in Bangalore, Karnataka (a southern state of India).[71] Founded by Manohar, who is openly bisexual and eventually married a hijra who worked at Sangama,[71] the organization has been funded in part by funds channeled to address the spread of HIV/AIDS.[71] Sangama is not free of political and social controversy. In her 2012 book Queer Activism in India, Naisargi Dave notes that the organization faced "allegations of discriminations against hijra sex workers there."[95]
Sappho for Equality
Based in Kolkata, in Eastern India, Sappho for Equality – or Sappho for short – is an organization for and by "sexually marginalized women and transmen"[96]—though they specify that "female and male transpersons"[96] are included under this banner. Begun in 2003, Sappho for Equality grew out of a group known only as Sappho, which was started in 1999.[94] The organization focuses on "rights and social justice"[96] for queer people and seeks "to go beyond identity-based politics."[96]
Sappho's physical-world base is at 21, Jogendra Garden (South), Ground Floor (near Hindol Park), in Kolkata (700 078).[96] Their websiteArchived 1 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine also provides email and phone contact information for the many folks to avail their services, support and open community space. Furnished with a library, Sappho's headquarters are inviting and host many meetings, formal and informal. The organization actively engages with the wider community, collaborating with feminist movements and similar groups. Kolkata's annual film festival, Dialogues, is organized by Sappho, alongside The Pratyay Gender Trust, and The Goethe Institute.[93]
Sappho for Equality offers a range of services, including peer counseling, assistance with crises, and workshops. They offer mental health services not only to queer/LGBTQIA+ individuals, but also to members of these individuals' families.[96]
Voices Against 377
Voices Against 377 is a collection of "organizations and individuals"[97] who together were, as their name expresses, banded together as "Voices Against 377."[97] The number 377 refers to the colonial-era penal code that was interpreted as criminalizing a range of sexual acts including anal sex. As the legal battle over IPC section 377 progressed, Voices—as it became known—was formed in Delhi in the fall of 2003 to represent a swath of people and groups that advocated for queer/lgbtqia+ interests, were against the penal code, and supported striking down or reading down the law.[71][98] Voices includes myriad groups and individuals. Organizations in Voices include: Anjuman, Breakthrough, Creating Resources for Empowerment in Action (CREA), Haq: Center for Child Rights, Jagori, Nigah, Nirantar, Partners for Law in Development (PLD), PRISM, Saheli, and Sama.[97] Those individuals who make up Voices include: Gautham Bhan, Lesley Esteves, Ponni Arasu, Pramada Menon, and Sumit Baudh.[97]
Voices Against 377 was an intervenor in the Delhi High Court and India Supreme Court cases against IPC 377[76]—that is, they were a party in the case, though not the original plaintiff. In 2006, Voices Against 377 added its name in support of a petition filed by the Naz Foundation against IPC 377 after the India Supreme Court had reinstated the case to be heard by the Delhi High Court following the Delhi High Court's 2004 dismissal of the case on the basis that the issue was speculative rather than practical[99]—that is, that there was "no cause of action"[100] because the plaintiff, the NGO Naz Foundation, failed to demonstrate that prosecutions resulted from IPC 377.[100] A fundamental right to "dignity"[101] possessed by all, including LGBT people, was central to the filing that Voices contributed to the court case. Mr. Shyam Divan was the council representing Voices Against 377 when the case was heard in the Delhi High Court.[102]
Pride Circle
Pride Circle is a "hiring consultancy firm"[103] geared towards LGBTQIA+ people in India based in Bangalore in South India.[103] Founded by Ramakrishna Sinha and Srini Ramaswamy in 2017,[104] Pride Circle is still in its nascency and yet has become known and reported on across India,[105] particularly following its crowning achievement, an LGBT-focused job fair held during the summer of 2019.
Pride Circle organized a job fair on 12 July 2019, that was widely touted as the first LGBT job fair in India.[104] Hosted by The Lalit Ashok in Bangalore, this first-of-its-kind job fair-cum-inclusivity-in-business conference attracted a plethora of globally known multi-national companies (MNCs).[106]
Additional groups include
Good As You (Bangalore), The Humsafar Trust (Bombay), LesBit (Bangalore), Mobbera Foundation (Hyderabad), Nazariya (Delhi), Nirangal (Chennai), Orinam (Chennai), Queerala (Kochi), Queerythm (Thiruvananthapuram), Sahayathrika (Thrissur), Umang and more.
Queer/LGBTQIA+ businesses and business-oriented social spaces (in alphabetical order)
Kitty Su
Kitty Su, the LaLit's queer/lgbtqia+-friendly night club, has branches across India in the hotel chain's New Delhi, Mumbai, Chandigarh, and Bangalore locations.[107] The Bangalore branch is referred to as Kitty Ko.[107] Kitty Su and Kitty Ko regularly host drag performances and other events catering to queer/lgbtqia+ folks.[107]
The LaLit hotel chain
This 5-star luxury hotel chain is the only such major business chain in India that seeks to advertise and establish itself as self-consciously queer/lgbtqia+-friendly.[108] Keshav Suri, son of Lalit Suri who founded of the LaLit Hotel Group, is openly gay.[108] Keshav Suri took over management of the LaLit after his father's death.[109]
The LaLit New Delhi hosted a conference on psychology and lgbtqia+ identities, geared towards enhancing mental health professionals' understandings of lgbtqia+ identities and common experiences of discrimination that lgbtqia+ people may experience and which can negatively affect lgbqia+ peoples' mental health.[108]
The LaLit hotels are located in six cities: New Delhi, Bangalore, Jaipur, Kolkata, Chandigarh, and London.[110] The LaLit also owns palaces (in Udaipur and Srinagar) and resorts (in Raj Baga, Palolem Canacona, Goa; Bekal, Kerala; Faridabad, Haryana; and Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh).[110]
Mykonos
Mykonos, located in South Delhi near Qutub Minar, is a business that includes a guest house, spa, and gym.[111] Q Café was also located on the rooftop of Mykonos, although it is now closed.[70] Described on its own and travel websites as a "men’s spa," Mykonos caters towards men.[111] The rainbow background of its sign and—visible in a photo on the website—and events listed on the website make clear that the venue caters to queer and lgbtqia+ people, and predominately to gay men.[112] The spa's website does not make clear whether, or to what extent, women are welcome and if women wishing to use the spa—steam room, dry sauna, Jacuzzi tub, and gym—would be turned away.[112] Guests should also note that there is no official information on what the norms of behavior—social and sexual—are at Mykonos. Particularly, it is not clear to what extent safe sex practices—such as always using condoms—are the norm at Mykonos.
Notable queer and LGBTQIA+ figures in India (in alphabetical order by surname)
Dutee Chand
Dutee Chand, an Indian sprinter already famous for her speed, received an extra dose of attention in 2019 following her announcement that she was in a relationship with a woman from her home village in Odisha, India.[113] Although she specifically noted to news media that she does not use any label like "gay" to describe herself, Chand has been labeled as India's first openly gay athlete by a plethora of media sources.[113]
Menaka Guruswamy and Arundhati Katju
Menaka Guruswamy and Arundhati Katju are two lawyers who worked together on the final hearing before the supreme regarding IPC 377.[114] After a complex, multi-decade legal battle over the statue, the Indian supreme court read down the statue in 2018[115] and the two women won a place in Time's 2019 list of the 100 most influential people.[114] The two publicly announced that they are a couple in 2019.[115]
Ashok Row Kavi
Claiming to be the first openly gay man in India, Ashok Row Kavi is a journalist and activist who founded the well-known, large, and well-funded Humsafar Trust based in Bombay.[116] Also colloquially awarded the moniker "the mother of gay activism [in India]"[116] Row Kavi was one of the petitioners who fought against IPC 377.[116] He is also known for his support for the ruling Hindu nationalist BJP and India's present Prime Minister Narendra Modi.[116]
Arvind Narrain
Arvind Narrain is a lawyer who, along with several others, founded the Alternative Law Forum.[117] He is the co-editor of several books, including Law Like Love[76] and Because I Have a Voice.[98] He works on queer and lgbtqia+ rights nationally and internationally.
Keshav Suri
Keshav Suri is a hotelier and the executive director of The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group Hotels founded by his father, Lalit Suri.[108][118] Openly gay and married to his long-time partner Cyril Feuillbois since June 2018,[108][119] Keshav Suri has emerged in recent years as a queer and gay leader both in business practices in India and in corners of queer/lgbtqia+ communities in India.[120]
Sukhdeep Singh
Sukhdeep Singh is the founder and editor of Gaylaxy, an India-focused LGBT online magazine.[121] Singh works as a software engineer.[121] Singh received the youth leadership award of Sher Vancouver and is also author of several articles on how he conceptualizes the meeting of Sikhism and queerness.[122]
Laxmi Tripathi
Laxmi Tripathi is a well-known Bombay-based activist who works on transgender rights.[123] She identifies specifically as a hijra.[123] She is the author of Me Laxmi, me Hijra.[124]
Living Smile Vidya
Living Smile Vidya is an author, performance artist, and transgender activist based in Chennai.[125] She holds a masters in linguistics.[126] She has received awards for her work, including "Best Story" from the Karnataka State Film Award in 2014[127] and the Charles Wallace scholarship in 2013.[128] Meanwhile, her book, I am Vidya: A Transgender's Journey,[129] has been translated into seven languages.[130] In addition to her publications, she has spoken about her experiences being a "dalit transgender writer"[131] in an interview.
In every historical event, the shape of written letters plays a major role to bring the highlighted issues to the front page. In the wake of the gay liberation movement literary magazines, clubs and coffeehouses, books and articles became the only source of hope and expression for members.
Clubs: 1990s
Red Rose Table
The purpose of protecting oneself continued even after independence. It was during the rise of the Communist party ideology that the language was revived again. As the contemporary political scenario was totally different, people were more open to new ideologies. This gave birth to a phenomenon called the "Red Rose Table". In the early 1970s, a table in the Indian Coffee House situated in Mohan Singh Place, Baba Kharak Singh Marg of Connaught Place, was chosen as a mode of identity. But it was no longer a domain for hijras alone, the whole LGBT came together to discuss about identifying themselves in seclusion with the usage of Farsi. It was then the modern form of Farsi became the mode of communication. Very interestingly, as "Red" represented the colour of Communists, onlookers usually considered that probably they were discussing something political. Most of their discussion forums were socio-cultural and psychoanalytical. This developed in a very fast pace but soon disappeared with the emergence of the new term AIDS during the 80s. Soon this "Red Rose Table" became a historical past. But with the impact of globalisation, the socio-political scenario in India changed drastically and Delhi being the capital city of the country, the consequences were so vividly rapid. One such consequence was the emergence of cyberspace. People who were first or second language speakers but considered to be educated and learned, gradually stopped venturing into cruising areas. So the usage of Farsi saw a big blow from the educated LGBT people.
— Dr. Himadri Roy is an Associate Professor in the School of Gender and Development Studies, Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi.[132]
The writer and researcher on gender and sexuality issues, Pawan Dhall, who is the guiding spirit of Varta, and his friends had started Counsel Club in 1993. It wound up in 2002 after nine years. Counsel Club had revived the queer journal, Pravartak, in 1993 (it was first brought out in 1991-92), and it ran till 2000. It carried analytical articles, short stories, poetry, first person stories and interviews - whatever was happening in the LGBT world. Its content was in English and Bengali (occasionally in Hindi as well). Sexual health work and gender, as well as sexuality and diversity were its primary concerns. Counsel Club managed to bring together hundreds of people. One important discussion in Pravartak was on how Bengali literature reflected the LGBT world. In the pre-Internet era, Pravartak was like a connecting link for queer people spread across India and abroad.[133][134]
Books: Lotus Of Another Color: An Unfolding of the South Asian Gay and Lesbian Edited by Rakesh Ratti.
During the 90s, Ratti moved to Atlanta to begin graduate studies in psychology at Georgia State University. After three years in 1993, Ratti collected and transcribed interviews of 50 South Asians and published them in an anthology named Lotus Of Another Color. Though Ratti wanted someone to contribute and write about LGBTQ South Asian experiences; no one was willing to. Later, Ratti describes, "If this book was on the shelf, it would have been shown me that being gay was not at conflict with being gay, that the two could coexist". During his early years in Atlanta that Ratti helped cofound the Atlanta Trikone group.[135]
Trying to Grow 1991 semi-autobiographical novel by Firdaus Kanga.
An early — and funny — contemporary memoir was Firdaus Kanga’s "Trying to Grow," written in 1990. Based on his own life, Mr. Kanga’s book told the story of a Parsi boy called Darius, nicknamed Brit because his bones are so fragile. (Kanga has osteogenesis imperfecta.) Darius finds love much later in his life. As Mr. Kanga wrote: "In all the time I was growing up I had never heard anybody talk about homosexuality. I certainly knew no gay men, except in the sublime stories I found and read — those by James Baldwin, E M Forster and Iris Murdoch."[136]
Invisible Minority: The Unknown World of the Indian Homosexual 1992 book by Arvind Kala.
Arvind Kala one of the authors in the 90s brought himself onto the literary scene by interviewing 112 gays, Invisible Minority who bares the world of the Indian homosexual. Though the book explicitly makes the path of the gay liberation movement, it was lost and forgotten. Much is unknown about author Arvind Kala, except the book he brought to the public.[137][138][139]
Arvind Narrain
Lawyer and Author Arvind Narrain was the prime member of the representing lawyers who challenged Section 377 of the IPC right from the Delhi High Court and Supreme Court in 2009. When 2018 the judgement was approached again in Supreme Court, Arvind didn't hesitate to become part of a liberation movement. Arvind has authored books Queer: Despised sexualities, law and social change, 2004 and co-edited Because I have a Voice: Queer Politics in India, Yoda Press, with Gautam Bhan, Yoda Press, 2005 and Law like love: Queer perspectives on law, Yoda Press, Co-edited with Alok Gupta et al., Yoda Press, 2011. and Nothing to Fix: Medicalisation of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity with Vinay Chandran, counsellor and executive director of Swabhava Trust, Bangalore, a non-governmental organisation working with issues related to gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and similar (LGBT) populations.[140][141]
Mahesh Dattani is one of the playwrights during the 90s who talked about the theme of homosexuality, betrayal, violence and shame in his plays, Bravely Fought the Queen (1991), On a muggy night in Mumbai (1998), and Do the Needful (2013) . In an interview, Dattani said,
You can talk about Feminism because in a way that is accepted. But you can't talk about gay issues because that's not Indian, that doesn't happen here.[142][143]
During the 80s when there was less awareness regarding HIV/AIDS Arun Bhandari, Dr JP Jain, Jagdish Bhardwaje, Lalitha SA, Dr PS Sahni, Shalini SCN Co-founded AIDS Bhedbbhav Virtodhi Andolan.. In 1991, the seven members Arun Bhandari, Dr JP Jain, Jagdish Bhardwaje, Lalitha SA, Dr PS Sahni, Shalini SCN and Siddharth Gautam of the ABVA published a 93-page report titled, Less Than A Gay: A Citzens' Report on the Status of Homosexuality in India.[144]
Many people deny that homosexuality exists in India, dismissing it as a phenomenon of the industrialised world. Others acknowledge its presence but condemn it as a capitalist aberration, a concern too individualistic to warrant attention in a poor country like ours. Still others label it a disease to be cured, an abnormality to be set right, a crime to be punished.[145]
AIDS BHEDBHAV VIRODHI ANDOLAN 1988-1999
In June 2020, Nazariya QFRG organised Our Lives Our Tales (OLOT), a series of talks by queer people who fought battles for the queer movement. In conversation, Shals Mahajan, the founder of LABIA: A Queer Feminist LBT Collective, talked about how they had once came across an article in the newspaper about a gay conference at SNDT Women’s University and connected with the then director to put her in touch with ‘other dykes’. A young and brash Shals, as they recall themselves to be, would not take no for an answer and eventually got Aarti’s number. Aarti and Sakina were the known lesbian women in 1995’s Bombay, through which others connected. After organising a small meetup at Aksa beach, the group soon began ‘Stree Sangam’. Networking with Forum, India Centre for Human Rights and Law, and others that were not seen as queer, helped relax their anxiety of being outed. Stree Sangam also organised the first national retreat in Bombay, in 1996, followed by a second in 1998. Friends from Delhi and Kolkata joined in. A 1999 Anandabazar Patrika article on Malobika and Akanksha resulted in more than three hundred and fifty letters from women to the postal code shared. Soon enough it was a team of 30 people responding to these letters and on June 20, 1999, Sappho was formed in Malobika and Akanksha’s ten by eleven square feet of a room. Simultaneously, Fire was re-released.[146][147]
Saleem Kidwai and Ruth Vanita
Saleem Kidwai and Ruth Vanita co-edited and published Same-Sex Love in India: Readings from Literature and History which became a landmark for the historical judgement of 2009 and 2018 de-criminalisation of penal code 377. Ruth was a fellow researcher at Delhi University and met Saleem during the 90s movement decided to recollect the old lost history of queer people. Kidwai himself was a fellow student and later a professor of history at Ramjas College, University of Delhi until 1993. On Monday, August 30, 2021, at the age of 70 Kidwai died of cardiac arrest. In, To Saleem Kidwai: A letter to a friendship, Sunil Gupta pens down,
We talked a lot about where one could live as a gay man at that time, and you opted to live in India and make a difference while I found it impossible to go back and live in the closet. I never thought I’d be writing this to you. I didn’t think our friendship would get cut off so brutally and without any warning. From so far away all I can do is write this letter to you. When you came down to New York to meet me in 1975 from your time at the Islamic Institute at McGill University, Montréal, we instantly recognised that we were gay but of quite different flavours. You are very shy and reticent about joining the gay scene whereas I was already out and loud and proud. I was determined that you should join me in our liberating quest. It seemed at the time that we were the only two out gay men of Indian origin that we knew. You went back to teach history at Delhi University, and I didn’t manage to visit you till 1980. We became very close as you helped me in my quest to visualise Indian gay men. After five years of British art schooling, I had not been able to find any mention of them and it had become my overarching goal to locate them in the canons of art history. You were my informant and also my muse and appeared in my earliest pictures at a time when nobody else would. Together we cruised the parks and parties of gay Delhi hoping to meet like-minded men in search of gay liberation. We talked a lot about where one could live as a gay man at that time, and you opted to live in India and make a difference while I found it impossible to go back and live in the closet. We exchanged letters and postcards and occasional phone calls and sometimes even managed to meet in person in London or in Delhi. Then in the 1990s you began to research the work of excavating the hidden history of same-sex love in India along with Ruth Vanita, a fellow scholar at Delhi University at the time. The resulting book, Same Sex Love in India: Readings from Literature and History, became a vanguard for South Asian queer studies in academia around the world. It also became the historical backbone of the movement to overturn Section 377, the law that criminalized homosexuality in India. I returned to Delhi in the early 2000s when you helped me make a video on AIDS for the University of Southampton in the UK, about the local situation. You put me in touch with the Lawyers Collective, and the local queer community in Delhi, and helped make what eventually became "A World Without Pity".
The scene was changing rapidly, and you encouraged me to return to live in Delhi and [you would stay with me when you visited the city where you taught for over 20 years]. By now, you had established yourself back in Lucknow, where you had gone to make a base for your academic research work away from the social hubbub of Delhi. There, you translated several books from Urdu to English. I made a book too, "Pictures. From Here" and we exchanged them. Making books became another thing that brought us together. In 2009 we were proved wrong that we would never see the anti-gay law changed in India in our lifetime. We celebrated and we partied, and we had a great flat to do that in. We were both single and you revelled in that: you were quite happy to be single and gay. I had a number of disastrous but entertaining internet dates that you were witness to. But then you were also witness to my meeting the man who would become my husband eventually. This led to more conversations about whether queer people should get married or not, whether I had sold out the old gay liberation politics. It became difficult to live as a married and gay man in Delhi, so I returned to London, and you returned to your books in Lucknow. You, of course, remained a champion of our original gay politics that critiqued the accumulation of capital and hetero-normative family life as the source of patriarchal oppression in India. We had to make do with fleeting annual visits to see each other. I would keep turning up with the latest photo book I had made, and you had proudly given me a whole shelf to fill. Just the other day, we spoke about how I would soon be on my way to meet you clutching my latest book to add to your shelf. But now that will never be as I woke up this morning to the sound of my phone pinging endlessly to the messages from India announcing the news of your passing. You broke my heart my friend by leaving me so soon, but I will love you forever.[148]
Vanita, a professor at the University of Montana, shared that her dedication to Kidwai in a book, Gandhi’s Tiger and Sita’s Smile (2005) best encapsulated how she remembered him: "They have seemed to be together, though absent; shook hands, as over a void; and embraced, as it were from the ends of opposed winds."[149] In his 2019 book Gay Icons of India, the poet Hoshang Merchant rightly calls Saleem Kidwai "indisputably the intellectual voice of India’s gay history, especially its Urdu literature and Muslim life," and refers to his "courtly manners". He also says that Kidwai is "still very attractive to young men."[150]
Agha Shahid Ali and Saleem Kidwai were one of two friends back in the 1990s both were deeply moved by Begum Akhtar. They used to attend her concerts (Mehfils) and collected memories. Essayist Shohini Ghosh write in The Wire
Saleem loved Hindustani Classical music and his most cherished collection was devoted to Begum Akhtar, who had left a profound impact on him. Saleem and his close friend, the poet Agha Shahid Ali, had formed a close friendship with Akhtar. They were mesmerised by her singing and would make it a point to attend as many of her concerts as possible. She too developed a great affection for them and looked forward to having them in her mehfils. When the mehfil was over and the guests had left, she regaled them with stories about her life. The famous singer with her tawaif lineage and the two queer men, who like her had to live many lives, forged a deep bond. Saleem not only possessed every audio-cassette of Akhtar’s that had been released but had a large collection of his own recordings of her private concerts. After Akhtar died in 1974, he photocopied photographs of her from newspapers and magazines and made them into jackets for the audio tapes. It was a loving and painstaking curatorial feat.
...Similarly, I could never persuade him to write about his days with Agha Shahid Ali in Delhi. Shahid’s family had a longstanding relationship with Jamia Millia Islamia and Saleem’s family. He was also a frequent visitor to the MCRC, where two extensive interviews had been recorded with him. It was therefore fitting that when Shahid passed in 2001, his memorial was held at the MCRC with Saleem as one of the organisers.[151]
Agha taught at University of Utah. To commemorate his contribution the University of Utah awards the Agha Shahid Ali Prize in Poetry every year.[152]
Bhupen Khakhar and You Can't Please All
Bhupen Khakhar's painting You Can't Please All was called the "Coming Out" art collection painted in 1981 by his contemporary Timothy Hyman. At a time when sensual and same-sex relationships were taboo, his painting reflected pride, colour, and liberation. The British painter Dexter Dalwood, who lived in Baroda between 1985 and 1986 and knew Khakhar, has written of You Can’t Please All:
The naked figure on the balcony is internally separate from the society depicted, and yet at the same time, absolutely a part of the complex life which makes up the contradiction that is modern India. This way of combining complex emotional feelings, within an image which attempts to present a whole nervous-system, I find to be incredibly inspiring – and liberating.
(Hyman 1998, p.67)[153]
In 2000, he was Awarded Prince Claus Award at the Royal Palace of Amsterdam. In 2018, at Sotheby's auction in London, his painting became the highest selling at 22.5 crores.[154]
Vikram Seth
Through Love’s Great Power
Through love’s great power to be made whole
In mind and body, heart and soul—
Through freedom to find joy, or be
By dint of joy itself set free
In love and in companionhood:
This is the true and natural good.
To undo justice, and to seek
To quash the rights that serve the weak—
To sneer at love, and wrench apart
The bonds of body, mind and heart
With specious reason and no rhyme:
This is the true unnatural crime.
During the gay liberation movement in the 2000s poet and novelist Vikram Seth became a prominent voice of LGBT people. In 2013 when Supreme Court re-criminalised section 377, Seth appeared on India Today's magazine cover protesting, "Not A Criminal: To not be able To love the One you love is to have your life wrenched away."
Friendship Walk 1999- Delhi Queer Parade 2018
On 2 July 1999, when Delhi was headed by AIDS Bhedbhav Virodhi Andolan (ABVA) Kolkata saw a new pride when 15 friends including, like, Ashok Row Kavi, Nitin Karani, Pawan Dhall, Owais Khan and Rafique-Ul-Haque-Dowjah-Ranjan walk the streets of Kolkata to its final destination George Bhavan meeting NGOs members and raising their issues and concerns. But that day no one was so proud to walk and even give pictures to newspapers. Few members who were comfortable came forward and the news became the headline. Until the quiet case of beaming pride of 1999 and 2014 Kiss of Love protest, 2018 became life for people living in uncertainties of life, love, and death. The Delhi Queer Parade 2018 showed more love and support. Indeed, the two-decade movement was never an easy road:
Twenty years later, the walk which was started by 15 people, has expanded dramatically with 1000 to 3000 people participating in the Pride walk from different parts of the country. What happened after thirty years of the ‘Stonewall Riots’ in India, and specifically in Kolkata which led the way for the first Pride March in the city? The other question that arises is the mobilisation of 15 people at a time when there was no social media or mobile technology. Today creating a Facebook event and sharing messages in WhatsApp groups and among community friends have become easy to bring people into one safe public space. But the same was not feasible twenty years back.
It was in February 1999 that the idea of queer pride walk was first pitched at the "Yaariyan" conference that took place in Hyderabad by the queer activist Owais Khan. The primary motivation was to create visibility for the queer community, for which it was named ‘Friendship Walk, 99’ to make it sound more inclusive and welcoming. Pawan Dhall, a long-time Queer organiser in Kolkata, thinks that calling the march as LGBT Pride March "might seem to be too overt". Again, calling it as a "Human Rights March might be too diffuse". Thus, the term ‘Friendship Walk’ sounds "innocuous, un-militant and welcoming." In those days, due to the lack of mobile phones and social media apps, Queer meetings happened via telephone and Yahoo group messengers, where the planning and discussions for a Pride Walk amid the city were conducted with loads of anticipation and anxiousness. Further, the walk took place in the same tenure soon after the controversy around the film ‘Fire’ in 1998-99, which also spur the Queer movement in India. Deepa Mehta’s film stormed theatres with many angry protesters agitating against the movie and demanding its ban on its release and shows. At that time, Kolkata was few of the last cities which was left alone and where such troubles were not taking place. The year 1999 also witnessed the establishment of Sappho, a support group for lesbians, bisexual women and trans men in Kolkata, the first in Eastern parts of India. All these steps were taking place simultaneously, which therefore paved the way for the first organisers to take on the Friendship Walk in the city.[155]
Organizations
There are many organizations in many cities of India, such as Humsafar (Mumbai), Alternative Law Forum (Bangalore), Sangama (Karnataka), Chennai Dost, Orinam.net and Nazariya[156] (Delhi NCR) are working for LGBT rights.[157] There are also organisations which function nationwide like Human Rights India and Gaysi. Many of these organizations operate in a very informal way and locally funded.[158]
In Kerala, organizations like Queerala and Queerythm gave a new face to LGBT rights. Apart from Non governmental organization's and Community based organisation's LGBTQIA+ student movements which are registered under the government of India are Srishti Madurai a student volunteer LGBTQIA and Genderqueer movement based at Madurai.[1] In June 2016, a platform named [Amour | amour.lgbtq.co.in] is launched in India to help LGBTIQ community members find long term companions.[159]
^Shastri, Hari Prasad, Tr. The Ramayana Of Valmiki Vol. 2. Digital Library of India Item 2015.39881. Retrieved 19 April 2023.((cite book)): CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ abcDasgupta, Rohit K. (16 March 2017). Digital queer cultures in India : politics, intimacies and belonging. London. ISBN9781351800570. OCLC976434162.((cite book)): CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^"Team". Gaysi. Archived from the original on 10 December 2019. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
^Kurian, Alka; Jha, Sonora (18 October 2017). New feminisms in South Asia : disrupting the discourse through social media, film, and literature. New York, NY. ISBN978-1-317-21077-1. OCLC1007134329.((cite book)): CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^ abShah, Chayanika; Merchant, Raj; Mahajan, Shals; Nevatia, Smritia (2015). No outlaws in the gender galaxy. New Delhi. ISBN978-93-84757-68-7. OCLC907206183.((cite book)): CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^ abDave, Naisargi N. (2012). Queer activism in India : a story in the anthropology of ethics. Durham: Duke University Press. p. 18. ISBN978-0-8223-5305-8. OCLC769916204.
^ abChatterjee, Shraddha (2018). Queer politics in India : towards sexual subaltern subjects. Abingdon, Oxon. ISBN978-1-315-17850-9. OCLC1019837702.((cite book)): CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Dave, Naisargi N. (2012). Queer activism in India : a story in the anthropology of ethics. Durham: Duke University Press. p. 133. ISBN978-0-8223-5305-8. OCLC769916204.
^Tripāṭhī, Lakshmīnārāyaṇa; Raj Rao, R.; Joshi, P. G. (2015). Me hijra, me Laxmi (First ed.). New Delhi, India. ISBN978-0-19-945826-4. OCLC904182933.((cite book)): CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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