Arvind Kumar - The Outwords Archive

A yearbook “mugshot” of Arvind on page 41, 1971.

An aerial landscape shot of the Indian Institute of Technology’s Kanpur campus, 1975.

Arvind mudding in the hostel quad, 1975.

Arvind (at left) with friends sitting on a bridge over a canal near campus, 1977.

Arvind as a graduate student playing guitar, Rochester, NY, 1981.

Arvind’s University of Rochester ID card, 1981.

Arvind and other South Asian activists relaxing after prepping for the Pride parade, San Francisco, CA, 1986. Suvir Das is on the leftmost corner.

Arvind Kumar, his partner Ashok, Ravi Verma, and Manoj Mehta relaxing after a long day at the Pride parade, San Francisco, CA, 1986.

Arvind holding a purple banner that defines South Asia (i.e. Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Tibet) at the Pride parade, San Francisco, CA, 1986.

A group portrait of South Asian activists at the Pride parade, San Francisco, CA, 1986. Back row: Suvir Das, Ravi Verma, Arvind’s partner Ashok, Manoj Mehta, and unidentified. Front row: Arvind Kumar and Toufiq.

Arvind and other South Asian activists posing for a group photo at the Pride parade, San Francisco, CA, 1986.

Arvind and other South Asian activists marching in the Pride parade with a purple banner that reads, “Gay South Asians – Trikone”, San Francisco, CA, 1986.

South Asian activists marching in the Pride parade with a white banner that reads “Trikone – gay and lesbian south asians”, San Francisco, CA, 1993.

Arvind and his partner Ashok during their private marriage ceremony in Toronto, Canada, 1996. The ceremony was conducted by his mother at his brother’s house.

Arvind (at back) and his brothers in Chhapra, India, 1997.

Arvind mail processing at his job, 2002.

Arvind standing in front of the Trikone float during Pride, San Francisco, CA, 2003.

Riders atop the Trikone float during Pride, San Francisco, CA, 2003.

Arvind sporting a temporary rainbow tattoo that reads “Trikone.org” on his cheek during Pride, San Francisco, CA, 2003.

Arvind and his husband Ashok during their attempt to get married when it was first made legal, San Francisco, CA, 2004.

Arvind Kumar and Sunil Pant (Nepali Member of Parliament and activist), 2001.

Arvind and his husband Ashok at the Alum Rock Park, San Jose, CA.

An article titled “March of Indian Gays”, which features Arvind Kumar and other South Asian activists, in the Indian magazine

Arvind Kumar was born on January 1, 1956, in Varanasi, India. Growing up in a joint family in Bihar, he had a conservative Hindu grandfather who ruled the household with discipline. While his parents were loving, they were not actively involved in his upbringing, and he found support in his brothers and uncle.

In ninth grade, Arvind experienced his first gay relationship, which lasted for two years. As his boyfriend was the high school jock they had to hide their relationship publicly, although it was an open secret.

Arvind pursued his education in engineering at IIT Kanpur, India. After graduating, he moved to the United States to study Business Administration. He landed a job at Hewlett Packard in Palo Alto, California, in 1982. Although ecstatic to be living in the US, he was unhappy due to repressing his sexuality. He still felt isolated as an openly out Indian man and longed to build up a support network.

1983 was a significant year for Arvind. He attended his first Gay Pride in San Francisco and started attending a gay men’s group, which had a transformative impact on his life. This gave him the courage to come out to family members, whose responses were mixed. His brothers were very supportive but his mother was furious, although she found acceptance after some time. He then made friends with a fellow California-based gay Indian man, Suvir, whom he met through the classified ads of The Advocate.

In 1986, he met Ashok Jethanandani. Together, they founded South Asian gay and lesbian support group Trikone and published the first Trikone newsletter. Trikone was the first South Asian LGBTQ org in the world. They crafted the newsletter using photocopiers and printers from his job at HP. They then sent the newsletter to every gay publication in the US and Canada and every major newspaper in India. After a freelance reporter convinced a Bombay gossip rag called Society to run a two-page spread on the organization, Trikone received letters from readers all over India. Despite potential risks, Arvind Kumar chose to publish the newsletter without a pseudonym, thus coming out publicly and advocating for LGBTQ+ rights.

In 1987, Arvind left his job at Hewlett Packard and co-founded India Currents, a monthly nonprofit magazine about California Indian culture, serving to connect Indian Americans to each other and champion the community. Ashok – now Arvind’s partner – supported Arvind through the early years of Indian Currents. India Currents has won a multitude of awards, most recently two distinguished awards from the California News Publishers Association.

By 1996, Arvind’s mother was suggesting that he and Ashok get married because they had been together for so long. She agreed to conduct the ceremony, and Arvind and Ashok were married in Toronto, surrounded by Arvind’s family – a “happy ending” to his mother’s previous homophobia.

Arvind Kumar’s legacy includes his significant contributions to the visibility and acceptance of queer South Asians. He has shown the global South Asian LGBTQ+ community that they are not alone, and continues to be a fierce advocate for queer rights.

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