Ina Goel examines the tilt towards saffronisation amongst India’s LGBTQ+ community. She argues that the burden of being politically correct, which rests heavily on those who come from marginal spaces, raises concerns about the future of queer politics in the country. 

On 4 November 2018, controversy swirled around the support extended by Laxmi Narayan Tripathi, self-identifying hijra and Acharya Mahamandaleshwar of the Kinnar Akhada, towards the construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya (Verma 2018). Serving as a religious convent, the Kinnar Akhada is an inclusive faith-based space for Kinnars (hijras) practising Hinduism as a religion in India (Goel 2019). Soon after Laxmi’s endorsement of Ram Mandir came out in public, the Indian trans, intersex and gender-nonconforming (T/IS/GNC) individuals and groups released a statement condemning Laxmi’s support towards building Ram Mandir (Round Table 2018). 

Read the article in EPW Engage