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Queer India Now
A POWERFUL COLLECTION OF VOICES REVEALING WHAT IT MEANS TO LIVE, WORK AND LOVE AS LGBTQIA+ IN TODAY'S INDIA.
An unflinching collection of voices from across India's LGBTQIA+ spectrum.
Through essays, testimonies and reflections, this anthology examines what it means to live as a queer person in a society that remains legally restrictive and socially unaccommodating. From queer lawyers defending lesbian and trans couples in courtrooms and trans doctors and police officers navigating bias within their professions to artists negotiating visibility in fields as diverse as acting, modelling, comedy, theatre or people simply trying to go clubbing at night, Queer India Now documents the questions of identity, caste, dignity, money and visibility in a country that tries its best to ignore anything that's even slightly non-heteronormative.
Thoughtfully selected and edited by journalists and activists Dhrubo Jyoti and Dhamini Ratnam, these essays offer a sobering look at the state of queer people in India, bringing you face to face with the challenges they encounter, the communities they occupy and their sheer persistence in the face of a country's hostile indifference.
About the Editors
Dhrubo Jyoti is a Delhi-based journalist and writer. They're interested in centering Dalit voices in India's LGBTQIA+ movements.
Dhamini Ratnam is a journalist based in Delhi/Mumbai, who writes on the politics of gender, sexuality, art and culture through a queer feminist lens. She has seventeen years of experience as an editor and writer, and has worked in news organisations like Mint, Hindustan Times, Mumbai Mirror and Mid-Day. She won the SOPA for Human Rights reporting in 2015, and a Global Investigative Journalists' Conference fellowship in 2017. A firm believer in sabbaticals, Dhamini has taken two: the first to teach in a village school in Doda and the other to research on the social history of Section 377.
An unflinching collection of voices from across India's LGBTQIA+ spectrum.
Through essays, testimonies and reflections, this anthology examines what it means to live as a queer person in a society that remains legally restrictive and socially unaccommodating. From queer lawyers defending lesbian and trans couples in courtrooms and trans doctors and police officers navigating bias within their professions to artists negotiating visibility in fields as diverse as acting, modelling, comedy, theatre or people simply trying to go clubbing at night, Queer India Now documents the questions of identity, caste, dignity, money and visibility in a country that tries its best to ignore anything that's even slightly non-heteronormative.
Thoughtfully selected and edited by journalists and activists Dhrubo Jyoti and Dhamini Ratnam, these essays offer a sobering look at the state of queer people in India, bringing you face to face with the challenges they encounter, the communities they occupy and their sheer persistence in the face of a country's hostile indifference.
About the Editors
Dhrubo Jyoti is a Delhi-based journalist and writer. They're interested in centering Dalit voices in India's LGBTQIA+ movements.
Dhamini Ratnam is a journalist based in Delhi/Mumbai, who writes on the politics of gender, sexuality, art and culture through a queer feminist lens. She has seventeen years of experience as an editor and writer, and has worked in news organisations like Mint, Hindustan Times, Mumbai Mirror and Mid-Day. She won the SOPA for Human Rights reporting in 2015, and a Global Investigative Journalists' Conference fellowship in 2017. A firm believer in sabbaticals, Dhamini has taken two: the first to teach in a village school in Doda and the other to research on the social history of Section 377.
- GenresIndia
272 pages, Paperback
Published May 25, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 30, 2026
"Our tomorrow will be better than our today." A simple sentence, but a massive declaration.
If there’s one book to pick up to truly understand the lived realities of the LGBTQIA+ community in India right now, let it be 'Queer India Now', edited by Dhamini Ratnam and Dhrubo Jyoti. This raw, vital collection of voices makes you walk in the shoes of people navigating a system that often refuses to see them.
I love the honesty about systemic hurdles. It speaks to the realities of Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) and the bureaucratic nightmare of getting a transgender ID card in India. It vividly shows how transmen are often collapsed into a generalized 'transgender' umbrella that the government often assumes only applies to trans women and how financial instability and caste remain massive barriers (even in 2026).
The book handles the rights of sex workers with immense empathy, emphasizing that sex work is work, and highlighting the beautiful dream of building inclusive old-age homes for them. It also exposes how the recent Transgender Persons Amendment Act of 2026 strips away basic autonomy.
Surprisingly, I also got to read about the artistic legacy of Padma Shri laureate Manjamma Jogati. Alongside her, the journeys of politician Disha Pinky Shaikh, aspiring cop Ronit Jha, and actor Bonita Rajpurohit show just how multi-dimensional queer leadership and excellence are when opportunities are given.
It beautifully spans the entire spectrum of modern queer life—from modern dating apps, drag performances, and homosociality to courtrooms, everyday queer couple struggles, and the often-overlooked experiences of aromantic, asexual, and pansexual individuals.
I highly recommend this to anyone wanting to move beyond surface level conversations and truly understand the intersection of queer identity, law, and culture in India. It’s a powerful plea for a world where children grow up knowing that an uncle-uncle or aunty-aunty couples are just as natural as any other, and where people are seen for their human potential, not just their gender. An absolute must read!
If there’s one book to pick up to truly understand the lived realities of the LGBTQIA+ community in India right now, let it be 'Queer India Now', edited by Dhamini Ratnam and Dhrubo Jyoti. This raw, vital collection of voices makes you walk in the shoes of people navigating a system that often refuses to see them.
I love the honesty about systemic hurdles. It speaks to the realities of Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) and the bureaucratic nightmare of getting a transgender ID card in India. It vividly shows how transmen are often collapsed into a generalized 'transgender' umbrella that the government often assumes only applies to trans women and how financial instability and caste remain massive barriers (even in 2026).
The book handles the rights of sex workers with immense empathy, emphasizing that sex work is work, and highlighting the beautiful dream of building inclusive old-age homes for them. It also exposes how the recent Transgender Persons Amendment Act of 2026 strips away basic autonomy.
Surprisingly, I also got to read about the artistic legacy of Padma Shri laureate Manjamma Jogati. Alongside her, the journeys of politician Disha Pinky Shaikh, aspiring cop Ronit Jha, and actor Bonita Rajpurohit show just how multi-dimensional queer leadership and excellence are when opportunities are given.
It beautifully spans the entire spectrum of modern queer life—from modern dating apps, drag performances, and homosociality to courtrooms, everyday queer couple struggles, and the often-overlooked experiences of aromantic, asexual, and pansexual individuals.
I highly recommend this to anyone wanting to move beyond surface level conversations and truly understand the intersection of queer identity, law, and culture in India. It’s a powerful plea for a world where children grow up knowing that an uncle-uncle or aunty-aunty couples are just as natural as any other, and where people are seen for their human potential, not just their gender. An absolute must read!
May 31, 2026
‘Queer is, after all, hope, forever evolving.’
On the eve of Pride Month, it’s exceptionally heartening to get my hands on a book like "Queer India Now" which not only captures the diverse and polyphonic range of queer voices in contemporary India but also responds to the urgent need to seriously reflect and jubilantly celebrate this intersectional complexity.
Massive kudos to Dhamini Ratnam and Dhrubo Jyoti for meticulously curating this important anthology while also expertly articulating why such a book is long overdue: not least because so many people in the LGBTQIA+ community remain vulnerable to violence, but also because so much of the progress made by the queer movement thus far can be just as easily compromised by the ubiquity of false or biased information on social media.
(It also bodes well for Indian publishing for Westland Books to have its own dedicated imprint for queer voices and narratives.)
All in all, a must-read!
On the eve of Pride Month, it’s exceptionally heartening to get my hands on a book like "Queer India Now" which not only captures the diverse and polyphonic range of queer voices in contemporary India but also responds to the urgent need to seriously reflect and jubilantly celebrate this intersectional complexity.
Massive kudos to Dhamini Ratnam and Dhrubo Jyoti for meticulously curating this important anthology while also expertly articulating why such a book is long overdue: not least because so many people in the LGBTQIA+ community remain vulnerable to violence, but also because so much of the progress made by the queer movement thus far can be just as easily compromised by the ubiquity of false or biased information on social media.
(It also bodes well for Indian publishing for Westland Books to have its own dedicated imprint for queer voices and narratives.)
All in all, a must-read!
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July 18, 2026Excellent collection, quick read - v worth ✨️
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews