India, June 10 -- In the early years of our friendship, somewhere over steaming cups of tea and under the Delhi winter sun, Saleem Kidwai narrated to me some of the queer stories from the Ramayana, one of South Asia's oldest poetic now religious texts. At that time, such a retelling would possibly shake the foundations of the Right-wing opposition to same-sex love.

These stories are a reminder of the centuries of Indian history that have accepted same-sex desire and its representation free of technical denominations and prejudice. Most Indians are ignorant if not in outright denial of this rich and variant history that celebrates same-sex desire and love.

Most Indians even today choose to believe that same-sex desire is an import, an ab...