Background:
The ongoing LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender) activism in India is over two decades old which coincide with gay cultural practices. These seek to actively define the political, social and legal issue of the queer rights, particularly the battle against IPC 377. Such activism and cultural practices are coeval with the expansion of queer theory and critical studies in the West. In India too, this has found few, but enthusiastic support across a number of disciplines in the humanities and the social sciences. These initiatives have not only expanded the scope of queer cultural studies and activism but also have posed crucial challenges to the established theoretical/conceptual paradigms of gender and sexuality.
It is to be noted that for various reasons the queer activism that is in vogue today in India is primarily focused on health and jurisprudence. While considering that these are very important focuses, the present research intends to highlight the need for raising conscientious awareness among the community about its cultural achievements and in the public realm at large. In that sense, the direction of the present research is towards exploring a possibility of creating a future center for documenting, archiving, research and promoting queer cultural practices in India.
Scope and Objectives:
Located within the above context, the proposed research intends to undertake an assessment of the affect of gay activism on cultural practices in India. Proposing to work within the fame of socio-politico activism, it aims at documenting and developing critical insights into the area of gay cultural initiatives in the fields of visual art, literature, cinema, theatre and performance. The proposed hypothesis is that the prominent writers and artists gathered their strength from the gay liberation movement, and the significant intervention in the cultural field by them is primarily activist in nature. The central activist principle in all these is the belief that gays are a minority and crucial to such a position is the fact that although one’s gender and sexuality inevitably is a matter within the personal, they have social and political implications, since sexual gratification and gender disposition often have to be achieved through social contract, political and legal sanction.
One of the specific objectives of the proposed research will be to understand and historically relate gay activism and cultural production so as to understand the indistinct-able and yet not too obvious interrelation between gay activism on the one hand and the field of art making and reception on the other. The formulation ‘the indistinct interrelation’ defines the nuances of a not so obvious problematic between creative arts and the gay political movement which is as yet an under-theorized area within queer theory. However, it is apparent that art making/viewing and activism are deeply implicated into one another. The qualification ‘indistinct’ because any queer “speech-act” in the dictum of Michael Foucault and “radical re-signification” according to Judith Butler (Bodies that Matter, 1993) that arise within art, seems to belong to activism, yet in actual practice (high) art primarily functions within a small section of the elite class for various non-activist purposes, and the objects made as art, literature, performance or cinema do not prima-facie become socio-politico-activism. On the other hand, the category “the queer art” itself does not seem to have come into existence as far as the mainstream contemporary Indian context is concerned. However, it needs to be noted that within the definitive terms of activist radicalism, it is to the credit of the artist who have explored the personal, and have become the voice for the community.
Through the quest for a queer speech, and as a radical practice what is thought through with definitive subversive tools are some of the quintessential problems and dynamics that control and direct gay identity issues in relation to high art – questions of doing art while having to deal with and exist within the mainstream/heterosexual world; to live an alternative life, to demand equal rights, and to live with art making as one’s vocation. In this regard gay artists can be seen at crossroads; on one hand making choices between one’s political concerns, creating meanings, choosing materials, forms, and aesthetics, and on the other, acting in conjunction with the minoritarian political identity. From within the above indicated problematic the present project also intends to interrogate so as to check out if in particular ways (high)art produced by gay people are tamed to fit neatly with-in the high art realm.
Methodology:
The proposed project entails traveling to Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, New Delhi, Lucknow, Kolkata and a few other places if the need be, so as to (1) document the activist initiatives of various NGO, community and other such organizations and (2) to interact with members of the gay community on the key issues of cultural production and its affects. The project will undertake interacting, interviewing and documenting the work of prominent artists in the above centers. Considering the specific mediumistic specificity of different cultural productions, the attempt would be to understand and articulate the modes of reception of cultural production and the production of meanings.
Within the specific scope of the proposed research, interviews on the above defined premises with writers such as Raj Rao, Hoshang Merchant and Mahesh Dattani will be undertaken. On the similar lines interviews will be conducted with film director Onir Ban, performer Astad Deboo, and visual artists Sunil Gupta and Jehangir Jani. Video- graphed excerpts of the interviews will be edited and put together as a documentary that will throw light on the interface of activism and art.
Outcome:
The present researcher in the course of last over five years have published and presented on public forums on prominent visual artists who have dealt with gay thematic in their works, and the proposed research project is expected to enable further publications of a few essays and/or publication of a book.
The present research intends to highlight the need for raising awareness among the gay community about its cultural achievements and in the public realm at large. The direction of the present research is also towards interacting with prominent members of the gay community regarding a possibility of creating a future center for documenting, archiving, promoting research and enabling queer cultural practices in India.
Prof. Shivaji K Panikkar
Ph: +91-265-2792254, Mobile:0-9898403097,
Email: shivji.panikkar@gmail.com
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Project Proposal: Title: Towards an Understanding of the Dynamics in the Formation of the Queer Identity and Art in India
Background:
The ongoing Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) activism in India is over two decades old. While activism seeks to actively define the politico-social and legal issues in relation to minority,[1] professional art production by queer artists function mainly as a catalyst in the formation of queer social identity[2] in the public realm. Internationally, such activism and art making are coeval with the expansion of queer theory, critical studies, curatorial practices, art exhibitions and publications. In India while literary research has reclaimed the histories of homosexuality and homoeroticism through publications,[3] certain interventional publications have focused on contemporary texts and thus have provided a major fillip to activism and aesthetic premises.[4] The central principle in all these is the fact that queer population is a discriminated, disadvantaged and legally vulnerable minority in India. Although often argued erroneously as a matter of private choice, the sexual fulfillment of the queer are subject to socio-politico-legal sanction, which make the present queer cultural expressions diverse, inchoate and riddled with complexity. While there had been a certain enthusiasm for queer cultural production by few queer art professionals; visual, literary and performative including film, many others who are otherwise queer, prefer to remain closeted.[5] On a closer scrutiny it is possible to also identify those who happily remain closeted in their art expression and those who are not so closeted and yet prefer to deflect the attention over to other aspects of their works. While this so considering the problematic of coming out of closet, however, it is a fact that historically queer activism and cultural production exist in tandem with each other and have proved to be most productive in certain instances. Importantly, prominent LGBT writers and artists gather their strength from the movement within and outside the country for LGBT rights,[6] and have definitively proved to be a significant intervention into the mainstream cultural field.
Objectives:
The proposed research intends to study the historical dynamics of the emergence of queer identity through art making. In that sense, the direction of the present research is towards exploring a possibility of speaking of the kinds of work being done by queer artists, writers and performers within the dynamics of closet and out of closet, and within and without the fame of socio-politico-legal activism. On a broader level it aims at documenting and developing critical insights into the area of LGBT cultural initiatives in the fields of visual art, literature, cinema, theatre and performance. While some artist’s works are primarily activist in nature, few others inscribe or encode sexuality tangentially and few others remain primarily committed to the formal and aesthetic premises. How and why of such instances will be probed into as part of the proposed project. The research will also investigate into the question of specific strategies of representation used by various creative persons in relation to issues of identity formation. Since the category “the queer art” itself has not yet seem to have come into existence as a valid category as far as the mainstream contemporary Indian context, the research will also look into such questions.
The project apart from enabling to produce a report and a paper is part of larger projects. These are: (1) Conceptualizing a curatorial concept for an art exhibition based on the research (2) The documentation, insights and the exhibition will form a part of a proposed queer cultural institution: ARQ: Archive, Research and Queer Cultural Practice – the concept note of which is attached along with this.
Methodology:
Apart from library work, the proposed project entails traveling to Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, New Delhi, Lucknow, Kolkata and a few other places if the need be, so as to document the works, interact and interview LGBT artists in the above centers. Considering the specific mediumistic specificity of different cultural productions, the attempt would be to understand the production of queer art and the production of meanings. Within the specific scope of the proposed research, interviews on the above defined premises with writers such as Raj Rao, Hoshang Merchant and Mahesh Dattani will be undertaken. On the similar lines interviews will be conducted with film director Onir Ban, performer Astad Deboo, and visual artists Sunil Gupta, Ajay Sharma, Abir Karmarkar, Inder Salim, Kanak Shashi, Tejal Shah, Nandini Das, Jehangir Jani, Ramesh Pithiya, Pankaj Gupta, Anita Dube, among others as the research moves.
Prof. Shivaji K Panikkar
Ph: +91-265-2792254, Mobile:0-9898403097,
Email: shivji.panikkar@gmail.com
[1] Particularly significant is the battle against Indian Penal Code 377.
[2] The term ‘queer’ traditionally referred to effeminate men, and implied derogatory connotations such as ‘strange’, ‘unusual’, or ‘out of alignment’. In the contemporary international activist context the term assumes an unprecedented positive assertion against such derogatory usages. Used as a synonym for LGBT (persons of gay, lesbian and bisexual sexual orientations and transgender anatomy and sexual preferences) ‘queer’ is an inclusive, unifying sociopolitical umbrella designation for people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, transgender, transsexual, intersexual and genderqueer, or of any other non-heterosexual sexuality, sexual anatomy, or gender identity.
[3] Ruth Vanita and Saleem Kidwai, (ed.), Same Sex Love in India: Readings from Literature and History, Macmillan India Ltd., Delhi, 2001, (first published in 2000, St. Martin’s Press, Palgrave).
[4] Yarana: Gay Writing from India, (ed), Hoshang Merchant, Yarana, Penguin Books India (P) Ltd., New Delhi, 1999.
[5] Literary figures: Raj Rao, Hoshang Merchant, performers, theatre persons and film makers/directors: Astad Deboo, Mahesh Dattani, and Onir Ban, visual artists: Bhupen Khakhar, Sunil Gupta, Jehangir Jani, Tejal Shah among others.
[6]Arguably two organizations spearhead in this matter; InterPride coordinate and network gay pride events worldwide, and International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) addresses human rights violations against LGBT and HIV people.
The ongoing Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) activism in India is over two decades old. While activism seeks to actively define the politico-social and legal issues in relation to minority,[1] professional art production by queer artists function mainly as a catalyst in the formation of queer social identity[2] in the public realm. Internationally, such activism and art making are coeval with the expansion of queer theory, critical studies, curatorial practices, art exhibitions and publications. In India while literary research has reclaimed the histories of homosexuality and homoeroticism through publications,[3] certain interventional publications have focused on contemporary texts and thus have provided a major fillip to activism and aesthetic premises.[4] The central principle in all these is the fact that queer population is a discriminated, disadvantaged and legally vulnerable minority in India. Although often argued erroneously as a matter of private choice, the sexual fulfillment of the queer are subject to socio-politico-legal sanction, which make the present queer cultural expressions diverse, inchoate and riddled with complexity. While there had been a certain enthusiasm for queer cultural production by few queer art professionals; visual, literary and performative including film, many others who are otherwise queer, prefer to remain closeted.[5] On a closer scrutiny it is possible to also identify those who happily remain closeted in their art expression and those who are not so closeted and yet prefer to deflect the attention over to other aspects of their works. While this so considering the problematic of coming out of closet, however, it is a fact that historically queer activism and cultural production exist in tandem with each other and have proved to be most productive in certain instances. Importantly, prominent LGBT writers and artists gather their strength from the movement within and outside the country for LGBT rights,[6] and have definitively proved to be a significant intervention into the mainstream cultural field.
Objectives:
The proposed research intends to study the historical dynamics of the emergence of queer identity through art making. In that sense, the direction of the present research is towards exploring a possibility of speaking of the kinds of work being done by queer artists, writers and performers within the dynamics of closet and out of closet, and within and without the fame of socio-politico-legal activism. On a broader level it aims at documenting and developing critical insights into the area of LGBT cultural initiatives in the fields of visual art, literature, cinema, theatre and performance. While some artist’s works are primarily activist in nature, few others inscribe or encode sexuality tangentially and few others remain primarily committed to the formal and aesthetic premises. How and why of such instances will be probed into as part of the proposed project. The research will also investigate into the question of specific strategies of representation used by various creative persons in relation to issues of identity formation. Since the category “the queer art” itself has not yet seem to have come into existence as a valid category as far as the mainstream contemporary Indian context, the research will also look into such questions.
The project apart from enabling to produce a report and a paper is part of larger projects. These are: (1) Conceptualizing a curatorial concept for an art exhibition based on the research (2) The documentation, insights and the exhibition will form a part of a proposed queer cultural institution: ARQ: Archive, Research and Queer Cultural Practice – the concept note of which is attached along with this.
Methodology:
Apart from library work, the proposed project entails traveling to Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, New Delhi, Lucknow, Kolkata and a few other places if the need be, so as to document the works, interact and interview LGBT artists in the above centers. Considering the specific mediumistic specificity of different cultural productions, the attempt would be to understand the production of queer art and the production of meanings. Within the specific scope of the proposed research, interviews on the above defined premises with writers such as Raj Rao, Hoshang Merchant and Mahesh Dattani will be undertaken. On the similar lines interviews will be conducted with film director Onir Ban, performer Astad Deboo, and visual artists Sunil Gupta, Ajay Sharma, Abir Karmarkar, Inder Salim, Kanak Shashi, Tejal Shah, Nandini Das, Jehangir Jani, Ramesh Pithiya, Pankaj Gupta, Anita Dube, among others as the research moves.
Prof. Shivaji K Panikkar
Ph: +91-265-2792254, Mobile:0-9898403097,
Email: shivji.panikkar@gmail.com
[1] Particularly significant is the battle against Indian Penal Code 377.
[2] The term ‘queer’ traditionally referred to effeminate men, and implied derogatory connotations such as ‘strange’, ‘unusual’, or ‘out of alignment’. In the contemporary international activist context the term assumes an unprecedented positive assertion against such derogatory usages. Used as a synonym for LGBT (persons of gay, lesbian and bisexual sexual orientations and transgender anatomy and sexual preferences) ‘queer’ is an inclusive, unifying sociopolitical umbrella designation for people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, transgender, transsexual, intersexual and genderqueer, or of any other non-heterosexual sexuality, sexual anatomy, or gender identity.
[3] Ruth Vanita and Saleem Kidwai, (ed.), Same Sex Love in India: Readings from Literature and History, Macmillan India Ltd., Delhi, 2001, (first published in 2000, St. Martin’s Press, Palgrave).
[4] Yarana: Gay Writing from India, (ed), Hoshang Merchant, Yarana, Penguin Books India (P) Ltd., New Delhi, 1999.
[5] Literary figures: Raj Rao, Hoshang Merchant, performers, theatre persons and film makers/directors: Astad Deboo, Mahesh Dattani, and Onir Ban, visual artists: Bhupen Khakhar, Sunil Gupta, Jehangir Jani, Tejal Shah among others.
[6]Arguably two organizations spearhead in this matter; InterPride coordinate and network gay pride events worldwide, and International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) addresses human rights violations against LGBT and HIV people.
Revised Concept Note: ARQ: Archive, Research and Queer Cultural Practice
The proposed national center - ARQ: Archive, Research and Queer Cultural Practice[1] will aim at: (1) archiving histories of the Indian queer culture and practice, (2) enable queer creative person’s professional practices, and (3) promote critical thinking and creative skills among the Indian queer community. It is a well accepted fact that the ongoing Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LBGT) activism in India is over two decades old.[2] In the 1990s and through the present decade, significant formal or informal LGBT groups and at instances of political formations or/and reach-out-publications had emerged in the major Indian cities and several small towns.[3] Significant also are similar developments from other Asian, and South-Asian Diaspora in the West.[4] Of these, some of which are still functional and some either disbanded or dormant, have pursued several lines of action - in the areas of mental and physical health, jurisprudence, and community identity; running help lines to creating common platforms for queer people to discuss common problems. At the top of their agendas, most organizations also sought to actively define the political, social and legal issue of queer rights, particularly the battle against IPC 377.
Currently there is no single organization or agency in the country that link queer history, activism and culture. The proposal keeps in view these along with multiplicities of practices and modes of functioning of the communities. ARQ[5] will avoid a singular privileged queer category or norm, and the proposition for an integrated national queer center is based on democratic principles. Since queer experiences are varied and specific in different subject locations and positions, the question of regional, religious, class and caste differences and identities would be a necessary framework that will guide the mode of archiving and interpretation. This will have to be so in a country like India, and in that sense the proposition is based on certain pragmatic concerns, such as the extend of national level spread and micro level reach, diversity and detail. Such micro histories would enable the queer community to challenge the available histories which exclude them from the ambit.
The central principle in all these is the fact that queer population is a discriminated, disadvantaged and legally vulnerable minority in India. Although often argued erroneously as a matter of private choice, the sexual fulfillment of the queer are subject to socio-politico-legal sanction, which make the present queer culture diverse, inchoate and riddled with complexity. Concurrent with health and legal activism is the trajectory of LGBT cultural production by professionals; visual, literary and performative including film.[6] Activism and cultural production exist in tandem with each other and have proved to be most productive in the recent past. Importantly, prominent writers and artists gather their strength from the movement within and outside the country for LGBT rights,[7] and have definitively proved to be a significant intervention into the mainstream cultural field. Similarly, literary research has reclaimed the histories of homosexuality and homoeroticism through publications,[8] and certain interventional publications have focused on contemporary texts and thus have provided a major fillip to queer activism and aesthetic premise.[9]
Yet another premise that ARQ will be concerned is of queer theory and critical studies, which grew out of the broader area of Cultural Studies. Writings of theoreticians such as Michael Foucault, Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick and Judith Butler have shown that mainstream ideologies and theories are constituted by and constitutive of heterosexual norms, giving rise to Queer Studies as a specialized area of expertise in the West. In India too theoretical interventions have emerged though publications and a couple of university departments offer courses in queer studies, primarily in relation to literature.[10] Arguably, Queer Cultural Studies was shaped in critical dialogue with existing disciplines such as philosophy (in France), sociology and film theory (in the UK), history, literature and political theory (in India), political theory and sociology (in Japan and Korea), jurisprudence and anthropology (in the USA). In India, these have found enthusiastic support across a number of disciplines in the humanities and the social sciences.[11] These initiatives not only expanded the scope of queer studies and activism but also have posed crucial challenges to the existing theoretical/conceptual paradigms of gender and sexuality.
The ARQ is primarily envisaged as having two major focuses as follows. (1) To create a platform for historians, theoreticians and cultural practitioners to undertake the production of historical and critical knowledge with regard to queer communities and cultures and to present such works. (2) To promote creativity among the queer population in general as well as in relation to community health (mainly around the medical discourse on HIV, STI) and mental and physical wellbeing; in promoting artistic/creative involvement as a therapeutic means towards psychological integration and a measure of instilling the concept of beauty, self-esteem and self-worth.
In practice, focus one would concentrate on the work of academics and artists and there would be an extremely conscious effort to break down the barriers produced by the elitist nature of high art and also between vernacular, metropolitan and international academia. Focus two would draw people from diverse backgrounds and effectively work against class, caste and other boundaries which foreclose the possibilities of a communitarian consciousness and also prevent access and usage of resources and methods according to the hierarchical systems.
Objectives: (a) ARQ aims at archiving queer histories and to build-up a visual and print archive in the form of books, journals, photographs, films, videos, private documents etc. The focuses of the archive will be to document and archive (1) queer biographies in India (2) the history of queer activism in India (3) the visual and textual historical evidences and data (including oral histories) in relation to queer life and cultural expressions in different historical periods in India (4) building up a resource library equipped with books, journals and ephemeral documents like reviews, brochures etc. (b) ARQ envisages making varied queer experiences as a source of institutionalizing debates on activism, to propel it into a mature arena of learning sharing and creating a culture of positive affirmation. It aims at undertaking cultural initiatives and interventions in the area of queer life, health and art. It will function as a platform for the queer community to view, interact and engage in cultural production, and will offer possibilities of critical engagement by (1) holding workshops in artistic media like literary, visual and performance art, including video and film (2) holding regular seminars and conferences in the area of queer studies, health and creative expressions (3) conducting special therapeutic cultural, creative and recreational programs for the health affected queer population (4) holding exhibitions, exposures and festivals of art, performances and films.
The objectives of ARQ are to enable understanding of specific conditions in which certain kinds of queer cultures are produced within specific internal dynamics and polemics: (1) To create resources and space for archive and research of queer histories and practices in India and elsewhere. (2) To promote, frame and socially and publicly make available the cultural initiatives and creativity of queer persons/organizations. (3) To inculcate and nurture creative skills to enable queer self-expression. (4) To promote critical thinking among queer people. (5) To enable exchange of knowledge through international collaboration and exchanges in the fields of culture, sexuality and health.
Work Plan: At the outset, contacts will be made with various LGBT organizations/individuals and creative organizations and persons so as to research on their work, past and present projects and to seek support and collaboration, and to seek thinking together in the direction pursued by ARQ. This and the rest of the plan will be subject to the availability of funds.
Prof. Shivaji K Panikkar
[1] The term ‘queer’ traditionally referred to effeminate men, and implied derogatory connotations such as ‘strange’, ‘unusual’, or ‘out of alignment’. In the contemporary international activist context the term assumes an unprecedented positive assertion against such derogatory usages. Used as a synonym for LGBT (persons of gay, lesbian and bisexual sexual orientations and transgender anatomy and sexual preferences) ‘queer’ is an inclusive, unifying sociopolitical umbrella designation for people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, transgender, transsexual, intersexual and genderqueer, or of any other non-heterosexual sexuality, sexual anatomy, or gender identity. Within it, queer also includes asexual and autosexual people and gender normative heterosexuals whose sexual orientations or activities place them outside the heterosexual mainstream such as BDSM practitioners (Compound acronym derived from the terms bondage and discipline, dominance and submission, sadism and masochism.) or polyamorous persons. Queer is a preferred terminology used by activists belonging to any of the above designations and ‘queer culture and practices’ refer to the commonly shared cultural production done by or/and shared by all or one of the above categories.
[2] The earliest mobilization of community action began in Bombay in 1989-90 with the publication of the newsletter Bombay Dost. From the period prior to this, scattered textual references and oral narratives are found in connection with informal circles of friends of varied queer denominations.
[3] Some of these are Red Rose (New Delhi), Fun Club (Calcutta), Friends India (Lucknow) and Garden City Club (Bangalore) and through mid 1990s and early 2000s many more such initiatives were undertaken namely, Sneha Sangama, Good As You, Sabrang (all in Bangalore), Humsafar Trust, Udan, Khush Club (all in Mumbai) Council Club (Calcutta), Humrahi, NAZ Foundation (New Delhi) Gay Information Centre (Secunderabad), Men India Movement (Cochi), Expressions (Hyderabad), Sahayak Gay Group (Akola), Asara (Patna), Sathi (Cuttack), Lakshya, Parma and Vikalp (Vadodara) etc. See Sherry Joseph and Pawan Dhall, ‘No Silence Please, We’re Indians! – Les-Bi-Gay Voices from India’ in Different Rainbows, (ed.) Peter Drunker, Gay Man’s Press, UK, 2000,. p.161
[4] These are Trikone (USA), Khush Khayal (Canada), Shakti (UK), Samakami(USA), South Asian Lesbian and Gay Association (USA) and Dost (UK). See Ibid.pp. 157 to 178.
[5] ARQ will be pronounced as Arc, which means (1) part of the circumference of a circle or the other curve (2) Electric, luminous discharge between two electrodes.
[6] Literary figures: Raj Rao, Hoshang Merchant, performers, theatre persons and film makers/directors: Astad Deboo, Mahesh Dattani, and Onir Ban, visual artists: Bhupen Khakhar, Sunil Gupta, Jehangir Jani, Tejal Shah among others.
[7] Arguably two organizations spearhead in this matter; InterPride coordinate and network gay pride events worldwide, and International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) addresses human rights violations against LGBT and HIV people.
[8] Ruth Vanita and Saleem Kidwai, (ed.), Same Sex Love in India: Readings from Literature and History, Macmillan India Ltd., Delhi, 2001, (first published in 2000, St. Martin’s Press, Palgrave).
[9] Yarana: Gay Writing from India, (ed), Hoshang Merchant, Yarana, Penguin Books India (P) Ltd., New Delhi, 1999.
[10] These are University of Pune, Pune (Maharashtra), Central University (Hyderabad) and Yadvpur University, Kolkata.
[11] For instance see The Phobic and the Erotic, (ed), Brinda Bose and Subhabrata Bhattacharyya, Seagull Books, Calcutta, 2007.
Currently there is no single organization or agency in the country that link queer history, activism and culture. The proposal keeps in view these along with multiplicities of practices and modes of functioning of the communities. ARQ[5] will avoid a singular privileged queer category or norm, and the proposition for an integrated national queer center is based on democratic principles. Since queer experiences are varied and specific in different subject locations and positions, the question of regional, religious, class and caste differences and identities would be a necessary framework that will guide the mode of archiving and interpretation. This will have to be so in a country like India, and in that sense the proposition is based on certain pragmatic concerns, such as the extend of national level spread and micro level reach, diversity and detail. Such micro histories would enable the queer community to challenge the available histories which exclude them from the ambit.
The central principle in all these is the fact that queer population is a discriminated, disadvantaged and legally vulnerable minority in India. Although often argued erroneously as a matter of private choice, the sexual fulfillment of the queer are subject to socio-politico-legal sanction, which make the present queer culture diverse, inchoate and riddled with complexity. Concurrent with health and legal activism is the trajectory of LGBT cultural production by professionals; visual, literary and performative including film.[6] Activism and cultural production exist in tandem with each other and have proved to be most productive in the recent past. Importantly, prominent writers and artists gather their strength from the movement within and outside the country for LGBT rights,[7] and have definitively proved to be a significant intervention into the mainstream cultural field. Similarly, literary research has reclaimed the histories of homosexuality and homoeroticism through publications,[8] and certain interventional publications have focused on contemporary texts and thus have provided a major fillip to queer activism and aesthetic premise.[9]
Yet another premise that ARQ will be concerned is of queer theory and critical studies, which grew out of the broader area of Cultural Studies. Writings of theoreticians such as Michael Foucault, Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick and Judith Butler have shown that mainstream ideologies and theories are constituted by and constitutive of heterosexual norms, giving rise to Queer Studies as a specialized area of expertise in the West. In India too theoretical interventions have emerged though publications and a couple of university departments offer courses in queer studies, primarily in relation to literature.[10] Arguably, Queer Cultural Studies was shaped in critical dialogue with existing disciplines such as philosophy (in France), sociology and film theory (in the UK), history, literature and political theory (in India), political theory and sociology (in Japan and Korea), jurisprudence and anthropology (in the USA). In India, these have found enthusiastic support across a number of disciplines in the humanities and the social sciences.[11] These initiatives not only expanded the scope of queer studies and activism but also have posed crucial challenges to the existing theoretical/conceptual paradigms of gender and sexuality.
The ARQ is primarily envisaged as having two major focuses as follows. (1) To create a platform for historians, theoreticians and cultural practitioners to undertake the production of historical and critical knowledge with regard to queer communities and cultures and to present such works. (2) To promote creativity among the queer population in general as well as in relation to community health (mainly around the medical discourse on HIV, STI) and mental and physical wellbeing; in promoting artistic/creative involvement as a therapeutic means towards psychological integration and a measure of instilling the concept of beauty, self-esteem and self-worth.
In practice, focus one would concentrate on the work of academics and artists and there would be an extremely conscious effort to break down the barriers produced by the elitist nature of high art and also between vernacular, metropolitan and international academia. Focus two would draw people from diverse backgrounds and effectively work against class, caste and other boundaries which foreclose the possibilities of a communitarian consciousness and also prevent access and usage of resources and methods according to the hierarchical systems.
Objectives: (a) ARQ aims at archiving queer histories and to build-up a visual and print archive in the form of books, journals, photographs, films, videos, private documents etc. The focuses of the archive will be to document and archive (1) queer biographies in India (2) the history of queer activism in India (3) the visual and textual historical evidences and data (including oral histories) in relation to queer life and cultural expressions in different historical periods in India (4) building up a resource library equipped with books, journals and ephemeral documents like reviews, brochures etc. (b) ARQ envisages making varied queer experiences as a source of institutionalizing debates on activism, to propel it into a mature arena of learning sharing and creating a culture of positive affirmation. It aims at undertaking cultural initiatives and interventions in the area of queer life, health and art. It will function as a platform for the queer community to view, interact and engage in cultural production, and will offer possibilities of critical engagement by (1) holding workshops in artistic media like literary, visual and performance art, including video and film (2) holding regular seminars and conferences in the area of queer studies, health and creative expressions (3) conducting special therapeutic cultural, creative and recreational programs for the health affected queer population (4) holding exhibitions, exposures and festivals of art, performances and films.
The objectives of ARQ are to enable understanding of specific conditions in which certain kinds of queer cultures are produced within specific internal dynamics and polemics: (1) To create resources and space for archive and research of queer histories and practices in India and elsewhere. (2) To promote, frame and socially and publicly make available the cultural initiatives and creativity of queer persons/organizations. (3) To inculcate and nurture creative skills to enable queer self-expression. (4) To promote critical thinking among queer people. (5) To enable exchange of knowledge through international collaboration and exchanges in the fields of culture, sexuality and health.
Work Plan: At the outset, contacts will be made with various LGBT organizations/individuals and creative organizations and persons so as to research on their work, past and present projects and to seek support and collaboration, and to seek thinking together in the direction pursued by ARQ. This and the rest of the plan will be subject to the availability of funds.
Prof. Shivaji K Panikkar
[1] The term ‘queer’ traditionally referred to effeminate men, and implied derogatory connotations such as ‘strange’, ‘unusual’, or ‘out of alignment’. In the contemporary international activist context the term assumes an unprecedented positive assertion against such derogatory usages. Used as a synonym for LGBT (persons of gay, lesbian and bisexual sexual orientations and transgender anatomy and sexual preferences) ‘queer’ is an inclusive, unifying sociopolitical umbrella designation for people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, transgender, transsexual, intersexual and genderqueer, or of any other non-heterosexual sexuality, sexual anatomy, or gender identity. Within it, queer also includes asexual and autosexual people and gender normative heterosexuals whose sexual orientations or activities place them outside the heterosexual mainstream such as BDSM practitioners (Compound acronym derived from the terms bondage and discipline, dominance and submission, sadism and masochism.) or polyamorous persons. Queer is a preferred terminology used by activists belonging to any of the above designations and ‘queer culture and practices’ refer to the commonly shared cultural production done by or/and shared by all or one of the above categories.
[2] The earliest mobilization of community action began in Bombay in 1989-90 with the publication of the newsletter Bombay Dost. From the period prior to this, scattered textual references and oral narratives are found in connection with informal circles of friends of varied queer denominations.
[3] Some of these are Red Rose (New Delhi), Fun Club (Calcutta), Friends India (Lucknow) and Garden City Club (Bangalore) and through mid 1990s and early 2000s many more such initiatives were undertaken namely, Sneha Sangama, Good As You, Sabrang (all in Bangalore), Humsafar Trust, Udan, Khush Club (all in Mumbai) Council Club (Calcutta), Humrahi, NAZ Foundation (New Delhi) Gay Information Centre (Secunderabad), Men India Movement (Cochi), Expressions (Hyderabad), Sahayak Gay Group (Akola), Asara (Patna), Sathi (Cuttack), Lakshya, Parma and Vikalp (Vadodara) etc. See Sherry Joseph and Pawan Dhall, ‘No Silence Please, We’re Indians! – Les-Bi-Gay Voices from India’ in Different Rainbows, (ed.) Peter Drunker, Gay Man’s Press, UK, 2000,. p.161
[4] These are Trikone (USA), Khush Khayal (Canada), Shakti (UK), Samakami(USA), South Asian Lesbian and Gay Association (USA) and Dost (UK). See Ibid.pp. 157 to 178.
[5] ARQ will be pronounced as Arc, which means (1) part of the circumference of a circle or the other curve (2) Electric, luminous discharge between two electrodes.
[6] Literary figures: Raj Rao, Hoshang Merchant, performers, theatre persons and film makers/directors: Astad Deboo, Mahesh Dattani, and Onir Ban, visual artists: Bhupen Khakhar, Sunil Gupta, Jehangir Jani, Tejal Shah among others.
[7] Arguably two organizations spearhead in this matter; InterPride coordinate and network gay pride events worldwide, and International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) addresses human rights violations against LGBT and HIV people.
[8] Ruth Vanita and Saleem Kidwai, (ed.), Same Sex Love in India: Readings from Literature and History, Macmillan India Ltd., Delhi, 2001, (first published in 2000, St. Martin’s Press, Palgrave).
[9] Yarana: Gay Writing from India, (ed), Hoshang Merchant, Yarana, Penguin Books India (P) Ltd., New Delhi, 1999.
[10] These are University of Pune, Pune (Maharashtra), Central University (Hyderabad) and Yadvpur University, Kolkata.
[11] For instance see The Phobic and the Erotic, (ed), Brinda Bose and Subhabrata Bhattacharyya, Seagull Books, Calcutta, 2007.
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