Introduction
As I write this article, some of the situations in the world and South Asia remain unchanged. The war between Israel and Palestine is still going on even though there is a ceasefire signed between the two nations, but the attacks and the deaths have not yet stopped. The Ukraine and Russia war seem to have no stopping, each day there is a new casualty.
On the other hand, in the South Asian context, the ethnic war in Manipur seems to have stopped, but the silence doesn’t mean that the trauma and aftereffects of the war have gone. Citizens remain homeless in their own homes.
Likewise, Myanmar seems to be in a constant struggle for power between the dictatorial military and rebel forces. Though after the removal of Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh seemed to be getting stable and in good hands, the new rules of removing some parts of its history are again creating a protest-like situation among its indigenous communities. As the elections are not happening and there is no central power, Bangladesh seems to be in a chaotic situation.
India and Pakistan are still running their relationship on a knife-edge. Even though both the foreign ministers of the countries visited each other in 2023-24, the talks and discussions seem to have no solution in re-imaging the relationship between the two nations.
Lastly, after Donald Trump’s official inauguration in 2025 and the new policies that have been introduced, there seems to be an air of fear and anxiety among the various marginalised communities.
It appears as though the world seems to be running on a pendulum of a ticking time bomb where the decisions of every nation have an impact on the rest of the world whether it’s for the best or the worst.
Despite such chaos, anxieties, and conflict both in the global north and south, an exceptional amalgamation of some beautiful minds happened in the land of Everest and the Himalayas, Nepal. I was honoured for being selected as one of the participants of the inaugural “The Queer Unschool South Asia” (Nov-Dec 2024), organised as part of Aziz Sohail's Curatorial Practice PhD at Monash University, tentatively titled 'We Cannot Cross Until We Carry Each Other: Queer Curating as Making Kin in South Asia (s) and its Diasporas'.
Eight Practitioners from South Asia – Bangladesh (one), India (three), Nepal (two), Pakistan (one), and Sri Lanka (one) gathered for a month in a spirit of conviviality, knowledge-sharing, and re-thinking regional imaginaries of our nation-states. We were all hosted by Kaalo.101 (EkSeyEk) which is a femme-/queer-run creative ecosystem where revolutionary ideas come to life through art, community, and action. We imagined and practiced the concept of living in a utopia of borderless geographical locations for a month with queerness, love, and care as our tools.
The Queer Unschool South Asia
Conceptually a dreamy project, Queer Unschool South Asia did not have the typical hierarchical schooling system. The one-month art residency/communal living was short of practicing the ideals of living in a dream space where norms and values of the present patriarchal world were being abolished and a sense of a new beginning was welcomed with queer love and care.
The program was designed to focus on our South Asian histories and identities. Since it was a communal living, the responsibilities were distributed evenly among all the eight participants, and even the facilitators and mentors for the workshops became an integral part of the group. It radically broke the norms of a formal education/knowledge system where everyone is either a teacher or a student.
And for me personally, it was a surreal feeling to meet my fellow neighbours. Despite our historical conflicts amongst all of our nations on every political, social, and economic ground, the bonding created among us shows how much we want to forgo our past and look for our future.
Though this program was an experiment for the South Asian diaspora, the utopian feeling of living together in a common and safe space tells a lot about our desires and vulnerabilities that we often don’t discuss in our homes and communities. In each workshop, we not just shared our histories but also became vulnerable to each other often when the discussions became deep and personal. Giving space to each other was one of the key moments for all of us.
Someone coming from a Dalit community in India and getting a safe space for themselves in a different geographical location was a big achievement for them. And for me, who has grown up listening to Pakistani music and watching India-Pakistan cricket matches, meeting another fellow Pakistani queer person was quite an emotional moment. For citizens of both the nations, the only space to come together is either virtually or in a different geographical location like Nepal. Also, thanks to Kaalo and its lovely people, the journey of one month felt like we were back in our homes though we were quite far away from our homelands.
Despite all the sweet memories and pleasant stays in the heart of Patan, Nepal, and Kaalo, there were quite a lot of challenges. One of the first challenges was getting all of our visas approved and passing the immigration process. Participants from India were privileged enough to go through the immigration process without any visas. But rest of the participants had a hard time. Especially my fellow Pakistani friend faced a quiet heckle at the airport for being a lady and traveling solo. Also, living together in a common space needs quiet maintenance of our personal spaces and boundaries. There were situations where personal boundaries had been crossed and needed to be addressed for everyone’s well-being and safety. Due to the hectic schedule of our workshops, our mental health was taken as utmost importance and we did have regular check-ins. And as we live in the global south and South Asia especially, the resources were always limited, so whatever we had, we managed it well. Despite our diverse identities, backgrounds, and different emotional levels, we bonded very well and took care of each other. The one-month journey seemed to be quite a rollercoaster for all of us.
Rethinking Borders Through Queer Bound and Art
As the Queer Unschool formally ended on 13th December 2025, the bond between all the participants is still intact. Through social media platforms, we all are still in touch and the situations prevailing in each nation. The program gave us the power to imagine a borderless state and how it might look where all the nationals of South Asia can move without the fear of documents (IDs) and governmental interference. It also gave us the lens that queer ideas and histories are not limited to the global north or the west. It resonates deeply in the roots of our global south and in the South Asian context too. There have been centuries of queer struggles that don’t get the chance to tell their stories or be a part of the common histories of our nations.
Art, on the other hand, gave us the tool to rethink this borderless state. It can travel through different space and time. The solidarity that was created among all the eight participants as Nepal in the backdrop is only possible because of art and its capacity to blend our minds and hearts into one entity.
The Queer Unschool with Aziz’s vision of creating queer kins among the South Asian diaspora needed a strong medium that could hold the tormented souls of South Asia. Hence, art seemed to be the greatest medium. But the remarkable part was that most of us were not trained art practitioners. Still, because of the informal setting of the (un) school, our vision of art was changed and how we look at it. As in Anshika’s workshop, we broke down the stereotype of what a book should look like rather than the typical shape, size and its setting. Likewise, in Sa’dia Rehman’s workshop, we tried to understand the Bagmati River by drawing parts and pieces of what we saw along the river. Also, in Ujjwala Maharjan’s workshop, we drew our personal future/dreamy space, though most of us were not good at painting or drawing any art. Everyone brought their versions of artistic perspectives and ideal which in a way broke the chain of formal artistic practices.
The Future of South Asian Solidarity and Queerness (Conclusion)
All eight participants arrived in Patan, Nepal with the hope of finding a new home far away from the actual home. It was our utopian idea that we would somehow be able to find a home in every nook and corner of the world and there would be a community to which we could belong. Hence, Kaalo became our new home and the Queers from South Asia became the community. As adults we all are running away and trying to find opportunities and most importantly a space where we can express ourselves with a free mind, such a space is rare, especially in the context of South Asian societies. But Nepal and Kaalo gave us that freedom to be who we are in the true sense.
Thus, the future of South Asian solidarity has hope because of the resilience and persistence of the diaspora in uniting and collaborating. So, Queerness seems to be a tiny ray of sunlight in our dark world that goes beyond the ideological limits. It’s a tool for all the marginalised and oppressed who wants to rebuild this world with empathy and equality.