Elsewheres in Queer Hindutva

A Hijra Case Study

Bibliographic Data

ID3946604
AuthorsAniruddha Dutta (corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume133
Issue1
Pages11-25
Publication date2023-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueFeminist Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0141-7789 • E-ISSN: 1466-4380
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/01417789221138095
OpenAlexW4324142860
LanguageEN
Citations received14
References cited19

In July 2021, a series of gruesome videos exposed a case of brutal torture perpetrated by a guru or leader of the trans feminine hijra community in eastern India. This guru was allegedly of a Bangladeshi Muslim background, and various community members used the case as an alibi to target hijras of such national and religious origin, sometimes even demanding their expulsion from India. This phenomenon paralleled increasing affiliations between certain sections of trans/ hijra communities and the Hindu Right. This article situates this case within the broader rise of queer and trans Hindutva or Hindu nationalism and locates it as indicative of Hindutva's expansion to its erstwhile 'elsewheres': areas outside its traditional strongholds such as eastern India and communities such as hijras who are known for their mixed religious practices and have been historically stigmatised by Hindu society. However, the article also analyses the case to show how hijras and related communities evidence contingently wavering political alliances and complex dynamics of intra-community power and resistance that remain irreducible to typical equations of Hindu right-wing politics. Queer/trans Hindutva might become disrupted by its potential constituents themselves, showing how Hindutva's 'elsewheres' trouble its assimilationist capacities

Cultural assimilation · Hinduism · Hindutva · Nationalism · Political science · Politics · Queer · Secularism · Sociology · African Sexualities and LGBTQ+ Issues · Gender Studies · Law · LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy · Religious studies · South Asian Cinema and Culture

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