Saleem Kidwai, Date of Birth, Place of Birth

Saleem Kidwai

Indian academic

Date of Birth: 20-Dec-1951

Place of Birth: Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India

Profession: writer, historian, author, university teacher

Nationality: India

Zodiac Sign: Sagittarius

For the Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Wales, see Saleem Kidwai (Muslim Council of Wales). Saleem Kidwai (born 1951, Lucknow, India) is a medieval historian, gay rights activist and a translator.
Born to family of Sufi saints, Kidwai was a Professor of History at Ramjas College, University of Delhi until 1993 and is currently an independent scholar.
He was one of the first academics to speak publicly as a member of the LGBT community.
His other academic areas of interest are Mughal politics and culture, the history of tawaifs, and north Indian music.
With Ruth Vanita, he is co-editor of Same-Sex Love in India: Readings from Literature and History (New York: Palgrave; New Delhi: Macmillan, 2000), a pioneering work documenting and exploring the indigenous roots of same-sex desire in South Asia.
Kidwai has also translated singer Malika Pukhraj's autobiography, "Song Sung True."