Kaustav Chakraborty – författare

This volume looks at the emerging forms of intimacies in contemporary India. Drawing on rigorous academic research and pop culture phenomena, the volume: Brings together themes of nationhood, motherhood, disability, masculinity, ethnicity, kinship, and sexuality, and attempts to understand them within a more complex web of issues related to space, social justice, marginality, and communication; Focuses on the struggles for intimacy by the disabled, queer, Dalit, and other subalterns, as well as people with non-human intimacies, to propose an alternative theory of the politics of belonging;Explores the role of social and new media in understanding and negotiating intimacies and anxieties.Comprehensive and thought-provoking, this book will be useful to scholars and researchers of political studies, sociology, sexuality and gender studies, women’s studies, cultural studies, and minority studies.

This book explores queer potentialities in the tribal folktales of India. It elucidates the queer elements in the oral narratives of four indigenous communities from East and Northeast India, which are found to be significant repositories of gender fluidity and non-normative desires. Departing from the popular understanding that ‘Otherness’ results largely from undue exposure to Western permissiveness, the author reveals how minority sexualities actually have their roots in aboriginal indigenous cultures and do not necessarily constitute a mimicry of the West. The volume endeavours to demystify the politics behind such vindictive propagation to sensitize the queerphobic mainstream about the essential endogenous presence of the queer in the spaces that are aboriginal.Based on extensive interdisciplinary research, this book is a first of its kind in the study of indigenous queer narratives. It will be useful to scholars and researchers of queer studies, gender studies, tribal and indigenous studies, literature, cultural studies, postcolonialism, sociology, political studies and South Asian studies.

This book explores queer potentialities in the tribal folktales of India. It elucidates the queer elements in the oral narratives of four indigenous communities from East and Northeast India, which are found to be significant repositories of gender fluidity and non-normative desires. Departing from the popular understanding that ‘Otherness’ results largely from undue exposure to Western permissiveness, the author reveals how minority sexualities actually have their roots in aboriginal indigenous cultures and do not necessarily constitute a mimicry of the West. The volume endeavours to demystify the politics behind such vindictive propagation to sensitize the queerphobic mainstream about the essential endogenous presence of the queer in the spaces that are aboriginal.Based on extensive interdisciplinary research, this book is a first of its kind in the study of indigenous queer narratives. It will be useful to scholars and researchers of queer studies, gender studies, tribal and indigenous studies, literature, cultural studies, postcolonialism, sociology, political studies and South Asian studies.

This book analyses regional expressions of the queer experience in texts available in the Indian vernacular languages. It studies queer autobiographies and literary and cinematic texts written in the vernacular languages on gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues. The authors outline the specific terms that are popular in the bhashas (languages) to refer to the queer people and discuss any neo coinages/modes of communication invented by the queer people themselves. The volume also addresses the lack of queer representation in certain language communities and the lack of queer interaction in non-metropolitan cities in India.An important contribution to the field of queer studies in India, this timely book will be an essential read for scholars and researchers of gender studies, queer studies, cultural studies, discrimination and exclusion studies, language studies, political studies, sociology, postcolonial studies and South Asian studies.

This book analyses regional expressions of the queer experience in texts available in the Indian vernacular languages. It studies queer autobiographies and literary and cinematic texts written in the vernacular languages on gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues. The authors outline the specific terms that are popular in the bhashas (languages) to refer to the queer people and discuss any neo coinages/modes of communication invented by the queer people themselves. The volume also addresses the lack of queer representation in certain language communities and the lack of queer interaction in non-metropolitan cities in India.An important contribution to the field of queer studies in India, this timely book will be an essential read for scholars and researchers of gender studies, queer studies, cultural studies, discrimination and exclusion studies, language studies, political studies, sociology, postcolonial studies and South Asian studies.

The book in an innovative way interconnects theology, media and politics in order to understand masculinity in terms of everydayness, virtual circulations, cinematic projections, musical ramifications and political assertions. It not only opposes toxic Indian masculinity, but also counterposes the vulnerable masculinities of feminine men and proposes reviving ecomasculinity and such other habitable masculinities. The book tries to understand abrasive masculinity as a muscular mentality that drives Indian men to act in certain stereotyped ways.Beginning with the anxiety of intimacy that an abrasive muscular mentality creates in relation to Indian men’s belongingness with those who are projected as Other—women and queer people—the volume tries to understand the theological roots of abrasive masculinity along with its routed mediatized avatars. Thereafter, it shifts its focus to the vulnerable masculinity of soft men who are victimized on account of their effeminacy. In an intersectional mode, the plight of both feminine cisgender and gay men is critically discerned. The book concludes with the counterculture of Indian YouTuber men who are detoxifying the mediatized Movement for Men’s Rights in India, along with revisiting the ecomasculine folk culture of indigenous India. The author argues that in opposition to the culture of cancelling masculinity, a habitable masculinity may be unfolded in order to enhance the social habitability of individuals irrespective of their gender and sexuality. It deploys social media, film, music, literature, folk narratives and personal interviews as a means of interconnecting qualitative and quantitative methodologies.The book will be useful for students, researchers, and teachers from the fields of Gender Studies, Media Studies, Sociology and Cultural Studies. It will also appeal to those interested in the culture of masculinities in India.

This book offers a groundbreaking exploration of postqueer politics within the Indian context, reimagining queer theory and activism through an intersectional lens. Moving beyond the binary of queer and straight, it examines how queer epistemologies can address broader sociopolitical challenges, including majoritarian nationalism, caste and class stratification, Islamophobia, environmental crises, and mental health.By interrogating colonial disruptions of indigenous sexual cultures and envisioning a postcolonial future of egalitarian coexistence, the book advocates for collaborative engagements between queer and non-queer actors to reshape India’s social and political fabric. A key highlight is its innovative approach to queer theory, positioning queer perspectives as tools for disrupting mainstream norms and fostering inclusivity. The book introduces postqueer politics as a non-queer-inclusive worldview, emphasizing collaboration and intersectionality to liberate the most marginalized. It critiques exploitative hierarchies and advocates for queer futurism aligned with broader social justice commitments. Through nuanced analysis, it demonstrates how queer knowledge can empower individuals to challenge socio-cultural unfreedom and create a more equitable society.Essential for those interested in sexuality, gender, and Indian politics, this book is a valuable resource for students in Gender and Sexuality Studies, Sociology, Political Science, Minority Studies, and Cultural Studies, particularly in courses on identity politics and intersectionality.

This volume looks at the emerging forms of intimacies in contemporary India. Drawing on rigorous academic research and pop culture phenomena, the volume: Brings together themes of nationhood, motherhood, disability, masculinity, ethnicity, kinship, and sexuality, and attempts to understand them within a more complex web of issues related to space, social justice, marginality, and communication; Focuses on the struggles for intimacy by the disabled, queer, Dalit, and other subalterns, as well as people with non-human intimacies, to propose an alternative theory of the politics of belonging;Explores the role of social and new media in understanding and negotiating intimacies and anxieties.Comprehensive and thought-provoking, this book will be useful to scholars and researchers of political studies, sociology, sexuality and gender studies, women’s studies, cultural studies, and minority studies.

This volume brings together eminent Tagore scholars and younger writers to revisit the concepts of nation, nationalism, identity and selfhood, civilization, culture and homeland in Tagore’s writings. As these ideas take up the centre-stage of politics in the subcontinent as also elsewhere in the world in the 21st century, it becomes extremely relevant to revisit his works in this context. Tagore’s ambivalence towards nationalism as an ideology was apparent in the responses in his discussions with Indians and non-Indians alike. Tagore developed the concept of ‘syncretic’ civilization as a basis of nationalist civilizational unity, where society was central, unlike the European model of state-centric civilization. However, as the subterranean tensions of communalism became clear in the early 20th century, Tagore reflexively critiqued his own political position in society. He thus emerged as the critic of the nation/nation-state and in this he shared his deep unease with other thinkers like Romain Rolland and Albert Einstein. This volume for the first time covers the socio-political, historical, literary and cultural concerns relating to Tagore’s efforts towards the 'de-colonization' of the Self. The volume begins with various perspectives on Tagore’s ‘ambivalence’ about nationalism. It encompasses critical examinations of Tagore’s literary works and other art forms as well as adaptations of his works on film. It also reads Tagore’s nationalism in a comparative mode with contemporary thinkers in India and abroad who were engaged in similar debates.

This volume brings together eminent Tagore scholars and younger writers to revisit the concepts of nation, nationalism, identity and selfhood, civilization, culture and homeland in Tagore’s writings. It encompasses critical examinations of Tagore’s literary works and other art forms as well as adaptations of his works on film.