When Menaka Guruswamy walks into Parliament building for the Rajya Sabha election in mid-March, she will possibly be the first openly queer person on the ballot. From the Sept 2018 Supreme Court verdict decriminalising Article 377 to a possible seat in the Upper House has been a long journey. The Trinamool Congress has nominated her as its Rajya Sabha candidate.Perhaps cognizant of the enormity of the moment, Guruswamy on Saturday posted on X, “I am deeply honoured to be nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the All India Trinamool Congress. I am grateful to the Hon’ble Chief Minister of West Bengal Ms Mamata Banerjee for reposing her faith in me. Our Constitution’s values of equality, fraternity & non-discrimination have guided my life & work, I hope to carry these ideals forward into Parliament.Israel attacks IranIsrael Attack Iran Live Updates: Missiles strike US navy headquarters in Bahrain; explosions heard in Abu Dhabi, DohaUS, Israel attack Iran: AI Tel Aviv flight returning to IndiaIran attacks US military bases across Middle East in operation ‘Truthful Promise 4’ I look forward to representing the interests of the people of West Bengal & to serve ‘We the People’ of India.”Guruswamy has been public about her relationship with fellow lawyer Arundhati Katju. In 2023, former diplomat Vivek Katju wrote a personal piece on his journey in accepting his daughter Arundhati and her partner, expressing his initial shock and despair when he found out about her sexuality.Guruswamy is the daughter of public policy analyst Mohan Guruswamy, who was advisor to the finance minister in Vajpayee govt. She started her career in 1997 under former Attorney General Ashok Desai.The nomination has also invited a backlash. Union MoS Sukanta Majumdar says that Guruswamy was nominated as “payback” for fighting Banerjee’s case.Guruswamy was on Foreign Policy magazine’s list of 100 most influential Global Thinkers for 2019 along with Arundhati Katju. In 2017, her portrait was unveiled at Rhodes House in Oxford University.Guruswamy was educated at Oxford University, Harvard Law School and National Law School of India. She was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford and a Gammon Fellow at Harvard. She has been visiting faculty at Yale Law School, New York University School of Law and University of Toronto Faculty of Law. She was the B R Ambedkar research scholar and lecturer in law at Columbia Law School from 2017-2019, where she taught constitutional design in post-conflict democracies.About the AuthorHimanshi DhawanHimanshi Dhawan is a Senior Editor with The Times of India with 25 years of experience in reporting on politics, social sector, gender and marginalised communities. Her writing spans issues related to human rights violations, and looking at health, education, and livelihoods from a gendered lens. In recognition for her reporting she has received the UNFPA-Population First Laadli award for gender sensitive reporting in 2010-11. She has also been the recipient of the Edward Murrow Fellowship (2007) by the US State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program. She has studied English Literature at St Stephen’s College, DU and completed her post-graduation in mass communication from Sophia College, Mumbai.Read MoreEnd of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideos’Moral Cowardice’: PM Modi’s Israel Visit Faces Oppn Heat As US-Israel Launch Strikes On Iran’Urge All Sides To…’: India Calls For Dialogue And De Escalation As US And Israel Attack Iran‘Historic’: US Envoy Gor Hails Micron’s Chip Plant Launch In Guj, Cites Modi-Trump FriendshipAfghanistan War, Iran Conflict Push Pakistan Into Two Front Security Challenge Amid Regional TensionHarvard University Responds After Sanskrit Course Image Sparks Criticism‘Target Religious Minorities’:UNHRC Side Event Flags Blasphemy Law Abuse In Pakistan And Bangladesh’Muslim League-Maoist Congress’: PM Modi Hits Out Over ‘Shirtless’ Protest At AI SummitIsrael-Iran War: AirIndia, IndiGo, Global Carriers Suspend Flights Amid West Asia Airspace ClosuresMunir’s Gamble Or US Script? 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When Menaka Guruswamy walks into Parliament building for the Rajya Sabha election in mid-March, she will possibly be the first openly queer person on the ballot. From the Sept 2018 Supreme Court verdict decriminalising Article 377 to a possible seat in the Upper House has been a long journey. The Trinamool Congress has nominated her as its Rajya Sabha candidate.Perhaps cognizant of the enormity of the moment, Guruswamy on Saturday posted on X, “I am deeply honoured to be nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the All India Trinamool Congress. I am grateful to the Hon’ble Chief Minister of West Bengal Ms Mamata Banerjee for reposing her faith in me. Our Constitution’s values of equality, fraternity & non-discrimination have guided my life & work, I hope to carry these ideals forward into Parliament. I look forward to representing the interests of the people of West Bengal & to serve ‘We the People’ of India.”Guruswamy has been public about her relationship with fellow lawyer Arundhati Katju. In 2023, former diplomat Vivek Katju wrote a personal piece on his journey in accepting his daughter Arundhati and her partner, expressing his initial shock and despair when he found out about her sexuality.Guruswamy is the daughter of public policy analyst Mohan Guruswamy, who was advisor to the finance minister in Vajpayee govt. She started her career in 1997 under former Attorney General Ashok Desai.The nomination has also invited a backlash. Union MoS Sukanta Majumdar says that Guruswamy was nominated as “payback” for fighting Banerjee’s case.Guruswamy was on Foreign Policy magazine’s list of 100 most influential Global Thinkers for 2019 along with Arundhati Katju. In 2017, her portrait was unveiled at Rhodes House in Oxford University.Guruswamy was educated at Oxford University, Harvard Law School and National Law School of India. She was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford and a Gammon Fellow at Harvard. She has been visiting faculty at Yale Law School, New York University School of Law and University of Toronto Faculty of Law. She was the B R Ambedkar research scholar and lecturer in law at Columbia Law School from 2017-2019, where she taught constitutional design in post-conflict democracies.
