1st Edition

Criminal Love Theory and Praxis of Queerness in India

By R. Raj Rao Copyright 2025
154 Pages
by Routledge

154 Pages
by Routledge

This book takes up the challenge of studying the wide gamut of lived reality of the Indian queer, against the backdrop of a set of theories. Written by a man who has been openly gay for the last 40 years, it dissects issues, concepts, and theories within the realm of queer studies against the day-to-day experiences of Indian queers. Drawing from personal and shared experiences, it highlights the... Read more

1.  Sex, Sexuality, Gender, and Culture  2.  Identities     3.  Normativities          4. Homosociality          5. Homophobia

6. Lesbianism  7.   Perversion  8.  Historiography        9.  The Politics of Section 377, IPC  10. The Decriminalization of Section 377 and its Aftermath      Bibliography

Biography

R. Raj Rao is a writer, poet, and teacher of literature and ‘one of India’s leading gay-rights activists’. His 2003 novel, The Boyfriend, is one of the first gay novels to come from India. Rao was one of the first recipients of the newly established Quebec- India awards.

R. Raj Rao is the author of almost a dozen books of poetry, fiction, plays, biography, and criticism. His book, Whistling in the Dark: Twenty-one Queer Interviews, co-edited with Dibyajyoti Sarama, was published by SAGE in 2009. He is former Professor and Head of the Department of English at the Savitribai Phule Pune University.