Your Trans Library Starts Now.

If it hasn't already.

Queer Reads Bangalore is not an activist organisation, nor am I equipped to handle legal or mental health matters. But we read books, and we can recommend books, and that's what I'm doing right now.

Some context: The Rajya Sabha just passed (democracy in action!) an amendment to the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, which disenfranchises and criminalises huge swathes of trans people in India, and the people who support them.

(We hope you are in touch with other queer and trans people, that you're not alone — send us a message on the QRB instagram or add a comment here if you don't know whom to reach out to in your city, and we'll do our best to put you in touch with someone.)

One of the things we noticed when we watched the livestream was how very very very little anyone seemed to know about trans people outside of a few (not all), traditional, communities, and a bunch of ancient Hindu myths/texts.

So here are some books — written this century even! — by and about trans feminine and trans masculine people in India. This only lists books in English, that we have heard of ourselves, and so: This is not a comprehensive list! It's a start. (To reading. To support, look for queer and trans groups in your area. They are almost definitely on Instagram or Facebook or online — something public facing you can message.)

This list also does not include Hindu mythological figures because today we heard about every single one of them and they did us absolutely no good.

First, some links. Indian queer and trans peeps have been writing and drawing online for a long time now — check out Gaysi, queerbeat, and the Gaylaxy archives for a start.

Here's a graphic comic! This is Grace Banu, who is illustrated beautifully by Sayantan Datta and Siddhesh Gautam. More comics here.

A Life in Trans Activism, by A. Revathi (as told to Nandini Murali)

We also recommend A Revathi's raw, honest memoir, The Truth About Me. But if you read only one book by Revathi let it be this one. Revathi talks about the state of trans activism in the country and even gives over her book to personal essays by trans men in South India. Revathi has been an activist, and is now a writer and theatre person.

Your Stick Will Not Break My Strength by Sunil Mohan, as told to Rumi Harish and Ekta

Sunil Mohan's memoir is the most recent release on this list. Sunil is one of the few trans men with a published memoir in the country (that I know of — please comment if you have another suggestion!) and this book is both a memoir and a reflection on activism in (South) India, as well as a meditation on masculinity and gender. Sunil also supports queer writing in Kannada and English in Bangalore and Karnataka.

Note: Rumi Harish's memoir is available in Kannada.

The Yellow Sparrow, by Santa Khurai

Santa Khurai is a transgender activist from Manipur, one of the few North-East Indian trans voices who currently has a published memoir in English. (Again, please let us know if you have other suggestions!) She is a makeup artist, activist, interfaith leader, writer and translator. You can read some of her writing here.

From Manjunath to Manjamma, by B. Manjamma Jogathi and Harsha Bhat

Manjamma is a folk artist, a Padma Sri award winner, and a member of the Jogathi transgender community. From 2019 to 2022, she was President of the Karnataka Janapada Academy — an institution supporting and enabling folk cultural art in Karnataka.

Nothing to Fix: Medicalisation of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, edited by Vinod Chandran and Arvind Narrain

This is a little academic, but worth reading — Vinay Chandran (Swabhava) and Arvind Narrain collects essays detailing the ways in which (Western) medicine has failed queer and trans people, harming us instead of giving us affirmative care. Mental health and other care is still such a dicey proposition for queer and trans people — this book is shows what we were and are up against.

The World That Belongs To Us: An Anthology of Queer Poetry from South Asia, edited by Aditi Angiras and Akhil Khatyal

This is a solid poetry collection, which isn't only trans voices but has a strong collection of trans poetry in English and in translation. We don't have enough poetry there's no fiction on this list, so it felt necessary to add this here, to remind ourselves that the trans memoir is not the only trans expression there is.

Bonus: On my TBR
Some books we haven't read yet but will, or writing from the diaspora, or just generally books we think you should read but didn't fit into the "keep the list short and sweet" rule so we're cheating.
* A Small Step in a Long Journey: A Memoir by Akkai Padmashali and Gowri Vijayakumar. (I shamefully haven't read this yet even though I have met Akkai and we live in the same city.)
* We Are Not The Others: Reflections of a Transgender Artivist and We Will Not Be Erased: The Courage to Rise Above Hate by Kalki Subramaniam (I haven't read these yet!)
* Spellbound and Apsara Engines by Bishakh Som (both of these are so so so so beautiful)
* I Am Divine. So Are You: How Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and Hinduism Affirm the Dignity of Queer Identities and Sexualities, edited by Jerry Johnson. (Honestly, I am not fond of this book, but it might be helpful if you are interested/invested in religion.)