VJHS 1.1.1 – VLEARNY

LOVE AND QUEER IN A DIFFERENT TIME: COLONIALIST ERASURE OF INDIAN QUEERNESS

Suditi Sinha
Bachelor of Arts (History and Political Science ), Miranda House, Delhi University; Email: suditi.2023.1324@mirandahouse.ac.in; ORCID: 0009-0005-4901-7924

Abstract

Indian memory holds a profound lacuna when it comes to the rich traditions of homosexuality in the pre-colonial era. Sexuality, pleasure, intimacy, and love were expressed in different ways, such as through literature like the Kama Sutra, Perso-Urdu poetic texts, and the works of various writers. There was also a cultural vibrancy manifested through cross-dressing, female impersonation performances, and the importance of divergent identities placed at the center of many of our rituals and practices, among other trends. These expressions showed a freedom from rigid norms of respectability, even though they sometimes existed outside the mainstream.

The presence of such elements led to colonial appropriation, which resulted in an oppressive superstructure, the echoes of which are still felt today. Colonialism, as a form of exploitation, also featured distortion across the social, legal, political, and cultural spheres. Laws like IPC Section 377 reflected colonial values and catered to upper-caste, conservative Hindu ideas of masculinity and religious purity.

We will also examine the dichotomy between Eastern and Western ideals and how queerness is inherently woven into the fabric of Indian, or Hindustani, identity. Love and sexuality cannot be discussed without considering gender, and thus, the conditions of the Hijra community in the 19th century are briefly discussed here.

This paper attempts to trace queerness and its manifestations in early colonial India, along with the repeated and continuous attempts of tyrannical authority and orthodox society to suppress divergent identities. It delves into the consciously colonial efforts to rewrite Indian histories and erase the lives of queer individuals.

Keywords: Pre-colonial

Citation of this paper:

Sinha, S. (2025). LOVE AND QUEER IN A DIFFERENT TIME: COLONIALIST ERASURE OF INDIAN QUEERNESS. VLEARNY Journal of Humanities & Social Science, 1(1), 4–13. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15687868

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7. Figure 1(Hidjera) and Figure 2 (Khwajasarai) sourced from “Governing gender and sexuality in colonial India: the Hijra, c. 1850–1900” by Jessica Hinchy

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