VG writes, "So it’s complicated because of, ding ding ding, colonialism. Ruth Vanita and Salim Kidwai’s academically rigorous book
Same Sex Love in India documents that until British colonisation, same-sex relations were not condemned with death or torture the way it was seen in some contemporaneous societies.
In Ancient India, sacred texts often mention homosexuality, transgender characters and both (like heterosexuality) were viewed as Maya or the illusion of the body, with the soul/ God being the only truth.
Under medieval Turkic, and later Turko-Mongol rule, India was ruled by many gay or at least bisexual rulers, including Alauddin Khalji, Mubarak Khalji and Babur.
British rule brought very different moral mores and it was enough to change India quite thoroughly. But honestly as an Indian living in India, I think we have to own up to our own homophobia and transphobia cuz the British left over 70 years ago and we should start engaging with our own postcolonial shit, to build a new future for LGBT people.
Good news is the Supreme Court decriminalised homosexuality in 2017 and transgender rights (including state-paid surgeries) are encoded into law.
Nothing is perfect, marriage equality is still a battle ahead of us, but we are here and strong..."
