Queer: Despised Sexuality Law And Social Change

by Arvind Narrain

The last decade of the 20th century in India has seen the emergence of another form of political assertion centring on the hitherto private realm of sexuality. We are increasingly witness to people asserting their right to be different as sexual beings, either in terms of sexual orientation or gender identity. The traditional definitions of activist politics is being forced to engage with new political concerns articulated by people who claim gay, lesbian, hijra, transgender, kothi and numerous other identities. What is common to these identities apart from their roots in sexuality is the fact that they question the heteronormative ideal that the only way in which two human beings can relate romantically, sexually and emotionally is within a heterosexual context.

146 pages, Paperback

Published March 4, 2004

Reviews

[Abhyuday Mishra · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the crucial aspects of this book and the part which I found particularly very interesting was the use of the Indian context to argue against the prejudice against the Queer community. Narrain also mentions in the book how the society views the community being influenced due to ‘Western’ ideas and works, and to break this idea of sexuality being an ‘influence’ Narrain forwards a very simple argument of Hijra community in remote villages, or a lesbian couple from Madhya Pradesh who never had any exposure to the western culture in their lives and still belong to the Queer community. It was very important to focus on evidence and research from the Indian Context to break the stereotype of sexuality being something that can be ‘influenced’ through external media. Narrain also argues that the Indian history of dealing with Queer behaviour is through the element of silence, aned how historians like Romila Thapar to DD Kosambi used the approach of silence to produce a heterosexual India. Narrain provides the evidence present in our mythology to show the presence of queer lives in ancient India. This can be seen In the works of Krittivasa Ramayana, the two widows of King Dilipa were living together ‘in extreme love [sampriti]’ to the complex past of Krishna and their traits of androgyny. Narrain believes that this hetero-sexualization of the Indian Mythology was done by the colonizers keeping an account of their Victorian standards of sexuality and Indian scholars who wanted to glorify a more masculine Indian ethnicity to reflect a ‘strong’ India. These scholars and colonizers, through their personal prejudices, internalized heteronormative ideals in Indians. He also quotes Ashis Nandy’s ‘intimate enemy’ which mean internalizing the colonizer to the extent that the colonizers are, so to speak, inside one’s own skin. Narrain interestingly argues here that this stigmatization of homosexuality being ‘foreign’ or ‘other’ was to create a ‘virile’ nation that would unshackle the colonizers, and in doing so the Indian Queer community had to face the subsequent consequences of such prejudices.

Through this book, Narrain had mapped out the struggles around the Queer community and questioned their legitimacy, not only from the grounds of immorality and injustice but by questing their roots in our society. He does not claim to have the final answers, but through this book, he asks significant questions about the root of these stigmas around the queer community. Narrain also talks about law being an emancipatory tool to find the solution to these problems, written two decades ago, he talks about the importance of repealing the Sec 377 of IPC as it goes against the fundamental right of life and freedom of expression. The only critique I have in regard to this exceptional work of Narrain is the over-use of labels in the book. Through this book, Narrain tries to distinguish and find multiple Queer groups in ancient history to forward the argument that these groups were present throughout time. But through my personal journey into finding my sexual expression, I believe that the over-use of labels such as gay, lesbian, bisexual etc. puts a certain restriction on something as fluid as sexuality and something as vast as the concept of Love. I was able to find solace in my sexual expression when I was able to break down the heteronormative biases in my mind, and I had stopped defining myself through labels. In my opinion, the primary problem of trying to find sexuality which then makes someone belong to a certain group limits a person’s sexual expression, whether it is straight, bisexual, lesbian or gay etc. Though I understand that this helps people find a sense of belonging and provides comfort, in my personal experience I was able to find comfort when I accepted that I do not need to label my sexual identity but to just like what I like without any boundaries or thinking about what label it gives me. This book helped broaden the scope of my understanding of the roots of queer prejudices especially in the context of ancient India and expand my understanding of the power of law and history’s influence on our current society. I was able to understand the larger picture and better understand the struggles that come with Queer Lawyering in India.