IT News
Imphal, March 13:
Santa Khurai, a prominent gender rights activist, scholar, and poet, participated in a panel discussion titled “Decolonial Gender and Sexuality: Decolonising Epistemes” at the University of California, Berkeley, from March 10 to 12. Khurai, Secretary of the All Manipur Nupi Maanbi Association (AMANA) and author of The Yellow Sparrow, brought critical insights to the event.
A key feature of the program was the screening of MAANGLAN, a film produced and directed by Maisnam Arnapal, a PhD scholar at UC Santa Barbara. The screening on March 11 was followed by a panel discussion, facilitated by Elora Shahabuddin, featuring Khurai and Arnapal.
On March 12, Khurai joined panelists Chris Finley and Michaëla Danjé in a session moderated by Mel Y. Chen, Professor of Gender and Women’s Studies at UC Berkeley. Presenting her paper “Laws and Identity: A Quest for Citizenship from the Manipuri Indigenous Nupi Maanbi and Nupa Maanba,” she examined socio-political unrest in Manipur, the impact of Indianization on indigenous transgender individuals, and the fragmentation of queer liberation movements in India.
Khurai critiqued religion and ethnicity as markers of exclusion, highlighting how divisive identity politics hinder coexistence. Later that day, she discussed her book in a session facilitated by Professor Paola Bacchetta. She emphasized the need for trans and gender studies in Manipur’s academic institutions, urging curriculum reforms to address gender inequality.
