Navtej Johar

Biography

Navtej Singh Johar (born 8 August 1959) is an acclaimed Indian Bharatanatyam dancer, choreographer, and Sangeet Natak Akademi award winner. He is also a prominent LGBTQ+ activist and educator, known for his contributions to both classical dance and social advocacy.

Early Life and Training

Johar is among the few male classical dancers in India and is the first Sikh to take up Bharatanatyam. He received formal training at:

Kalakshetra, Chennai, under the guidance of Rukmini Arundale.

Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra, New Delhi, training with Leela Samson.

Department of Performance Studies, New York University, for advanced studies in performance.

He has received several fellowships for his research and contribution to the arts, including the Times of India Fellowship (1995) and the Charles Wallace Fellowship (1999).

Career

Navtej Singh Johar has performed and choreographed extensively, collaborating with noted artists such as Stephen Rush, Shubha Mudgal, and installation artist Sheba Chhachhi. His creative work blends classical Indian dance with contemporary performance ideas.

He has also acted in films, including:

Earth (directed by Deepa Mehta)

Khamosh Pani (directed by Sabiha Sumar)

Currently, Johar serves as a faculty member at Ashoka University, Sonipat, where he engages with students in performance studies and interdisciplinary research.

Activism

Johar is a leading figure in LGBTQ+ rights in India. In June 2016, he and five others from the sexual and gender minority community filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court of India challenging Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code.

This effort culminated in the landmark 2018 judgment in Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India, in which the Supreme Court unanimously declared Section 377 unconstitutional insofar as it criminalized consensual sexual conduct between adults of the same sex. This decision was a historic step toward equality for LGBTQ+ individuals in India.