About the Book:

There are hardly any books in India written by LGBTIQ Activists which chronicle their experiences as an LGBTIQ activist. Most of the reading material available focuses on struggle with oneself about our sexuality/gender and coming out experiences.

If you are looking for an esoteric volume on Queer Theory, this is not the book for you. This book is a trilogy of author's experiences of the past two decades as a Gay activist working in Pune (India).

Book I - ‘Shadowland’ covers the years of his return to India from the USA in April 2000, till the 2009 Delhi High Court judgment on Sec 377 IPC.

Book II - ‘Twilight’ covers the period from 2009 to 2013, when the Supreme Court struck down the Delhi High Court judgment on Sec 377 IPC.

Book III - ‘Shadows At Dawn’ covers the period from 2013 to May 2020, when surviving Covid-19 became the all-consuming goal.

The LGBTIQ movement in India, started by Ashok Row Kavi, India’s first Gay activist, has evolved over the last 2 decades. Many of the 50+ generation Gay activists in India started off with the objective of increasing awareness amongst the mainstream about LGBTIQ issues and reducing HIV/AIDS and STI incidence in Gays, Bisexuals and Transgenders. Author was one of them.

With Naz Foundation (India) filing an PIL in the Delhi High Court in 2001, pleading unconstitutionality of Sec 377 IPC, the movement gained momentum but the struggles and failures that the older generation Gay activists repeatedly faced on the field remained mostly undocumented.

About the Author:

Of the few Gay activists who has been working on LGBTIQ activism in India for more than 2 decades, Author Bindumadhav Khire has been fortunate to have handled a range of services for LGBTIQ - a helpline, HIV/AIDS, STI targeted intervention projects, sessions on LGBTIQ issues, Advait Pune International Queer Film Festival.