Can Rabindranath Tagore be called a nativist?

The Nobel Laureate preferred his mother tongue, Bengali, and was a reluctant poet in English. But he was by no means an aggressive nationalist.

R Raj Rao

· Sep 30, 2023 · 07:30 am

A professor writes: Why a Pune lecturer’s arrest for ‘outraging religious feelings’ has left me wary

An expert in the field of LGBTQIA+ Studies has some worrisome questions.

R Raj Rao

· Aug 14, 2023 · 07:30 am

In the politics of touch between men in India, a German artist finds ‘endless, subtle meanings’

Marc Ohrem-Leclef’s project ‘Zameen Aasman ka Farq’ contemplates the affection between Indian men.

R Raj Rao

· Jun 30, 2023 · 11:30 am

Why the RSS chief’s remarks on the acceptance of the queer community are insincere

Mohan Bhagwat’s comments do not gloss over the ill-informed statements made over the years by the Sangh and the BJP, nor do they erase years of discrimination.

R Raj Rao

· Jan 17, 2023 · 09:00 am

Should Salman Rushdie get the Nobel Prize for literature in 2022?

After the attempt to murder him in August 2022, several writers and critics believe the time is ripe for the award that has long eluded him.

R Raj Rao

· Sep 24, 2022 · 08:30 am

Though homosexuality has been decriminalised, two incidents in Pune show how bias still prevails

That the law allows for consensual adult homosexuality does not mean that conservative mindsets have undergone a change.

R Raj Rao

· Jul 28, 2022 · 09:00 am

Onir: ‘It’s illogical to allow films about army men depicting heterosexual love but not gay love’

The director sought clearance for a movie based on a gay man who resigned from the army on account of his sexual orientation.

R Raj Rao

· Jan 28, 2022 · 07:30 am

Dabur ad withdrawal shows that the decriminalisation of homosexuality in India amounts to nothing

The company retracted the spot featuring a lesbian couple and apologised ‘for unintentionally hurting people’s sentiments’.

R Raj Rao

· Oct 26, 2021 · 04:00 pm

Saleem Kidwai (1951-2021): A pioneering historian of same-sex love in India

He was co-author of the seminal ‘Same Sex Love in India: Readings from Literature and History’.

R Raj Rao

· Aug 31, 2021 · 01:32 pm

When the Shiv Sena attacked Dilip Kumar for supporting Deepa Mehta’s ‘Fire’

The legend filed a writ petition along with the director in the Bombay High Court, earning him the Shiv Sena’s wrath.

R Raj Rao

· Jul 08, 2021 · 08:45 am

Homosexuality is not an offence. So why is Supreme Court penalising Saurabh Kirpal for being gay?

The lawyer has been recommended for elevation to the Delhi High Court. But his sexual orientation seems to have come in the way.

R Raj Rao

· Apr 05, 2021 · 07:30 am

BJP’s opposition to gay marriage reflects Vatican’s puritanical position

To this way of thinking, marriage is a sacrosanct institution. Letting it pass into the hands of the ‘perverse’ will only serve to defile the institution.

R Raj Rao

· Mar 07, 2021 · 07:30 am