Elections 2019: Polling in the deep

Graphic/Ravi Jadhav

A public archive

For a page that launched on Instagram only a week ago, The Pink List India already has over 3,000 followers. The agenda is clear - it's the country's first list of politicians standing for the Lok Sabha elections who publicly support LGBTQ+ rights. An initiative helmed by Mumbai-based Anish Gawande, 20, Devina Buckshee, 25, and Smriti Deora, 24, it is a resource for anyone who wishes to navigate through queer politics and identity itself. "I came up with the idea because as a queer person, it was difficult for me to imagine a space in politics... My parents are very right wing, but I decided that I wouldn't turn back. I've been working in Kashmir for the past seven years. This is not an awards list; we have created an archive that reflects the complexities of queer politics in India," Gawande says.

While Buckshee, a journalist in Delhi, and Gawande, director of the Dara Shikoh fellowship, work on the research, Deora, a graphic designer, is behind the aesthetically-designed posts that concisely displays information. "Researching this list included scouring through news articles, Lok Sabha debates and each candidate's social media profiles. This list is composed of material available in the public domain once the candidate entered public life," Buckshee tells us.

The contest in the city is especially fascinating, Gawande explains, with five candidates on the list so far. "Mumbai North Central, for instance, has three candidates on the Pink List. Priya Dutt and Poonam Mahajan have both supported LGBTQ+ rights and are fighting against Sneha Kale, the first transgender candidate to fight from the seat!" he says.

The founders maintain that the list is not an endorsement for candidates or their respective parties. "Many candidates featured on the list are deeply problematic in other spheres; there are many who are Islamophobic, sexist, casteist and so we wanted to encourage voters, especially first-time voters, to dig deeper into candidate's views on other axes of oppression," she says, while Deora also states that a candidate's statement of support may not necessarily align with their party's views. "I appreciate it when a candidate doesn't confine to their party rules and stands by a cause he/she really believes in," she shares.

The Pink List is India's first list of politicians fighting the Lok Sabha elections who publicly support LGBTQ+ rights

Gawande highlights the fact that very few political parties have taken an official anti-LGBTQ+ stand. "The best example that comes to mind is the Biju Janta Dal, whose candidates occupy the highest percentage in our list. We've also tied up with an organisation called Lokatantra that interviews candidates and a question they've included is 'Do you support same-sex marriage? So, we'll be collating that data as well."

Smriti Deora and Anish Gawande. Pic/Atul Kamble

What happens after the elections? The founders aim to make the list more intersectional and follow up on the work candidates on their list are doing. Gawande adds, "We're all talking about Shashi Tharoor or Jaya Panda, but there's very little said about politicians, like Raju Shetti, who support LGBTQ+ rights but don't have access to queer activists or go for panels."

Devina Buckshee

LOG ON TO pinklistindia.com

Examining representation

BehanBox is a digital multimedia platform

Founded by Bhanupriya Rao, Annapurna and Ashima - who hail from backgrounds including research, filmmaking, development and finance and are based across Nashik, Delhi and Hyderabad - BehanBox launched this month on social media. They describe it as, "a digital multimedia platform that aims at foregrounding the "missed information" about unrepresented communities - women, trans women, trans men, inter-sex and non-binary people from across regions, castes, classes and different abilities."

Annapurna

Annapurna, Ashima and Bhanupriya Rao

Although they will formally launch on July 1, they are closely following the elections - posting nuggets on issues such as the lack of women's representation in the ECI. "We are very interested in knowing how many of the contesting women candidates move up from local politics to the state and national level. How many women candidates are freshers compared to veterans, which tells an important story of women's political aspirations. Or why a state like Kerala, which is doing so well on many gender indices, lags way behind in women's electoral participation," they explain.

Devina Buckshee

LOG ON TO twitter.com/BehanBox

Ear for politics

Mumbai-based IVM Podcasts offers podcasts on a variety of subjects including politics. Their recent offering called Ganatantra which launched this year is hosted by Bengaluru-based political science thinker Sarayu Natarajan and policy lawyer Alok Prasanna Kumar. Without addressing personalities, the show highlights topics like land ownership, political violence and the general elections, and strives to make academic content accessible.

Alok Prasanna Kumar and Sarayu Natarajan. PIC/Shruti Vishwanathan

"It's easier for people to read an op-ed rather than an academic paper. This is content that is not spoken about, and every time we invite an academician on the show, it feels like I'm taking a course of the subject. It proves to be a great introduction," Kumar tells us while Natarajan adds, "One of the things I struggled with, digitally, was having stuff constantly flashing on the screen. Podcasts, on the other hand, allows you to engage in serious material while doing other things."

LOG ON TO ivmpodcasts.com/ganatantra

Dumbing down

The Congress party, through their Instagram handle @incindia, posted a short video titled 'RSS for Dummies' - inspired by the international For Dummies book series. With some slide animation and a funky tune, the caption read, "Is the rise of hate and the victory of Modi inter-connected? Yes! Here is a history lesson. #BhaktCharitra."

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