Desi Queers w/ Churnjeet Mahn and DJ Ritu

Hear from the authors of the landmark book  Desi Queers  Churnjeet Mahn and DJ Ritu as they speak to creativity and activism, queer South Asian life in 1980s London, the work behind Desi Queers, and the significance of holding public conversations like this in the cultural and socio-political context of east London today. 

About the book

Desi Queers reveals how diasporic South Asians have shaped LGBTQ+ movements and communities in Britain, from the 1970s to the present day. Weaving the history of 1980s anti-racism with the emergence of Black LGBTQ+ and feminist coalitions, this book highlights landmark moments in British queer life and culture through South Asian lives, and illuminates British histories of colour through queer politics and creativity.

From the Gay Black Group to Haringey Council’s pioneering Lesbian and Gay Unit, desi queers were at the centre of anti-homophobic direct action in the 1980s, including the historic ‘Smash the Backlash’ demo against bigotry. This activism birthed key grassroots groups of the 1980s and 1990s, such as Shakti and Naz, whose founders and early members opened a path of creative resistance to the intersecting violence of racism and homophobia–a path of solidarity echoing through the twenty-first century.

These spaces and networks have been a refuge for people doubly marginalised in Britain–by experiences of homophobia within South Asian communities, and by the whiteness of mainstream queer scenes. Drawing on artistic creations, archives and oral history, Desi Queers celebrates rich traditions of social and cultural activism alongside stories of everyday life among Britain’s LGBTQ+ South Asians.