LGBTQ+ poets included in India’s premier literary festival

On March 7, India’s leading literary body announced that LGBTQ+ poets would be allowed to participate in its flagship Festival of Letters in New Delhi.

For the first time, the Sahitya Akademi, often perceived as an extension of the government’s cultural policies, included these poets in a high-profile poetry reading event at the Rabindra Bhavan. They joined over 700 writers representing 50 languages on stage.

Cultural and Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat inaugurated the Festival of Letters, with renowned English playwright Mahesh Dattani as the chief guest. Hailed as Asia’s largest literary event, the Sahitya Akademi ran for six days with the theme ‘Indian Literary Traditions.’

The 2025 Festival of Letters celebrated diverse voices, including young writers, women, Dalit authors from marginalised communities, Northeast Indian writers, tribal poets, and LGBTQ+ poets, solidifying its standing as a literary mosaic, ‘Washington Blade’ reports.

On March 9, Kalki Subramaniam, a prominent trans rights advocate and author, led a literary session titled ‘Discussion on Literary Works of LGBTQ Writers in the 21st Century,’ highlighting modern queer voices.

“It was enriching to listen to the profound thoughts of LGBT writers from various parts of the country in their speeches,” Subramaniam remarked. “The session was particularly memorable with the participation of A. Revathi Amma from Tamil Nadu, Reshma Prasad from Bihar, Sanjana Simon from New Delhi, and Devika Devendra Manglamukhi and Shivin from Uttar Pradesh and Aksaya K Rath from Orissa.”

Subramaniam discussed the influence of global politics on gender rights and the ongoing erasure of transgender identity, advocating for solidarity within the LGBTQ+ community. She emphasised the imperative of elevating queer literature and writers, viewing their contributions as vital to the literary forefront.

“It was a pleasure to meet great writers from around the country in the festival as well as meet my writer activist friends Sajana Simon and Revathi Amma after a long time,” noted Subramaniam.

On March 12, 1954, the government formally established the Sahitya Akademi with a mission outlined in a government resolution to promote Indian literature and maintain high literary standards, a mission the Akademi has pursued for seven decades.

In 2018, the Sahitya Akademi made history in Kolkata by hosting the country’s inaugural exclusive gathering of trans writers, a significant recognition of queer voices in Indian literature.

On March 9, Hoshang Dinshaw Merchant, India’s first openly gay poet and a leading figure in the national gay liberation movement, shared his poetry at the Festival of Letters, his works reflecting his long-standing fight for queer recognition. He expressed gratitude to the session’s chair for welcoming the community, emphasising the event’s embrace of diverse voices.

In 2024, the Sahitya Akademi awarded K. Vaishali the Yuva Puraskar for her memoir “Homeless: Growing Up Lesbian and Dyslexic in India,” a candid exploration of queerness and neurodivergence. In a post-award interview, Vaishali reflected on India’s entrenched conservatism regarding sexuality, commenting on the privilege that allowed her to safely express her truths. She described the award as the Akademi’s affirmation of her lived experience, a validation beyond dispute.

The involvement of LGBTQ+ writers in the Sahitya Akademi’s current program contrasts with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government’s conservative approach, which opposed same-sex marriage in the Supreme Court in 2023, claiming it undermines Indian family values. Yet, under Shekhawat, the focus on queer voices at the Rabindra Bhavan indicates a potential shift in a traditionally conservative framework.

On March 10, the festival featured a translators’ meeting highlighting P. Vimala’s award-winning Tamil translation of Nalini Jameela’s ‘Autobiography of a Sex Worker,’ a narrative rich with marginalised voices, including queer perspectives.

This platform received substantial support from the BJP-led government, with Shekhawat securing a 15 percent budget increase to ₹47 crore (approximately £4,35 million) in 2024. In contrast, Tamil Nadu’s Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Chief Minister Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin has long opposed such linguistic exchanges, fearing they might dilute Tamil identity amid historical anti-Hindi sentiment, a tension the Sahitya Akademi sought to navigate with its inclusive showcase.

“The Akademi is very inclusive and has a friendly festival ambience,” Subramaniam mentioned to the Washington Blade.