Thursday, May 28, 2009

India's First and Only Gay Magazine Tests Taboos by Making a Comeback

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Image courtesy of Bombay Dost

TIMES ONLINE: India’s first and only gay magazine is back on news stands for the first time in seven years amid hopes that taboos may finally be fading in a country where homosexuality remains illegal.

Bombay Dost (Bombay Friends) is being relaunched after going out of print in 2002 when the then underground publication ran out of money.

The English-language magazine’s publishers say that much has changed in India during the intervening years — even if a British colonial-era law banning sex “against the order of nature” remains firmly in place.

“India’s gay community is still illegal, but it is more confident and happier than ever before,” Nitin Karani, the editor-at-large, said. “We’re not constantly beating our breasts over discrimination and marginalisation. The new magazine reflects that.” >>> Rhys Blakely, Mumbai | Thursday, May 28, 2009