Row Kavi says it was then that he set out to create a space in which homosexuality was taken seriously. There has always been a hierarchy of rights, and gay rights is always at the end,” he recalls. “When I came out in ’84, they used to laugh at me, saying why are you people asking for rights. Ashok Row Kavi (second from R) started the Humsafar Trust in 1994 – India’s first government funded NGO that advocated for gay rights | Humsafar Trust Facebook Page In 1984, at the age of 37, Row Kavi featured in an exclusive interview with Savvy magazine, in which he became the first Indian man to ever publicly declare his homosexuality. Row Kavi’s quest to disrupt what he calls “neo-Christian prudishness” led him to his defining moment 13 years later.
Called Debonair, the magazine would become famous for its topless female centrefolds.
But the sciences didn’t hold Row Kavi for long, as he dropped out of college to pursue a career in journalism that spanned over 18 years.Īlong with big names such as The Indian Express, The Week, and the Free Press Journal, Row Kavi also started India’s first men’s magazine with his friend Anthony Van Braband in 1971. Row Kavi, who believes Christianity to be the root of homophobic evil, was schooled in Bombay Scottish School, which has Christian affiliations.Īlong with a diploma in religion and comparative theology from Ramakrishna, he also has a bachelors and masters in Chemistry from the University of Bombay. Row Kavi was born on 1 June, 1947, to parents who fled poverty in South India and sought asylum in what was then Bombay. “Even Rama was desired by both and men and women,” he says. The mother of gay activism carries references to the scriptures, folklore, the Ramayana and Mahabharata, on his fingertips - always ready to be deployed in defence of “the inclusive nature” of his faith. He also criticises feminist groups that he alleges receive funding from “Christian missionaries”, and labels them “convenient lesbians.” “The Leviticus,” he says, “can never be changed.” According to Row Kavi, the fight is not against Hinduism at all, but one of repealing a Christian law in an otherwise inclusive Hindu Rashtra. He says homophobic laws were brought by the British when they colonised India, and find their roots in the bible. The swami, whom Row Kavi considers to be a mentor, guided him to “help my people” in the world.
Row Kavi relies on Hinduism to fight 377. It was during his training to be a monk in the Ramakrishna Math that Row Kavi came out as being gay to a senior monk, Swami Harshananda.
And anyone who disrupts the current situation is a friend in my book,” Row Kavi tells ThePrint in an interview. “The BJP and Modi mind you, are not the same thing.
But the 71-year-old’s life is full of contradictions - he is an unapologetic right-wing Hindu who supports Narendra Modi.
He has been slapped in the face by Saif Ali Khan, got Nikki Bedi’s talk show kicked off the air by Star TV in 1995, and been taken to court by the RSS.