Imaginations of Sexual Citizenship: Homonationalist Narratives in India and Kashmir

The decriminalisation of homosexuality in India through the Navtej Singh Johar vs Union of India (2018) judgement has been described as a watershed moment, opening up various avenues for the LGBTQIA+ community to pursue equal citizenship. However, this legal progress towards LGBTQIA+ recognition has been accompanied by attempts to appropriate sexual discourse by the Hindu-nationalists. Investigating this growing interaction between Hindu-nationalism and LGBTQIA+ politics, the proposed research is directed by the following question: how does homonationalist appropriation of the LGBTQIA+ communities by Hindu-nationalists transpire in India, with a novel focus on the sexual politics in the region of Indian-administered Kashmir? By doing so, this research investigates how Hindu-nationalism shapes and informs the imagination of India's LGBTQIA+ citizens; how Islamophobia is central to this Hindu-nationalist project; and the implications of such discourse for the future of LGBTQIA+ politics in India. In raising these questions, the research seeks to develop a critical lens that explores new forms of power configurations amongst India's LGBTQIA+ community, as well as its implications for progressive politics, minority representation, and democratic values in the context of India and Kashmir.