Ruth Vanita is an Indian academic, activist and author who specialises in British and Indian literary history with a focus on gender and sexuality studies. She also teaches and writes on Hindu philosophy.
Early life and education Vanita earned her BA, MA and PhD in English at Delhi University.
Career From 1994 to 1997 Vanita was Reader in the Department of English at Delhi University. She is now a professor of English and World Cultures at the University of Montana, where she directs the program in South & South-East Asian Studies.
While living in Delhi in 1978, Vanita co-founded Manushi: A Journal about Women and Society, a journal that combined academic research and grassroots activism. She served as the journal's unpaid, volunteer co-editor from 1979 to 1991.
Major publications Books 1994: A Play of Light: Selected Poems 1996: Sappho and the Virgin Mary: Same-Sex Love and the English Literary Imagination 2005: Love's Rite: Same-Sex Marriage in India and the West 2005: Gandhi's Tiger and Sita's Smile: Essays on Gender, Sexuality and Culture 2012: Gender, Sex and the City: Urdu Rekhti Poetry in India 1780-1870 2017: Dancing with the Nation: Courtesans in Bombay Cinema 2020: Memory of Light (a novel) 2022: The Dharma of Justice: Debates on Gender Varna and Species 2023: The Broken Rainbow: Poems and Translations 2024: A Slight Angle (a novel)
Edited volumes 1991 (ed. with Madhu Kishwar): In Search of Answers: Indian Women's Voices from Manushi 2000 (ed. with Saleem Kidwai): Same-Sex love in India: Readings from Literature and History 2002 (ed.): Queering India: Same-Sex Love and Eroticism in Indian Culture and Society 2014 (ed.): India and the World: Postcolonialism, Translation and Indian Literature – Essays in Honour of Professor Harish Trivedi
Translations 1994: Yadav, Rajendra: Strangers on the Roof, translated by Ruth Vanita, Penguin India, 1994 (updated edition with a new introduction 2014) 1997: Detha, Vijay Dan. Dilemma and Other Stories 2003: Bhandari, Mannu: The Great Feast (Mahabhoj) 2006: Sharma, Pandey Bechan ("Ugra"): Chocolate and Other Stories on Male-Male Desire 2007: About Me (Apni Khabar) (autobiography of Pande Bechan Sharma Ugra) 2008: The Co-Wife and Other Stories by Premchand 2013: Alone Together: Selected Stories of Mannu Bhandari, Rajee Seth and Archana Varma 2021: My Family by Mahadevi Varma
References
External links Ayyar, Raj. (2001-03-05). "Reclaiming Gay India with Ruth Vanita". GayToday. Retrieved on 2007-07-11. "Gay historians: Ruth Vanita and Saleem Kidwai," QueerIndia, 5 March 2005