History of lgbtq community in india
This article is Part I of a three-part article series that will debate the history of homosexuality in India in pre-colonial and colonial times and the decriminalisation of Section 377. Historians often reference back to the pre-colonial times when speaking about same-sex love and its prevalence in mythology, vernacular literature and religious message. But many oppose homosexuality based on the reasoning that it subscribes to western tendencies. Deepanshi Mehrotra, in this article, as part of this series, will debunk the ‘western idealogy’ argument, countering through literary and graphic evidence of homosexuality visible across India’s monuments and scriptures.
By Deepanshi Mehrotra, a rule graduate from Symbiosis Regulation School in Pune, Maharashtra. Deepanshi is currently freelancing. Deepanshi is a member of the Lawctopus Writers Club.
Introduction
In September 2018, the Supreme Court of India decriminalised homosexuality. After the judgment, there was an uproar insisting that India is adopting western ideologies and concepts of liberalism.
However, historians and mythology experts disagree. They believe that this judgment took India back to its roots, where love was
Retrospect
Journal.
Written by Sophie Whitehead
We often see history as a protest towards progress – towards modernity, towards a more liberal society, recognisable in the present afternoon. This teleological portraying of history is constantly criticised, as it often leads to the neglect, or brushing over of history’s greatest anachronism – nowhere is this truer than in the LGBT history of India. Many conservatives within India spot the LGBT society as being “un-Indian” and argue that gender diversity and same-sex relationships did not exist prior to British colonial rule – however this telling of the history of the LGBT group within India, is completely in dispute with the sources. According to historian Chelsea Peer, queer relationships are highly under-researched in South Asia, as compared to the unwind of the continent. Peer argues that the reason for this gap in research comes from the fact that many texts are “either ignored or interpreted as heterosexual by South Asian scholars.” That said, there is a range of scholarship, catalysed by the seminal work from Ruth Vanita and Saleem Kidwai, Same-Sex Love in India: Readings from Literature, published in 2001, whic
Rediscovering India’s lost lgbtq+ icons: a tour of Old Delhi’s secret history
On a hot and humid Sunday afternoon in Delhi, Iqbal Ali stops outside the Sultan Razia mosque and explains to the small organization accompanying them why the place is so important to India’s LGBTQ+ community.
Ali recounts the story of Razia, the 13th-century ruler from the Mamluk dynasty, who wore male clothes, exuded force and fearlessness and, alongside her father, Emperor Iltutmish, fought in numerous battles. She was the first female Muslim ruler of the subcontinent.
“While Emperor Iltutmish’s final resting place lies in the city’s famous Mehrauli Qutub Minar complex, our revered gay icon, Razia Sultan, rests in this forgotten neighbourhood of Old Delhi. Razia symbolises a gender non-conforming icon for our community as she fearlessly challenged the patriarchal society that we, too, evaluate ourselves victims of,” says Ali.
Razia fully acclaimed, Ali then ushers the team along the route to the next stop of their walking tour of Delhi’s queer history.
Ali, a non-binary Muslim who was born and raised in Delhi, started the tours last year. Old Delhi, a walled district in the centre of the city, is a well-known tou
Believe it or not, lgbtq+ love wasn’t always taboo in Indian society. The proof is in Indian mythology, which celebrates homosexual unions and dates advocate thousands of centuries.
There’s the story of Mitra and Varuna, which not only gives queer Hindus gods to worship, but also showcases the depths of affection. Both are considered Sun gods and the relationship between them is portrayed as that of intense love. They are often depicted riding a shark together, or side-by-side on a golden chariot drawn by seven swans. The ancient text Bhagavata Purana even mentions how these two male gods had a child when their semen fell on a termite mound, often cited as a attractive example of surrogacy with a mythological touch to it.
In some versions of the Bengali mythological sms Krittivasa Ramayana, we also see the story of two queens who drop in love with each other and magically birth a child, by the blessings of Lord Shiva, when one of them is widowed.
While it’s straightforward to think that such progressive ideas are foreign ones, many Indian historians and mythologists have challenged the idea that everything queer is imported from the West. In this context, Sundeep Verma, an Indian mythologist,
Ingrid Therwath, journaliste et politologue franco-indienne, lesbienne et membre de l’AJL, décrit, dans un texte écrit en anglais et à la première personne, l’importance de la décision de la Cour suprême de dépénaliser l’homosexualité.
It was a foggy afternoon in Delhi. I was, at the time, writing a guide on the internet and its uses in India and had decided –for this research as adequately as for personal reasons— to attend the Delhi Queer Pride. The event had been started in 2008, a year before the Delhi high Court decided to do away with section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (the judgement was overthrown later). By the hour, the Delhi Queer Self-acceptance 2011 was held, article 377 as very much back in force.
The article 377, which dates from 1861, criminalized intercourse “against nature”, a Victorian verbalization used to refer to anal sex. It made the public (or even private for that matter) expression of consensual, mature person, same-sex love a felony. And homosexuality in India was punishable by up to life in prison.
The 2011 Delhi Queer Self-acceptance was a moment of pride and joy but fear was palpable on the street. The police officers on duty at the venue made many of us uneasy