#Homohindunationalism: Politics of Sexuality in the times of Majoritarianism in India

Date 17 March 2020
Time 6:30 - 8pm
Cost Free
This event is free but you must register your place in advance.

This event is an exploration of the larger theme of growing homonationalism globally – a term originally coined by Jasbir Puar to explain the association between nationalists and members from the LGBTQ community.

Rainbow flags hanging up at Regent Street campus

The Centre for the Study of Democracy (CSD), within the School of Social Sciences, has research themes that include gender and sexuality as well as Post-Colonial Politics, Development and Emerging Powers. There is an explicit focus on engagement with communities and impacting upon public debates around these contentious subjects. India is one such region.

Rightwing nationalisms that would in the past dehumanise LGBTQ persons have sought to reframe themselves and appropriate and discipline LGBTQ movements. Islamophobia is deployed by many instances of these homonationalisms.

This panel discussion will focus on the growing trend of #homohindunationalism in India, where in there has been an attempt to label and pass rightwing Hindu government policies as pro-LGBTQ community even though the track record of Hindu nationalism is resolutely queer-phobic. 

The panel discussion will discuss questions such as:

  • Is this a cynical move to present a progressive and liberal face in the West? Or is it a ploy to prevent solidarities between LGBTQ and religious minority communities in India?
  • Why would parts of queer movement rally in favour of Indian government’s unilateral annexation of Kashmir while others oppose it?
  • Is the representation of rightwing Hindu nationalist action as ‘liberating the LGBTQ community of Jammu & Kashmir’ partly fair?
  • How is the queer community in India responding to recent large scale protests against discriminatory citizenship laws?
  • Should LGBTQ movement, still nascent in India where homosexuality was decriminalised only recently, keep out of solidarity politics and focus on Pride as celebration or should it become immersed?
  • What is the controversy over the Transgender Persons Act 2019 all about?

The panel will feature queer scholars who research the above themes in conversation followed by a question/answer round.

Event is open to all, registration (via eventbrite) is mandatory.

About the speakers

Title
Location

Fyvie Hall, University of Westminster, 309 Regent Street, London, W1B 2UW

 Accessibility: Together with AccessAble, we have created online Disabled Access Guides for our buildings.