After seven years in the wilderness, India’s first and only gay magazine, Bombay Dost, is back on public sale even though homosexuality is still illegal in the country.
The underground publication ran out of money in 2002 and subsequently went out of print. According to the editor-at-large, Nitin Karani, the magazine in its original run was harshly treated, banned from being sold in bookstores, instead only being available wrapped in plain brown paper from roadside vendors.
The current law stems from British colonial times which banned sex “against the order of nature”, but the Karani believe that even though the law is still brought out by police and former lovers to intimidate and blackmail gay men, enough has changed during the intervening years to re-release the magazine. Last year saw the first ever Gay Pride march the capital, Delhi, the largest event of its kind in India, while Dostana, the recent Bollywood film, was praised for its treatment of gay themes.
In its new form, though, the magazine shall be carried by bookstores and promises to be bolder than ever. Karani stated: “India’s gay community is still illegal, but it is more confident and happier than ever before. We’re not constantly beating our breasts over discrimination and marginalisation. The new magazine reflects that”
Instead of focussing on pictures of male models, Bombay Dost’s return issue carries extensive arts reviews and article on gay rights both at home and abroad and features just one shot of Mr Gay India in swimming trunks.
Bombay Dost will be produced twice a year with an initial print run of 1,500 at a price of 150 rupees (about £2) and has been promised three year’s worth of funding from the United Nations Development Programme.