LGBTQIA+ history in India

Notes

• Pre-colonial India exhibited significant gender fluidity and queer expression, evidenced in Vedic and Puranic literature, the Kama Sutra, and mythological figures like Shikhandi.
• Historical records from the Delhi Sultanate and Mughal periods, such as the Ain-i-Akbari, document the presence and acceptance of khwajasaras (transgender and intersex individuals) in court.
• Urdu poetry included the Rekhti subgenre, which referenced homoerotic desires among women.
• Key historical sites associated with queer history include Jamali Kamali (Delhi), Hijron ka Khanqah (Delhi), Bagh-e-Nazir (Delhi), Badshah no Hajiro (Ahmedabad), and various temple carvings in Khajuraho, Konark, Hampi, and Madurai.
• Bengaluru served as a hub for queer migration and activism in the 1990s, with Cubbon Park acting as a central site for self-support groups like 'Good As You'.
• Heritage walks and performance art (e.g., Postcard from Colaba) are being used as tools to document underground queer histories and challenge contemporary social prejudices.
• Historians caution against imposing modern labels of 'queer' on historical figures, noting that many were admired, normative figures within their specific cultural and spiritual contexts.
• Scholars emphasize that queerphobia in India is not solely a colonial import, as historical fractures existed along caste and gender lines.