[Urbanstudy] Contextualizing section 377

Sat Aug 20 10:18:59 IST 2005

Dear Curt,
I understand your concern and also agree with your suggestion of not merely 
posting bare petitions, but also backing them up with greater 
contextualization. I did not imagine it to be necessary as this debate is 
being adequately covered by the media, almost agressively so, especially in 
Mumbai, but I do realise the necessity of not just posting petitions, but 
also following it up with other debates relevant to the issues in focus. 

The Sarai Reader 05 has an essay by Ateya Khorakiwala that I found would be 
interesting to perhaps begin such a debate. It looks at Hamsafar, a gay 
support group in Mumbai, and examines how it uses micro tactics coupled with 
sexual health awareness related work to negotiate its position in the city. 
It looks at how, by merely defining itself as a sexual health awareness 
organization that seeks to support amongst others, gay people, it has 
managed to get substantial civic support, to the extent that they are 
currently housed in an old Municipality Building.

The link for the essay is here:
http://www.sarai.net/journal/05_pdf/07/04_ateya.pdf 

Ninad

On 20/08/05, Curt Gambetta <cugambetta at yahoo.com> wrote:
> 
> Dear Ninad and Dr. Sridharan,
> 
> Thanks for your postings on the Urban Study Group
> list. I am sure they raised eyebrows and provoked
> questions for members on the list about what a list
> like this is about, and what kind of discussions we
> all seek to foster.
> 
> I would like to begin from the outset by saying that I
> do not, as the moderator, censor any postings made by
> group members. You all post directly to the list. I
> think we all agree that an environment of openness is
> beneficial to dicussions on the list, and I would like
> to maintain that mode of operating, free of moderator
> approval. Naturally, postings will occassionally slip
> in that may or may not address the Urban Study Group's
> intended content. I think it is best to live with
> that, and continue to maintain this an open list to
> group members.
> 
> I would like to address what I see as the larger issue
> here. I have recently posted messages regarding list
> content, in the hopes that we can keep our list
> focused on cities and urban life. Many of us are
> members of a number of mailing lists, and see it in
> our best interest to keep this list focused on issues
> that bring us together under the particular auspices
> of urban studies and urbanism. I say this cautiously,
> however, because we need to keep in mind, and always
> remain open to, content or questions that are not
> considered proper subjects of study regarding "urban
> issues", such as sexuality. After all, urbanism and
> urban studies itself is a relatively young phenomenon
> in India, and should remain an interdisciplinary
> platform that is open to new debates and new
> questions. Part of the strength of a collective of
> people joined together on a mailing list is that we
> are able to reframe what constitutes "urban issues".
> In order for us to be critical of the how the state,
> the media and other forces construct notions of what
> are supposedly 'proper' urban issues for study or
> activism, then I would encourage us to remain open to
> a diversity of perspectives. Sexuality is only one of
> many of these important alternative lenses by which we
> may read the experience of urban life.
> 
> However sympathetic I may personally feel about the
> appeal against section 377, I do think it would be
> productive for postings on this list to reflect on
> what Section 377 has meant for the policing of public
> space, as well as fostering in an extra-official
> manner (rarely has it been implemented in court)
> certain normative standards of behaviour. That said, I
> think it would be best, if postings such as this are
> to enter into discussion, to frame the issue being
> presented for those on the list who are interested in
> a politics of urban space as a contested landscape.
> Though the list is oriented towards and research and
> reportage, this does not mean that petitions cannot
> appear on the list. Please, however, be sure to relate
> the content of these petitions to a discussion that
> group members can join in on. Tell us a little about
> the history or politics of what you are posting, and
> try to relate it to questions that interest list
> members. I would prefer if list members did not post
> 'bare' petitions, without any contextualization or
> relation to list content. Please refer those postings
> to other lists, where your readership will be more
> responsive to the issue you are raising.
> 
> If you do not share this perspective, by all means,
> say so!
> 
> Curt
> 
> --- ninad pandit <furrylogic at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> > Dear Dr. N. Sridharan
> >
> > I would like to disagree with you about this issue.
> > The issue of Section 377
> > impacts every individual, as it attempts to control
> > behaviours of mature
> > adults in public and private space. I therefore am
> > unable to see how this
> > issue is divorced from "Urban issues", especially
> > when it is seen in the
> > context of rampant moral policing in our cities.
> > Section 377 represents yet
> > another way in which personal expression is sought
> > to be controlled by the
> > state in our society.
> >
> > I would like to believe that the urbanstudygroup has
> > mature and liberal
> > members who would genuinely like to support a cause
> > that is against personal
> > freedom. If such an appeal is a misfit in this
> > group, I believe we would end
> > up using it merely to circulate our submissions for
> > the Sarai Student
> > Stipendship. I strongly feel that this group needs
> > to grow beyond that.
> >
> >
> > Regards,
> > Ninad Pandit
> >
> >
> >
> > On 19/08/05, Dr. N. Sridharan <sri at nsridharan.com>
> > wrote:
> > >
> > > Open letter to moderator:
> > > Please do not allow a letter like comment on
> > Section 377 to enter into
> > > this group discussion. So far we have an healthy
> > discussion on urban issues
> > > so far. Let us maintain it in the same way.
> > > Thanks
> > > Sridharan
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > There is no intellectual exercise that is not
> > ultimately pointless. - Jorge
> > Luis Borges
> > > _______________________________________________
> > Urbanstudygroup mailing list
> > Urban Study Group: Reading the South Asian City
> >
> > To subscribe or browse the Urban Study Group
> > archives, please visit
> >
> https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/urbanstudygroup
> >
> 
> 
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-- 
There is no intellectual exercise that is not ultimately pointless. - Jorge 
Luis Borges
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