Paper short abstract:

This paper analyzes Pankaj Bisht’s Hindi novel Pankhvali nav (2007), whose protagonist is a man having sex with men. It problematizes the discourse on gender and sexuality in India, and the emergence of a queer identity and literature corresponding to the neoliberal turn in Indian economy.

Paper long abstract:

Pankhvali nav (The winged boat) is a Hindi novel by Pankaj Bisht that appeared in installments in Hans (2007) and was published as a book in 2009. The protagonist is a man having sex with men, and the novel, defined by the author as a "sensitive human tragedy" (Tehelka, 05/12/2012), constructs a highly heterocentered discourse on queerness. Set in India just before the neoliberal turn, the story discusses sexual citizenship not only with reference to Indian society, but also in a global context. In this paper I analyze the text, problematizing the notion of gender and the emergence of a queer identity corresponding with the opening up of Indian economy to neoliberal capital. Politics of sexual identity in newly globalizing economies are linked to global discourses on HIV/AIDS prevention, sexual health, sexual rights, and reproductive health. Also the emergence of queer literature in India, and of 'khush' literature in the Hindi literary field, has to be investigated on the backdrop of global queer identity: after 1991, the process of 'coming out' has gained momentum, and has spread from creative writing to political action, assertion of one's own identity and demand for a queer-space. Without denying the existence of heteronormative prejudices and homophobic discourses in India, I argue that existing discourses on queer liberation are often based either on a regression to an ancient or medieval cultural heritage, or on a reductive view of sex in non-Western contexts.