From the Archives: Young, bold and queer: India’s LGBTQIA+ young generation fighting for their rights by Maria Tavernini. Photos by Andrea de Franciscis. A generation of queer Indians is boldly pushing back against the walls built by patriarchy, tradition, and silence. From drag queens in Delhi to trans activists in Kerala and intersex organisers in rural Bengal, their stories reveal the complex, painful, and powerful journey of selfhood in a country still catching up with its own people. Read this photo essay at the 🔗 in bio. If you enjoyed this piece, we recommend checking out ‘M Of The Southern Downpours: Alton Melvar M. Dapanas’ Evocative Poetry Collection Explores Queerness’ by Areeb Ahmad. (fb)

Every time I sit with my team to gather the highlights from what we are publishing, I try to share with you something that ties in the many stories and reportage from our writers. For me, it is really about the myriad inter-personal relationships that get shaped in ways we expect and in ways that are guided by chance encounters. One is slowly changing me every day now. Her name is Sawsan, a writer from Gaza. I type her name incorrectly in our chats — Saw Sun. But she tells me she likes that because capturing sunsets in Gaza was one of her favourite things to do before the Genocide. “Look at the details, Meeni,” she types, after sending me a sky that’s bursting in golden yellow, little spots across it, as birds fly past. She sends me poems in Arabic and English. I send her pictures of my garden and Delhi skies. We share selfies, so I can see her past self, the one she writes letters to. Letters she shares with me. We are busy plotting, when she isn’t falling sick, to make a photobook of her images and words. “A fun project together as friends!” “Do you have friends in Gaza, Meeni?” she asked me. “You’re the first one, Saw Sun,” I tell her. Check out our highlights from this month: 1. Suchitra’s Reflections Build Solidarity 2. A Conversation on Power, and Solidarity with DiEM25 3. Dispatches: The Exploitation of Therapists in India 4. Book Salon: Zara Chowdhary on Her Book, ‘The Lucky Ones’ 5. From the Archives: Bearing Witness in Kashmir 6. Letters from Palestine Marks Nakba Through Memory and Resistance 7. ‘Radical Futures’ Podcast on Liberation and Resistance With love and resistance, Meenakshi Thirukode Head of Communications and Cultural Partnerships Read the complete newsletter at the 🔗 in bio. Subscribe to Substack. (fb)