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Indic Ideas and Traditions of Non-binary Gender and Sexual Orientations

Indic Ideas and Traditions of Non-binary Gender and Sexual Orientations

Indic Academy is committed to advancing diversity and inclusion in the society.

In pursuit of this objective, Indic Academy seeks to preserve and protect the Indigenous lifestyles, practices, traditions and doctrines in the area of non-binary gender and sexual orientations from exclusionism, discrimination, universalization, lack of representation and misrepresentation.

An increasing trend of immediate concern are global traditions that have been exclusivist, discriminatory and violent towards non-binary gender and sexual orientations, necessitating the contemporary intellectual and activist movements.  The same traditions are now universalizing the exclusivism, discrimination and violence towards individuals and communities of these natures and orientations. As a result, the highly nuanced, advanced and a long tradition of pro-diversity inclusionist view in gender aspects cherished and nourished in Indic traditions is either missing from discourse or being misrepresented and misinterpreted to fit into the understandings that are not rooted in Indic culture and traditions.

Indic Academy therefore seeks to actively work for the insiders of Indigenous traditions/ cultures of non- binary gender and sexual orientation, through research and documentation and by creating awareness through monographs, books and documentaries.

As part of this endeavour, Indic Academy offers a short term research fellowship beginning with a comprehensive review and documentation of existing academic research followed by the study of areas mentioned below :

  • Evidences from the Indic past for the non-binary gender and sexual orientations and their representation, lack of it, misrepresentation or misrepresentation in contemporary literature.
  • Spirituality based non-binary gender and sexual orientation aspects such as transgenderism, sexual neutrality etc. that are under attack through despiritualization, conflation with non-spiritual aspects, modern and urban misunderstanding and resultant humiliation, actual spiritual roots of them.
  • Sources of conflict regarding Non-Binary Gender and Sexual Orientations among pro-Indic intellectuals and activists and the approaches to their resolution well within the Indic worldview reflected and understood from the Indic texts, traditions and practices.
  • Need for and approaches to train global children in general and Indian parents and children in particular for the critical reception of the confoundingly humongous information coming from the contemporary LGBTQI and related movements.

Interested researchers may send their statement of interest along with their CV to namaste@indica.org.in . The terms of the fellowship including the remuneration as well as the duration will be determined based on the proposal and credentials of the applicants.