Dec 03 2025 to Dec 03 2025 6:30 p.m.

Where

Bangalore International Centre

7 4th Main Rd, Stage 2, Domlur 560071

Event Description

A vibrant conversation about the book Forbidden Desire, delving into how the British erased India’s protofeminist and queer pasts through colonialism.

Drawing from a wide range of disciplines including feminist historiography, anthropology, histories of sexuality, South Asian queer theory, decolonial and subaltern studies, the history of medicine, legislative history, and informed by the author’s primary archival research, this discussion will span a number of themes.

Arundhati & Sindhu will look into how people from across the socio-economic spectrum explored and expressed their gender and sexuality in myriad ways before British colonialism. Colonial authorities passed a posy of laws to criminalise sexually agentive (wo)mxn and queer folks. From nautch dancers to courtesans, effeminate mxn, masculine womxn, trans and queer persons, even ascetic renunciants were classified as ‘sexual deviants’. Old prejudices were mapped onto new ones. Colonial India, in effect, amalgamated ancient and medieval fundamentalist codes of heteronormativity with Victorian attitudes towards sex.

By critically interrogating the past, the discussants invite the audience to reimagine the future.

Speakers

Sindhu Rajasekaran
Author
Sindhu Rajasekaran is an author, academic & filmmaker. Her debut novel,  Kaleidoscopic Reflections ,  was nominated for the Crossword Book Award. She has also written a collection of short stories,  So I Let It Be , and the bestselling nonfiction book:  Smashing the Patriarchy . Sindhu produced the award-winning feature film  Ramanujan  and is Curatrix at  The Subjective Space . Her poetry and creative nonfiction have been published by renowned literary magazines such as The Room,  Asia Literary Review, and  New Writing Scotland . She has a PhD in Creative Writing from the  University of Strathclyde , where she was a recipient of the Dean’s Global Research Award. Her latest book is Forbidden Desire: How the British Stole India’s Queer Pasts & Queer Futures, published by Simon & Schuster.

Arundhati Ghosh
Writer, Cultural Practitioner & Social Activist
Arundhati Ghosh has worked across the arts and culture sector for over three decades, shaping conversations on creativity, philanthropy, and social justice. She was the Executive Director of the India Foundation for the Arts (IFA) from 2013 to 2023, and continues to contribute to institutions such as the Museum of Art and Photography (MAP), Shomokaleen Protibidhan, the Solidarity Foundation, and Maraa. Her voice is sought internationally for its depth on the arts, equity, and cultural practice. A poet in Bangla, her debut collection Oshomoye Phire Esho Nodi Hoye appeared in 2023, followed by All Our Loves: Journeys with Polyamory in India (Aleph, 2025). Whether writing, advising, or speaking, Arundhati brings a rare ability to connect artistic practice with lived realities, making her an influential presence in any dialogue on culture and society. She writes a monthly column on relationships titled Ties and Knots for the Deccan Herald.