Kranti Kino | Queer India Weekend | Community Film Screening + Discussion + Cookout

Collaboration with and Hosted by xart splitta

Days after the historic judgement by the Supreme Court of India decriminalizing homosexuality, we screened two iconic films about being queer and Indian — Summer in My Veins (Nishit Saran,1999,41 mins) and Fire (Deepa Mehta,1996,104 mins).

We also hosted a discussion about the films and the long and complex histories of queer South Asian identities with speakers Saboura M. Naqshband and Maya Indira Ganesh. We also cooked hot ghugni for all our guests!

Here is what we thought on the day the section 377 of the IPC was struck down:

The absolutely basic step forward has been taken — it is no longer a criminal offence to have consensual non peno-vaginal sex in India anymore.

However, how does one combat the incredibly harsh social stigma that queer folx face in the country? The repressive social atmosphere, the denial of dignity, the insurmountable pressure from family, these were never dependent on a draconian law — the law merely gave the social repression a legal language.

We hope to fight against the murky power structures that emanate from hetero-patriarchy and its pervasive compulsoriness in our lives. We do not want to witness another of our queer comrades committing suicide, feeling alone or being forced to be in denial about their own truth.

Satrangi Salaam.