Jun 12 2026 to Jun 12 2026 6:30 p.m.

Where

Bangalore International Centre

7 4th Main Rd, Stage 2, Domlur 560071

Event Description

Dignity has never arrived on its own. 

It has been argued for, marched for, litigated over, and claimed inch by inch by movements that refused to wait.

This event features a conversation with Justice S Muralidhar, Siddharth Narrain, and Ruth Manorama: stalwarts in the fields of law, gender and sexuality, constitutionalism, and anti-caste movements. Together they discuss what constitutional morality actually means in practice today, where LGBTQIA+ and anti-caste movements have converged and diverged, and what the law can and cannot do for people it has historically failed.

Contributors Vijeta Kumar, Siddarth Ganesh and Kiran Nayak will read excerpts from Queer India Now; a new anthology of queer writing, poetry, and art, illustrating the vibrant community from small towns and bureaucracies to dance floors and police stations. The session itself will be anchored by the editors, Dhrubo Jyoti and Dhamini Ratnam.

What does a future of dignity, respect and joy look like for queer India?

In Collaboration with:

Speakers

Justice S Muralidhar
Former Chief Justice, High Court of Orissa
Justice S Muralidhar, one of the two judges who first decriminalised homosexuality in 2009 and instituted the idea of constitutional morality, enrolled as an advocate in Chennai in 1984 and shifted his law practice to New Delhi in 1987. He was awarded a PhD by the University of Delhi in 2002. He was an Advocate-on-Record in the Supreme Court of India till his elevation as a Judge of the High Court of Delhi in May 2006. He was Chief Justice of the High Court of Orissa from January 2021 till his retirement in August 2023. He was designated as a Senior Advocate by the Supreme Court in October 2023. His latest book is the edited volume, [In] Complete Justice: The Supreme Court at 75.

Ruth Manorama
Anti-Caste Women's Activist
Ruth Manorama is a trailblazing anti-caste women’s activist who has founded numerous social organisations and movements in her four-decade-long career. A recipient of the Right Livelihood Award, she has spent decades organising at the intersection of caste, gender and economic justice, and has consistently pushed Indian progressive movements to reckon with Dalit women’s perspectives.

Siddharth Narrain
Assistant Professor, Law & Faculty Director, Queer Archive for Memory, NLSIU
Siddharth Narrain is an Assistant Professor of Law at the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bangalore and the Faculty Director of the Queer Archive for Memory, Reflection and Activism (QAMRA) at NLSIU. Siddharth was part of the team of lawyers representing Voices Against Against 377; Parents of LGBTI Persons; and Mental Health Professionals in the litigation challenging the constitutionality of section 377 of the Indian Penal Code before the Delhi High Court and Supreme Court.