We, the undersigned, are performers of the art form of drag across India and belong to the gamut of gender and sexual identities which constitute the LGBTQIA+ spectrum. Since the commencement of the hearings on the issue of marriage equality for LGBTQIA+ persons, we have been closely observing the proceedings at the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India. While the representations on behalf of the petitioners from the queer community have instilled in us cautious hope and optimism, the misinformation from the other side of the bench representing the State worries us deeply. At a time when the highest court of India is deciding an issue that can have a significant impact on our lives, we feel it is important to assert our lived experiences as drag performers and members of the queer community and reiterate the queer history of India and the struggles of our queer ancestors.
While the State argues to restrict our laws to the binary, as drag artists we represent the possibilities for the society, of living multidimensional lives, and accommodating multiple identities beyond the binary. Through the art of drag, we love to provoke and play with the understanding of gender and our existing relationship with categories. Within the community, we are trans and cis, non-binary and genderqueer and individuals who are part of an ever-expanding spectrum of gender. Our art is often a reflection of our lived reality and the many negotiations we have to do on an everyday basis. Our search is that of a world that affirms the many kinds of genders as well as the multitude of partnerships that are possible between us; partnerships and relationships that hopefully resemble the same transcendental love that has been so beautifully captured in our shared heritage of queer art, poetry, history and mythology.
In denying our right to marry, the State professes its intention to protect our culture. However, it is important to remember that culture is no monolith. Rather, it has been flowing through legends, mythologies and sufi poetry that talk about love and union of all kinds. As artists who play with gender, we derive inspiration from all these texts whether it be of the union between Shiva and Mohini, an avatar of Vishnu or the story of Krishna and Aravan (much celebrated through the annual Koothandavar festival in Tamil Nadu) or the love enshrined at Sufi sites of Sarmad and Abhay Chand, and Shah Hussain and Madho Lal. These are stories of love, of a union that society did not just accept but also continues to celebrate.
It is this fluid culture that has given birth to drag theatre and practice across the country. It has shaped trans-communities of hijras, kothis, jogammas and many others. All of us continue to be a large part of this country’s cultural fabric. It does not need stating that almost all such communities form their own chosen families for support and sustenance. While the state has recognized the individuals within the trans-community through the Transgender Persons Act 2019, it does not recognize the notion of chosen families and the rights that one could access as a collective. This idea of chosen families, when empowered through law, can be a liberating one not just for queer and trans people but even for cis-gendered, heterosexual folks who may want to create other kinds of partnerships beyond the one currently mandated by various family laws.
We are living in an age when ideas of gender and sexuality have been redefined. Out of this also arise new ideas of equality and parity. While marriage as an institution has existed in one form or another for ages, it has also evolved in its meaning and implication with time. However, most of our laws in the context of gender and family continue to carry the burden of our colonized times as well as our caste-based understanding of kinship and partnerships. In the current case on marriage equality, ownership of bodies and the rigid definitions of these bodies has, unfortunately, been a key argument from the state’s representatives.
We rest our faith in the Constitution of India and the due process of law with the belief that it will accord us an equal right to live with dignity, without truncating our diversity. If history is something to learn from, may we learn from the bravest and kindest retelling of it, to shape our trajectory ahead. That is our hope and submission.
From,
A collective of Drag Artists.
Drafted by Avatari Devi and Lush Monsoon
(Full List on the Next Page in alphabetical order)
Abhishek Singhania, Chandigarh
Akash Bhattacharjee, Kolkata
Amarnath Chandraman, Karur
Ankur Desai, Bangalore
Anrutha Reddy, Hyderabad
Aryan patra aka khemaya, Hyderabad
Ashish Chopra, Bangalore
Bakordor Lyngdoh, Meghalaya
Balamurugan Vasudevan, Virudhunagar
Betta Naan Stop, Delhi NCR
Beyonce, Bangalore
Da N.L, Shillong
DJ SWAR, New Delhi
Dr. Salil Kumar Pathak, Jabalpur
Durga Gawde, Mumbai
Emperor Naaz, Mumbai
Eshna Biswas Serampore, Hooghly
Gautam Bandodkar (Drag name – Mysticurl Flame), Margao
Goddess gagged, Mumbai
Glorious Luna aka Suruj Pankaj Rajkhowa, Mumbai
Hameesha, Visakhapatnam
HH Dolly Divine/ Kumar Iyer, Mumbai
Hiten Noonwal, New Delhi
Im agree, Vadodara
Isabelle Wood, Pune
ITT, Mumbai
Janmesh, Chennai
Kamhall, Pune
Kash Arora, Mumbai
Katherina Fierce / Karan Thapa, Siliguri
Khatti Pari, Hyderabad
Khoriyaa, Raipur
King Samuel, Mumbai
Komolika, Kolkata
Krish, Jaipur
Krystal Koko, Noida
Larisa Wahlang, Shillong
Lovina poison, Muktsar
Lush Monsoon, Delhi
Maya the Drag Queen/Alex Mathew, Bangalore
Meenakshi, Noida
Melancholia, Mumbai
Miss Bhenji, Bangalore.
Mix_freakshowk, Mumbai
Mx.Stallion aka Mx.Siaan, Mumbai
Nautanki Ragini, Hyderabad
Neeti Ravindra.S, Hyderabad
Nefar!ous, Mumbai
Nethu nightu neelambari, Chennai
Nitish Anand (Shabnam Bewafa), New Delhi
Nitin Sharma, Jammu
Patruni Chidananda Sastry, Hyderabad
Paramita Das, Kolkata
Rahul, Delhi
Rasam Raaja, Bengaluru
Reetam Siliguri, Darjeeling
Rinku, Konnagar
Roshni Das, Kolkata
S Jain, Faridabad
Sajal Sharma, Palghar
Sanjili Patkar, Thane
Sannihith, Hyderabad
Sasikumar, Tiruppur
Saumika Dhar, Serampore
Saurabh, Delhi
Savithri, Hyderabad
Shashank, Faridabad
Shizuka, Rohtak
Somesh Kumar, Bhubaneswar
Somistha, Kolkata
Suvankar, Bishnu Kolkata
Suvo, Kolkata
Swaja Saransh, Delhi
Trisha Majumdar, Serampore
Uncle Jhonson, Colombo
VictWhoria JumboButt, Puri
Vikas Kumar, Delhi
Vineeth Santhosh, Idukki
Vivan, Gurgaon
Whacker cracker (Prashant Chauhan), Delhi
Yash Dalmia, Hyderabad
Zeeshan Ali/Zeesh, Bangalore
बे-गम Husn Chashni, Aligarh
and more