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Jason Keith Fernandes
Vol. 55, Issue No. 1, 04 Jan, 2020
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Home » Journal » Vol. 55, Issue No. 1, 04 Jan, 2020 » Probing into the Freedoms of Queer Liberation in India
Probing into the Freedoms of Queer Liberation in India
Jason Keith Fernandes (jason.k.fernandes@gmail.com) is a researcher at the Centre for Research in Anthropology, ISCTE–Lisbon University Institute, Lisbon, Portugal.
Reception of the reading down by the Supreme Court of Section 377 should be more circumspect, since there is much in the decision that offers reasons for concern. Rather than making a rupture with the contemporary majoritarian political climate, the decision is, in fact, a continuation of a longer nationalist project aimed at consolidating the ideal citizen subject of the Indian nation state.
There was much celebration that followed the judgment of the Supreme Court in the case of Navtej Singh Johar and Others v Union of India (2018), which read down the infamous Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The decision, which held that consensual sexual relations between two members of the same sex could not be considered criminal, was hailed as a step forward for LGBTIQ+(lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer/questioning individuals) rights. It also garnered high praise for its reliance on the concept of constitutional morality, rather than social morality, and for offering a ray of hope to minoritised groups at a time when the health of the Indian democracy, almost never in the best of strength, has been severely under threat from a majoritarian government that seems to be actively undermining the rule of law in the state.
This article suggests that as much as the reading down of Section 377 should be celebrated, the reception of this decision should have been more circumspect, since there is much in the decision that offers reasons for concern. Rather than making a rupture with the contemporary majoritarian political climate, the decision is, in fact, a continuation of a longer nationalist project aimed at consolidating the ideal citizen subject of the Indian nation state. While the recourse to constitutional morality in the judgment is laudable, the way in which it is used suggests that the Court has not fully appreciated what this might mean, and the decision in fact engaged in nation-building, rather than buttressing the rights of citizens. Further, rather than attending to the various kinds of citizens in the polity, what the Court did was to privilege the rights of upper-caste, upper-class citizens, even as both the petitioners and the Court rode on, and appropriated, the violence suffered by lower-class and lower-caste queer citizens.
'Citizen' in the Nationalist Project
My review of the decision in Navtej Singh Johar and Others v Union of India (2018) must necessarily begin with a quick recounting of the Indian national project and the nature of the ideal citizen-subject desired for, and crafted by this project. I use the word "project" in the sense of "a socially transformative endeavour that is localised, politicised, and partial, yet also engendered by longer historical developments and ways of narrating them" (Ramaswamy 1997: 22–23). This understanding is critical because, while allowing space for individual agency, it also reminds us that so much of individual agency is caught within larger processes and ways of narration. As such, the Court's decision can be seen not as opinions of individual judges, but as voices of a larger process that is unfolding. Indeed, as I will elaborate, once we appreciate the way in which the narrative of the petitioners in Navtej Singh Johar and Others v Union of India (2018) framed their arguments within a longer national narrative, we will see that the decision of the justices of the Supreme Court is not necessarily as emancipatory as it has been perceived.
In the case of India, the orientalist production of a difference between the Europeans and colonised peoples operating alongside the binary logic of the Enlightenment, saw the production of the colonising British, or the West, as rational and the colonised, or the East, as irrational; the British as secular and the natives as religious; the British as urban and industrialised and the colonised as rural and primitive; and so on. Alongside these dichotomies was the liberal distinction, already in place in western Europe, between the public sphere of male participation in the state and community, and the private sphere of the home and domesticity. In his articulation of the process through which the nationalist groups constituting the elites of the Indian anti-imperial and national struggle, and subsequently the postcolonial state of India, negotiated modernity, Chatterjee (1986: 51) suggests that these elites determined that, for India, true modernity "would lie in combining the superior material qualities of Western cultures with the spiritual greatness of the East."
This modernity would be best—and only—achieved by establishing their own nation state outside of the sovereignty of the British Crown, producing in this process the national, in the sense of uniting the "Indian," no matter how often this unity would be challenged, against the "foreign." These nationalist elite feared that if they were to reform completely, that is, both in the materialistic–public and spiritual–private spheres, then the very distinction between West and East would vanish and the self-identity of national culture would itself be threatened (Chatterjee 1989: 623).
This duality has marked the proponents of the Indian national project into those who identify as secular–liberal or Hindu nationalists. Indian nationalism, supported by the same "civil society," has thrived on the distinction between the public and the private. The public is amenable to the colonial touch; indeed, it is even celebrated, since other colonial impacts, which are problematic in their own right, like the Indian railways, police system, and judiciary, are all cherished. To the nationalist mind, the private—that is, the realm of sexuality—must remain untouched and indeed purged of the colonial touch. However, any reform of this private space, in particular, that of Hindu religious practices would be delayed until after national liberation. Until recently, it has been heteronormative female sexuality that has been policed, purged, and purified. However, with the rise, incorporation, and indeed celebration of the queer citizen in liberal democracies around the world, the disciplining and incorporation of homosexual and other queer sexualities has become part of the nationalist project. Therefore, Navtej Singh Johar and Others v Union of India (2018) can be seen as part of the continuing liberal project of Hindu reform.
There are some who would still distinguish between Indian secularism and Hindu nationalism. Yet, this is a mistaken appreciation of the Indian national project. Both positions should be seen as part of a single continuum, differing from each other only in terms of emphasis and detail (Menon 2010: 130–31; Needham and Rajan 2010: 14; Tejani 2010: 41). This commonality is especially evident when viewed from the perspective of those groups marginalised by the nationalist narrative—that is, non-Brahminical groups, who see more clearly that the context of Indian secular–nationalism is what Srivastava (1998: 81–118) eloquently calls "Hindu contextualism;" the hierarchised arrangement of Indian secular–nationalism that gives Hinduism, and primarily North Indian and upper-caste notions of Hindu-ness a pre-eminence by recognising these forms as eminently Indian. Hindu contextualism would dictate that any population group—in the present case, queer communities—must craft an identity that conforms to such an understanding of Hinduism.
Indian nationalist modernity has also involved a curious arrangement with caste. Elucidating the place of caste in the secular space, Dhareshwar (1993: 116) points out that to be modern is not only to be upper caste, but also to banish or repress references to caste from the public space in the process of producing a localised form of liberal politics. When caste is mentioned in the public space, it is seen as the articulation of a primitivism best shed, an element that "contaminates and corrupts" the secular space, and those in civil society.
Thus, despite the insistence on the unmarked subject, when this central location of secularism or upper-caste Hindu-ness is contested by other particularisms, be it tribal or peasant defence of their lands from state expropriation or the assertion of difference by religious or Dalit groups, even the ordinarily secular–liberal voices challenge these assertions as being communal or non-secular. This is where Srivastava's (1998) formulation of Indian secular–nationalism as Hindu contextualism is particularly appropriate, for it underlines the hierarchical nature of secular cultures, captured in Balibar's (cited in Nigam 2006: 43) suggestion that "differences are not always suppressed; often they are relativised and subordinated to the national culture." This relativisation and subordination also ensure that law is transformed from a tool for realising rights into a tool of governmentality, as members of the polity are converted into population groups. Further, as I will point out in my discussion of the Shikhandi manoeuvre, the relativisation of caste also ensures that the oppression suffered by marginalised castes is appropriated when dominant castes speak for them while simultaneously suppressing any serious discussion of the implications of caste-based discrimination in the public sphere.
Queer Rights or Hindu Reform?
I suggest that one should view the judgment in Navtej Singh Johar and Others v Union of India (2018) not merely as affirming the right to engage in non-heterosexual practices, but as a continuation of the project of the Hindu law reform—a project that faced resistance under British sovereignty and was only taken up after Indian independence (Chatterjee 1989, 1993). I make this suggestion largely because of how Section 377, and the homophobic violence that arguably issues from it, has been pinned squarely on Victorian and Christian values and the subtext suggesting that Indian (that is, Hindu) values would be allowed to surface once this manifestation of colonial violence on the Indian psyche has been dealt with.
Three of the four opinions in Navtej Singh Johar judgment trace the origins of Section 377 to Victorian morality. While Chief Justice Dipak Misra spends little time on this matter, the opinions of Justices R F Nariman and D Y Chandrachud give the origins substantial attention. In all three of these opinions, however, and as demonstrated in Misra's observation in paragraph 17 as cited below, there is a suggestion that Section 377 alone has been primarily responsible for the persecution of homosexuals in the Indian polity:
It is urged by the learned counsel for the petitioners that individuals belonging to the LGBT group suffer discrimination and abuse throughout their lives due to the existence of Section 377 IPC which is nothing but a manifestation of a mindset of societal values prevalent during the Victorian era where sexual activities were considered mainly for procreation. (Navtej Singh Johar and Others v Union of India 2018)
In paragraph 7 of his opinion, Nariman lays out a history of Section 377, beginning with the following:
In the western world, given the fact that both Judaism and Christianity outlawed sexual intercourse by same-sex couples, offences relating thereto were decided by ecclesiastical courts. (Navtej Singh Johar and Others v Union of India 2018)
Thus, the Christian heritage of the section is clearly indicated, and it is referenced a second time in paragraph 31 where referring to the decision in an American case, he notes,
Chief Justice Burger, concurring, again relied heavily on "ancient roots," stating that throughout the history of western civilisation, homosexual sodomy was outlawed in the Judeo–Christian tradition, which the Georgia legislature could well follow. (Navtej Singh Johar and Others v Union of India 2018)
In paragraph 15 of his opinion, Chandrachud directly attributes the origin of the logic of Section 377 to this so-called "Judeo–Christian" morality, following the work of the Australian Justice Michael Kirby:
In order to understand the colonial origins of Section 377, it is necessary to go further back to modern English law's conception of anal and oral intercourse, which was firmly rooted in Judeo–Christian morality and condemned non-procreative sex. (Navtej Singh Johar and Others v Union of India 2018)
His ensuing discussion of the Judeo–Christian origins of homophobia is fairly elaborate, occupying several paragraphs, in which he discusses, among other cases, the Biblical story of the city of Sodom. Despite the enthusiasm for the archaeology of the origins of homophobia, and the apparent concern for queer individuals, Chandrachud surprisingly makes no reference to the fact that the moral lesson drawn from the story of Sodom and Gomorrah is far from settled and has been challenged by Islamic and Christian scholars (Bailey 1955; Carden 2004; Kugle and Hunt 2012: 271–72). These scholars highlight that the residents of these two cities were not punished for anal intercourse; but rather for their violation of a host's obligations to a traveller and the attempted rape of a traveller, a vulnerable person. Chandrachud may have also benefited from such discussions as that in Kyle Harper's From Shame to Sin (2013), where the author argues that the Christian proscription of sex outside of marriage and for reasons of procreation alone was born in the context of the Roman Empire, which took unfreedom for granted. Freedom for the early Christians was not simply worldly freedom, but one that meant freedom from "the world"—that is, the Roman society, where unfreedom was shown in its darkest light by the trading and sexual abuse of unfree bodies, both male and female (Brown 2013).
A mere reference to this historical complexity and contestations within the many Islamic, Jewish, and Christian traditions would have gone far towards acknowledging the diversity within these groups, rather than contribute what Asad (2006) indicates as the liberal tendency to define religion, and the dominant Indian practice of seeing religious communities as monolithic. Indeed, fracturing the dominant perspective in seeing non-dominant castes if Hindu groups as members of a single monolithic community holding a unanimous perspective would have gone a long way in not merely challenging this tradition, but in showing sensitivity to queer persons within the increasingly beleaguered minoritised communities.
Had Nariman paid similar attention to the casual way in which he invokes the so-called Judeo–Christian tradition, he might have noticed how complexities within various traditions are flattened out to create a broader consensus. But, what is the consensus that the term "Judeo–Christian" represents? While the early Christian tradition was undoubtedly influenced by such Jewish thinkers as the Apostle Paul, what must also be noted is that the Judeo–Christian formula is of a more recent provenance, emerging in an American context in the late 1930s and becoming widespread during World War II, when the United States (US) democracy was contrasted to Nazi despotism, with the latter's glaring disregard for the sanctity of the human person and basic human rights. This tendency dovetailed into a movement in the US to unite the three major religious groups—Protestants, Catholics, and Jews—in what was often referred to as a "tri-faith" nation.
It was subsequently enshrined during the early years of the Cold War when the fight against what was seen as "godless communism" made it seem imperative to view the US as a religious nation (Gaston 2012: 292). It must be remembered that prior to this moment, Catholicism had been seen as a threat and an outsider to the US polity (Hamburger 2002). Nor did the term have a particular resonance within Christian theology, given that any reference to the Jewish origins of Christianity was essentially to emphasise how, through the person of Jesus Christ and his teachings, Christianity had superseded and fulfilled Judaism (Gaston 2012: 295). If there is a possible prehistory to this term, it is probably in the usage of pre-liberal thinkers of the Enlightenment, like Voltaire, who were motivated by a desire to displace both Jews and Catholics from centrality in European politics even as they valorised the figure of the Aryan (Figueira 2015: 49).
Therefore, the term "Judeo–Christian" not only flattens out the complexities within a variety of diverse religious traditions but is also rooted in a secular–liberal discomfort with, if not hatred for these religious traditions (Joskowicz 2013: 30–31; Moyn 2015: 20). In the context of the Navtej Singh Johar case, the term "Judeo–Christian" appears to once again been used for the purpose of secular–liberal legislation.
It is not by chance that the Supreme Court has offered this reading, given that it most definitely relied on the documents provided by the petitioners. It has been commonplace for years now to legitimise the mobilisation against Section 377 on the basis of it being part of a colonial and non-Indic mentality, the petitioners in the Naz Foundation v Government of NCT of Delhi (2009) arguing that "Section 377, at its origin, did not respond to Indian society or its 'values or mores' at all. British colonial governors imposed it on India undemocratically. It reflected only the British Judeo–Christian values of the time" (Gupta 2008). The suggestion is therefore that were it not for the colonial-vintage IPC, inspired by the so-called Judeo–Christian values, which privilege sex for procreation alone, we would not have had a Section 377.
There are several problems with this articulation. First, it suggests a certain authentic "Indianness"—a sensibility and selfhood untouched by colonisers—which can be recovered by the mere repealing of Section 377. However, it is not merely in the activism around Section 377 that this logic has manifested. This simplistic reasoning has allowed for the docile acceptance of changes in city names in India. The shift across the country towards vernacular names for cities should not be seen as a mere recovery of a native, subaltern identity from the suppression of alien colonialism. On the contrary, these shifts have been the result of the growing Hindu nationalism that has displayed a capacity to accommodate subnationalisms only if they fit within the larger rubric of Hindu nationalism.
Further, these changes in nomenclature were legislatively effected, thus negating an existing pluralism in the names of cities. As such, as per law, it is henceforth only Mumbai and not Bombay, or the variety of other names that exist for this city; only Kolkata and not Calcutta; and so on. Beyond changing the names of cities, these acts of legislation have, in fact, delegitimised and erased the ways of various minoritised groups of claiming and belonging to their city, and they are problematic, therefore, beyond their assertion of the power (and violence) of law. While pockets of resistance to these name changes continue, it should be noted that most dominant queer mobilisations in the country have fallen in line with these changes, thus celebrating a "Bengaluru or Kolkata Pride."
In keeping with the suggestion that a precolonial Indianness was unmarked by homophobia, one can also observe the manner, as evidenced by Pattanaik (2016), in which the "Abrahamic faiths" have been othered to provide textual Brahminical Hinduism as a mild, "generally liberal" attitude towards non-heteronormative and non-procreative sexual practices. In his article, Pattanaik (2016) recognises the varying possible interpretations of the Biblical story of Sodom and Gomorrah, but, nevertheless begins by asserting link of the colonial genesis of Section 377 with "Abrahamic mythology." He goes on to suggest that "Such tales, of God prohibiting certain sexual acts but allowing others, are not found in Hindu mythology." While
acknowledging that the "Dharmashastras clearly value heterosexual marriage and sex that result in production of sons," he diminishes this privileging by suggesting the following:
They do acknowledge, albeit grudgingly, the existence of other forms of non-vaginal sex, heterosexual as well as homosexual, and seek to restrain them with fines and penance, without overtly condemning them in religious or moral terms. (Pattanaik 2016)
What is sauce for the Abrahamic or Judeo–Christian goose, therefore, is not quite sauce for the Brahminical gander. What such statements and positions (and movements) eventually result in, is the consolidation of a certain legitimate national subject, wholly authentic and bearing none of the stains of colonial impact.
Othering Process
As should be obvious, this framing of sexuality is very much in keeping with the Indian nationalist distinction between the public and the private. While the public sphere is amenable to colonial touch, to the nationalist mind, the private, the realm of sexuality, must remain untouched and purged of the colonial touch. This distinction between public and private, and the apparent decolonisation of the private, was succinctly made by a comment on social media soon after the Naz Foundation v Government of NCT of Delhi (2009) decision: "one last British relic was overturned in India. Cricket and marmalade can stay." Therefore, it is clearly part of a larger project, or appealing to it, that homophobia in India is to be presented as the result of colonial Christian intervention.
But, it is not just Christianity that has been othered by the decision in the Navtej Singh Johar case. Though largely unreferenced, Islam, the original "other" of Indian nationalism, too finds mention in a seemingly innocuous reference in the opinion of Justice Chandrachud. In paragraph 125, he states the following:
According the [sic] International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association, 74 countries (including India) criminalise same-sex sexual conduct, as of 2017. Most of these countries lie in the Sub-Saharan and Middle East region. Some of them prescribe death penalty for homosexuality. (Navtej Singh Johar and Others v Union of India 2018)
He then indicates in paragraph 126 that "In the march of civilisations across the spectrum of a compassionate global order, India cannot be left behind." In addition to blaming colonialism, and Judeo–Christian morality, Chandrachud seeks to distinguish India from largely Muslim countries in Africa and West Asia. That this veiled reference to barbarous Muslims is gratuitous is evident in the fact that the report by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association was referenced in the opinion of Justice Malhotra, who chose to phrase the statistics of the association's report more positively, affirming in paragraph 10 that "124 countries no longer penalise homosexuality" (Navtej Singh Johar and Others v Union of India 2018).
Failing Citizenship
Having phrased the proscription against homosexual behaviour as the imposition of an alien mentality on Indians, it is little wonder that the Supreme Court also phrased the reading down of Section 377 in terms of freedom from the colonial yoke. While striking down the Delhi High Court's decision in Suresh Kumar Koushal and Another v Naz Foundation and Others (2013) the Supreme Court affirmed a constitutionality that attaches to pre-constitutional laws, such as the IPC, which have been adopted by Parliament and used with or without amendment, suggesting that these are manifestations of the will of the people of India through Parliament, and hence, they are presumed to be constitutional.
Disagreeing with this admittedly bizarre proposition, Justice Nariman suggests the following in paragraph 90:
Where, however, a pre-constitution law is made by either a foreign legislature or body, none of these parameters obtain. It is therefore clear that no such presumption attaches to a pre-constitutional statute like the Indian Penal Code. (Navtej Singh Johar and Others v Union of India 2018)
What is striking about Nariman's reasoning is that he qualifies the legislature as foreign. Given his recourse to the much-celebrated key phrase in this judgment—that of constitutional morality—there is no need to call it foreign, as nationalism is eminently the extension of social morality. Constitutional morality would merely recognise this legislature as a pre-constitutional body with a will that is out of sync with an extant constitutional vision. The fact that there is recourse to this term, however, demonstrates the firm rooting of the case for reading down Section 377 in a nationalist claim to liberation.
Colonialism in Indian discourse—something that the Supreme Court seems to share in going by this decision—is limited to the period prior to formal decolonisation under British sovereignty. It does not acknowledge the coloniality of power. This concept was developed within the Latin American tradition, marked not only by metropolitan Spanish sovereignty, but also by the harsh power relations within the nominally liberated national polities that succeeded the Spanish Empire. Coloniality of power does not limit colonialism to sovereignty, by a European power as much as it identifies and describes the living legacy of colonialism in contemporary societies in the form of social discrimination that has outlived formal colonialism and becomes integrated with succeeding social orders (Quijano 2000). While identifying European colonialism as introducing inequalities into Latin American polities, Quijano (2000) suggests that a caste system was introduced, with the metropolitan Spanish at the top of the caste pyramid, and the conquered and enslaved at the bottom. This was coupled with racist epistemologies that ascribed to these subaltern groups not just inferior status, but also inferior capacities.
Knowing his lifelong struggle against Brahminism and Brahminical elites, B R Ambedkar, who is receiving renewed attention at the moment and quoted in the decisions, would have appreciated the use of this concept. Unfortunately, rather than subscribe to this broader understanding of colonialism, the decision in the Navtej Singh Johar case restricts the meaning of colonialism to the conditions under a period of non-national, that is, British sovereignty. In doing so, the Court is unable or refuses to see that in the Laws of Manu, both the text and the social practices related to it, the coloniality of power pre-existed the establishment of European sovereignty on the subcontinent and has continued since the departure of the British. Thus, colonialism is used in this judgment to place culpability for Section 377 on the British, and as so elaborately discussed in Justice Chandrachud's decision, Judeo–Christian morality.
This choice has several implications. First, it evinces a fundamental misunderstanding of how the problem of homophobia in the Indian polity is sustained. While queer Indians may have feared arrest and criminal prosecution under Section 377, this has never been their only fear. High on the list of fears would be that of being ripped from the family unit. This is not merely the fear of being disinherited, but of being torn from the networks of privilege that come with being a member of a family and caste. Caste is firmly entwined with patriarchy and the production, not merely of children, but of sons. If the female body is especially disciplined, so too is the male body. It is not uncommon to hear homosexual men in India argue that traditionally, as long as one produced children, no one cared what one did outside of the marriage.
However, caste has a darker role to play than merely controlling sexuality. Caste is also about a relationship of power, where one is sycophantic to those above and harsh to those below. Caste notions of justice ensure that not only are some superior and others ranked inferior, but that one exploits one's superior position in the hierarchy. Perhaps Choudhury (2018) captures it best while contemplating Ambedkar's formulation of caste as anathema, by suggesting that the Indian polity is anti-social. In this vein, Choudhury (2018) also points to Ambedkar in likening castes to gangs: "narrow cliques" governed by "intense loyalty to their own codes." This insight into the anti-social nature of caste would explain the kind of homophobic violence that one sees in India.
Especially after Section 377 came to be more widely known and upheld by the Supreme Court in Suresh Kumar Koushal and Another v Naz Foundation and Others (2013), its use became more widespread, especially as a tool of blackmail. What is striking about some portions of this judgment is that while copiously referring to scholarly articles exploring the problems of being forced into the closet in the global North, there is almost no sociological, anthropological, or sociolegal discussion of the Indian polity. Dore's (2015) investigative journalism has indicated that in 2014, 94 people were booked under Section 377, and another 68 up to 30 August 2015. She contrasts this number with the mere 22 cases in 2010, 22 in 2011, 38 in 2012 and 62 in 2013, before the Supreme Court judgment in Suresh Kumar Koushal and Another v Naz Foundation and Others (2013) (Dore 2015). Most interestingly, Dore points to instances where Section 377 was invoked by jilted partners.
This kind of violence cannot simply be put down to the existence of this section from the IPC; it speaks to the way in which, drawing from the violence of the caste system, the law and state institutions are used in Indian polity. The second implication of making colonialism responsible for homophobic violence is that it underlines the Hindu nationalist rhetoric of an arcadian Indian prior to invasion (whether European or the so-called Islamic). Thus, even if not explicitly, the idea of undoing the colonial yoke suggests a return to an authentic and precolonial Indianness—an idea which is widespread among Indian activists in support of hegemonically understood gay rights.
Citizens as Nationals
This nationalist reading demonstrates, to make use of Arendt's (1951: 275) powerful insight, the manner in which the Indian polity is marked by a conquest of the state by the nation. It was this conquest, she argues, that transformed the state from an instrument of law into an instrument of the nation that defined citizens as nationals. With this transformation, the struggles for recognition of those groups that were ostensible to the state, but remained out of the nation, would be transformed from struggles for rights into struggles for recognition as groups deserving of the state's attention. In this context, we would do well to recollect Chatterjee's insight that what T H Marshall notes as the expansion of citizenship, from civic to political, to include social rights, was, in fact, a "category confusion" (Chatterjee 2007: 36). What occurred instead was an unprecedented proliferation of governmentality, which laid the foundation for the conversion of governance from the realm of citizenship to that of managing populations.
With the Navtej Singh Johar judgment, the Supreme Court is not so much recognising the rights of all citizens as much as it is participating in transforming the state from an instrument of law, which recognises the rights of citizens, to an instrument of the nation, which produces nationally compliant population groups. In an early critique of the judgment, Mandal (2018) points out that "Like the other judges, Justice Misra frames sexual orientation to be natural, innate and immutable." He goes on to argue the following:
[A]rguments based on immutability provide weak foundations and limited scope to recognition of the rights of those marginalised on account of their sexual orientation or gender identity. The main work done by arguments from immutability is to create the figure of a victim who has been wronged for no fault of theirs, and who the law now must protect from any further wrongs. (Mandal 2018)
As evidenced in the work of Das (1996) on the 1984 gas leak disaster in Bhopal, the interpellation of the figure of the suffering victim is an old strategy of the Supreme Court, where the mobilisation of this "suffering" and "agony" has allowed the judiciary "to create a verbal discourse which legitimised the position of the government as guardian of the people and the judiciary as the protector of the law" (Das 1996: 159; also see Bhuwania 2016: 38). In other words, the figure of the suffering citizen is articulated largely to strengthen the state mechanism, which promises to cater to this subject.
This is where governmentality and the nationalist project intersect. Rather than recognition of the rights of all citizens, we see the crafting of a nationalist project where the nation state will receive a population group—in this case, members of queer communities—that is similarly charged with forming itself into a nationally compliant group. This process is perhaps best illustrated in paragraph 249 of Justice Misra's opinion, which calls on transgender citizens to join the "mainstream"—a term long used in Indian secularism to denote the community formed by the unmarked citizen, which errant minoritised groups that articulate their difference are urged to join. The requirement for this participation, however, is that they articulate their difference within nationally acceptable norms. Misra continues that the transgender citizens will
have to progress from their narrow claustrophobic spaces of mere survival in hiding with their isolation and fears to enjoying the richness of living out of the shadows with full realisation of their potential and equal opportunities in all walks of life. (emphasis added) (Navtej Singh Johar and Others v Union of India 2018)
As I will point out, the transgender figure is utilised in the decision, and in Indian queer politics in general, as the trope through which queer communities gain legitimacy in the official discourse of Indian politics. What Justice Misra, like other justices, requires, however, is that these transgender and other queer groups comport themselves according to middle-class and dominant-caste standards of privacy.
What is striking about all of the opinions in Navtej Singh Johar judgment is the place that privacy has in delimiting the rights of consensual homosexual practice. In paragraph 246 of his opinion, Justice Misra affirms that
any display of affection amongst the members of the LGBT community towards their partners in the public so long as it does not amount to indecency or has the potentiality to disturb public order cannot be bogged down by majority perception. (emphasis added) (Navtej Singh Johar and Others v Union of India 2018)
While, on the face of it, this formulation sounds like a reasonable restriction, the question is whether in a polity marked by ever-increasing violence, where social norms are determined according to dominant Hindu caste and Hindu bourgeois notions of appropriate behaviour, and where caste norms and values do not receive substantial discussion or treatment in the decision, this formulation, in fact, leaves the rights of queer minorities open to executive interpretation, such as through violent mobs and an often equally violent police force. Earlier, in paragraph 242, he stresses that consensual carnal intercourse "amongst any two persons including LGBT community cannot be treated as untenable so long as it is consensual and it is confined within their most private and intimate spaces" (emphasis added) (Navtej Singh Johar and Others v Union of India 2018). This emphasis on the private nature of sexual engagement is re-emphasised in the summary of Misra's reasoning in paragraph 253 (xvi):
Consensual carnal intercourse among adults, be it homosexual or heterosexual, in private space, does not in any way harm the public decency or morality. (Navtej Singh Johar and Others v Union of India 2018)
Justice Malhotra similarly applies a restriction on the rights of queer persons by indicating in paragraph 16.1 that insofar as Section 377 "curtails the personal liberty of LGBT persons to engage in voluntary consensual sexual relationships with a partner of their choice, in a safe and dignified environment, [it] is violative of Article 21" (emphasis added) (Navtej Singh Johar and Others v Union of India 2018). This begs the question: What happens when the sexual relationship is deemed not dignified?
Fortunately, both Justices Chandrachud and Nariman complicate this focus on privacy. In paragraph 62, Chandrachud highlights the harassment of sexual minorities in public spaces and stresses the right of these persons "to navigate public places on their own terms, free from state interference." Similarly, Justice Nariman refers to decisions on honour killings (in the case Shakti Vahini v Union of India [2018]) and the freedom to make one's own matrimonial choice (referencing the Hadiya case), which helps to correct the troubling silences in Chief Justice Misra's and Justice Malhotra's understanding of privacy. Nevertheless, without an elaborate discussion of the role of state violence against minoritised groups, one fears that such qualifications will remain peripheral, and what one has is a reception of queer people as a population group as long as they discipline themselves within the frames of public behaviour that is deemed acceptable to the national cultural matrix.
The Shikhandi Manoeuvre
Shikhandi is a character in the Mahabharata epic. Despite fulfilling male functions—not least being a warrior—Shikhandi is considered, for various reasons, to be a woman or eunuch. To vanquish the invincible Bhishma and bring the battle to an end, Krishna suggests that Arjuna stand behind Shikhandi and attack Bhishma. Given that Bhishma does not attack women, he will not fire arrows in the direction of Shikhandi, and Arjuna remains unscathed even while attacking, and eventually killing, Bhishma.
I was first alerted to the uncanny echo of this episode in contemporary Indian gender politics a few years before the Delhi High Court's Naz Foundation v Government of NCT of Delhi (2009) judgment when viewing the film Between the Lines, India's Third Gender (2005). The film documents the lives of several hijras—transsexual persons who generally lead lives of poverty and eke out a livelihood through begging or sex work. Although the film is very sympathetic to the subjects that it follows, I felt that, just as in the Shikhandi episode of the Mahabharata, the film was articulating a certain upper-caste/upper-class agenda while adopting the subaltern image of the transgender Indian as a symbol of the movement. Thus, I term this use of the hijras the "Shikhandi manoeuvre."
This manoeuvre allowed the movement for queer rights in India to gain a cultural rootedness that may not have been possible had it remained restricted to urban, upper- and middle-class groups from dominant caste backgrounds, who are seen as westernised and, in the context of cultural politics around issues of sexuality, as not being Indian enough. As discussed earlier, this cultural rootedness was particularly important because it allowed for homophobia in India to be laid entirely at the door of the British and Judeo–Christian morality, claiming in this way the support of Hindu nationalist groups. The
Shikhandi manoeuvre was also important for those members of the movement who wished to convince themselves that they were not acting merely in their own interests, but in the interests of a wider, and subjugated, community.
The problem with these strategies, however, is that the public interest litigation (PIL) route that eventually led to the Naz Foundation v Government of NCT of Delhi (2009) decision was based largely on the anti-politics, middle-class, dominant caste predilections of the groups that led, and eventually largely benefit, from the way in which the law structures the field. Further, it does not appear that the Shikhandi manoeuvre was altogether absent from the decision in the Navtej Singh Johar case, even though there appears to have been a genuine attempt by some activist groups to be as inclusive and democratic as possible (Divan 2018). On the contrary, it is strikingly obvious if one knows where, and how, to look.
The use of the manoeuvre is strikingly obvious in Justice Chandrachud's decision. In paragraph 42 of his decision, Chandrachud notes the observations in the Naz Foundation v Government of NCT of Delhi (2009) decision, emphasising the way in which "a significant group of the population is, because of its sexual nonconformity, persecuted, marginalised" (Navtej Singh Johar and Others v Union of India 2018). He goes on to point to the fact that in the Naz Foundation case, the Delhi High Court relied on
the extensive records and affidavits submitted by the Petitioners that brought to fore instances of custodial rape and torture, social boycott, degrading and inhuman treatment and incarceration. (Navtej Singh Johar and Others v Union of India 2018)
Having made these observations, however, there is no recognition of the class character of these victims of abuse. There is simply the observation that the presence and operation of Section 377 "created a systemic pattern of disadvantage, exclusion, and indignity for the LGBT community, and for individuals who indulge in non-heterosexual conduct" (Navtej Singh Johar and Others v Union of India 2018). The suffering subject, it appears, is not given a name, or identity, nor identified by socio-economic location, but subsumed within the larger category of the population group that has been created, erasing in this manner the specificity of the violations they suffer.
Subsequent paragraphs of Chandrachud's decision offer further evidence of how the socio-economically marginalised are occluded. In paragraph 48, citing the text "Unnatural
Offences": Obstacles to Justice in India Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, authored by the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ 2017), he points to the huge number of arrests under Section 337. "The report documents numerous violations inflicted on people under the authority of Section 377. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, 1,279 persons in 2014 and 1,491 in 2015 were arrested under Section 377" (Navtej Singh Johar and Others v Union of India 2018). But, he does not go into the class location of the people who are at the butt end of this violence. Rather, in the subsequent paragraph, perfectly emblematic of the switch involved in the Shikhandi manoeuvre, the sympathy is delivered to "alumni of Indian Institutes of Technology across the country" and "Petitioners [who] are a group of persons belonging to the LGBTQ community, each of whom has excelled in their fields but suffer immensely due to the operation of Section 377" (Navtej Singh Johar and Others v Union of India 2018).
In pointing to the scholastic and professional excellence of the petitioners, Chandrachud, in fact, continues a long dominant-caste discursive tradition against reservation, which privileges "merit." Merit, or excellence, is how dominant caste groups in the country distinguish themselves from members of communities that are listed as Other Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes, or Scheduled Tribes. These communities, by virtue of benefiting from positive affirmation, are not only alleged to deprive those with "merit," but also dominant-caste candidates who lack the same "merit." The Shikhandi manoeuvre, therefore, allows those from upper-caste and upper-class backgrounds to ride on, or appropriate, the violations suffered by socio-economically marginalised groups.
This manoeuvre is also palpable when reading the decision of Chief Justice Misra. In his opinion, there is a sudden switch from paragraph 247, where he refers to Section 377 as an "archaic
law which is incompatible with constitutional values," to paragraph 248, where he speaks of the pain of transgender people. Yet, in this brief paragraph, which faults "[b]igoted and homophobic attitudes," there is no discussion of the kind of police violence that members of these groups face. Without reference to police violence, the bigotry and homophobic attitudes that he describes are not firmly rooted anywhere, least of all in state practice. As elaborated above, Misra requires transgender citizens to join the "mainstream," but, as he begins that particular paragraph by suggesting that "The very existence of Section 377 IPC criminalising transgenders casts a great stigma on an already oppressed and discriminated class of people" (Navtej Singh Johar and Others v Union of India 2018) and coyly refuses to name state violence, it is as if Section 377 alone, and not police violence, rooted in long-standing social practices related to caste dominance and violence, is the basis of discrimination.
Having pinned homophobic violence on the colonial system and refusing to locate precolonial and contemporary indigenous sources of violence, the Court and dominant-caste queer activists are at a loss to properly identify and redress the sources of this violence. Indeed, while some have drawn attention to Justice Nariman's requirement that police be subjected to sensitisation programmes (John 2018), as opposed to the decision in the National Legal Services Authority v Union of Indian and Others (2014), there is almost no reference to police violence. As this systemic abuse of state power is not mentioned by the Court, it is difficult to see how the decision can be construed as empowering members of these marginalised communities.
Thus, we continue to see the Shikhandi manoeuvre because, despite using this class of persons to challenge Section 377, the varied problems that they face are not even mentioned. Rather, this violence is discursively appropriated and translated into sympathy for members of dominant castes and classes. The failure to structurally locate the varied types of violence faced by diverse LGBTIQ+ groups ensures that it is the ideal citizen-subject who overwhelming benefits from the freedoms released by this judgment.
Indeed, as indicated by transgender activist A Revathi in an interview conducted by Bhanaumathi (2018) soon after Navtej Singh Johar judgment,
Murders, rapes, thefts, false charges, shootouts and lots of other problems will not allow us to celebrate for 377 tomorrow. We all know who is going to benefit out of it. For me, the basic needs are education, job, family recognition, property rights. Even love, marriage, sex rights follow only after that. I fear that if one can attain all other rights with sex rights [sic]. This is the fear of my community as well. (Bhanaumathi 2018)
A more honest appraisal of the issues facing the diversity of queer communities, especially those at the bottom of the social pyramid and the long-standing victims of the existing coloniality of power in India, would have perhaps ensured that the strategy for securing the rights of queer communities in India included a focus on the rights articulated by Revathi. However, a failure to honestly engage with the reality of the Indian polity and confront the existence of caste and patriarchal violence, the decision to pin homophobic violence on the presence of Section 377 alone, and executing the Shikhandi manoeuvre have resulted in a decision that, while paving the way for rights to queer marriage and adoption, may continue to leave marginalised segments of the polity wanting for protection.
In this article, I have suggested that the reception of the Navtej Singh Johar decision ought to be more circumspect. As I have demonstrated, the Court seems to have articulated a decision which, while definitely decriminalising homosexual activity among consenting adults, may have actually also worked within a larger majoritarian tradition in the country. Critical of this decision, Pasha (2018) cites a string of cases where the Court has failed to check a government that brooks no dissent and suggests that most of the cases being celebrated as landmark are, in fact, the plucking of the "low-hanging fruit." He points out that while the decision in Naz Foundation v Government of NCT of Delhi (2009) may indeed have been a bold one, in this particular case, where the government and popular opinion supported Section 377, with the central government quite pointedly choosing to take no position on the case and famously leaving it to "the wisdom of the Court" to decide the matter, the Supreme Court articulated a decision in keeping with the majority position.
Interestingly, this evaluation corresponds with that of Bhuwania (2016), who in an evaluation of the tradition of PIL of the Supreme Court points out that it is precisely in the areas where the courts can play a crucial role in protecting democratic institutions—the upholding of the rights to free speech, publication and political association, and the right to vote—and curbing the excessive delegation of the legislative function to unelected administrators, that the Indian appellate judiciary has been remarkably timid (Bhuwania 2016: 140). To the extent that significant portions of the decision relied on the othering of Christianity, the rejection of the existence of domestic coloniality of power, the continuation of the project of governmentality, and the occlusion of caste, the decision is deeply problematic.
Asad, Talal (2006): "Trying to Understand French Secularism," Political Theologies: Public Religions in a Post-Secular World, Hent Vries and Lawrence Eugene Sullivan (eds), New York: Fordham University Press, pp 494–526.
Arendt, Hannah ([1951] 1968): The Origins of Totalitarianism, New York: Harcourt, Brace and Jovanovich.
Bailey, Derrick Sherwin (1955): Homosexuality and the Western Christian Tradition, London: Longmans, Green.
Bhanaumathi, Iniyavan (2018): "Even without 377, There Are Struggles Ahead; Says Revathi," Maktoob, 6 September, https://en.maktoobmedia.com/2018/09/06/even-without-377-there-are-strugg....
Bhuwania, Anuj (2016): Courting the People: Public Interest Litigation in Post-Emergency India, Delhi: Cambridge University Press.
Brown, Peter (2013): "Rome: Sex & Freedom," The New York Review of Books, 19 December, http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2013/dec/19/rome-sex-freedom/.
Carden, Michael (2004): Sodomy, London: Equinox.
Chatterjee, Partha (1986): Nationalist Thought and the Colonial World: The Derivative Discourse?, London: Zed Books.
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— (1993): The Nation and Its Fragments: Colonial and Postcolonial Histories, New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
— (2007): The Politics of the Governed, Delhi: Permanent Black.
Choudhury, Soumyabrata (2018): "Caste as Gang: Why Hindu Society Is 'Anti-Social'," Outlook, 18 April, https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/caste-as-gang-why-hindu-society-is-anti-social/296958.
Das, Veena (1996): Critical Events: An Anthropological Perspective on Contemporary India, New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Dhareshwar, Vivek (1993): "Caste and the Secular Self," Journal of Arts and Ideas, Nos 25–26, pp 115–26.
Divan, Vivek (2018): "On the Verge of a Kind of Freedom: Ridding India of Section 377," ARC International, 16 August, http://arc-international.net/blog/on-the-verge-of-a-kind-of-freedom-ridding-india-of-section-377/.
Dore, Bhavya (2015): "How Section 377 Is Being Exploited by the Police and Blackmailers to Extort Men," Caravan, 3 November, http://www.caravanmagazine.in/vantage/how-section-377-became-payday-extortionists-and-police-alike.
Figueira, Dorothy M (2015): Aryans, Jews, Brahmins: Theorizing Authority Through Myths of Identity, New Delhi: Navayana.
Gaston, Katherine Healan (2012): "Interpreting Judeo-Christianity in America," Relegere: Studies in Religion and Reception, Vol 2, No 2, pp 291–304.
Gupta, Alok (2008): "This Alien Legacy: The Origins of 'Sodomy' Laws in British Colonialism,"
Human Rights Watch, https://www.hrw.org/report/2008/12/17/alien-legacy/origins-sodomy-laws-british-colonialism.
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Harper, Kyle (2013): From Shame to Sin: The Christian Transformation of Sexual Morality in Late
Antiquity, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
ICJ (2017): "Unnatural Offences": Obstacles to Justice in India Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, Geneva: International Commission of Jurists.
Joskowicz, Ari (2013): The Modernity of Others Jewish Anti-Catholicism in Germany and France, Stanford, CA: Standford University Press.
Kugle, Scott and Stephen Hunt (2012): "Masculinity, Homosexuality and the Defence of Islam: A Case Study of Yusuf Al-Qaradawi's Media Fatwa," Religion and Gender, Vol 2, No 2, pp 254–79.
Mandal, Saptarshi (2018): "Section 377: Whose Concerns Does the Judgment Address?" Economic & Political Weekly, Vol 50, No 23, pp 7–8.
Menon, Nivedita (2010): "Living with Secularism," The Crisis of Secularism in India, Rajeswari Sunder Rajan and Anuradha Dingwaney Needham (eds), second impression first paperback, Ranikhet: Permanent Black, pp 118–40.
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Needham, Anuradha Dingwaney and Rajeswari Sunder Rajan (2010): "Introduction," The Crisis of Secularism in India, Anuradha Dingwaney Needham and Sunder Rajan (eds), Ranikhet: Permanent Black, pp 1–42.
Nigam, Aditya (2006): The Insurrection of Little Selves, New Delhi: Oxford.
Pasha, Nizam (2018): "Section 377 Ruling May Be Landmark, But SC Is Yet to Pass the Real Test," Wire, 13 September, https://thewire.in/law/supreme-court-377-ruling.
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Ramaswamy, Sumathi (1997): Passions of the Tongue: Language Devotion in Tamil India, 1891–1970, Berkley and Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press.
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Tejani, Shabnum (2010): Indian Secularism: A Social and Intellectual History 1890–1950, Ranikhet: Permanent Black.
Cases Cited
National Legal Services Authority v Union of India and Others (2014): Writ Petition (Civil) No 400 of 2012, Supreme Court judgment dated 15 April.
Navtej Singh Johar and Others v Union of India (2018): Writ Petition (Criminal) No 76 of 2016, Supreme Court judgment dated 6 September.
Naz Foundation v Government of NCT of Delhi (2009): Writ Petition (Civil) No 7455, High Court of Delhi judgment dated 2 July.
Shakti Vahini v Union of India (2018): Writ Petition (Civil) No 231 of 2010, Supreme Court judgment dated 27 March.
Suresh Kumar Koushal and Another v Naz Foundation and Others (2013): Civil Appeal No 10972 of 2013, Supreme Court judgment dated 11 December.
Assimiliation
Queer Rights
Image Courtesy: Canva [Public Domain]
Updated On : 7th Jan, 2020


text:
opened in Chūō-ku, Osaka, Japan, in 1987. The collection, built up by  of kaiseki restaurant Kitchō fame, includes twelve Important Cultural Properties and three Important Art Objects.

See also
 Fujita Art Museum
 Masaki Art Museum
 Kubosō Memorial Museum of Arts, Izumi

References

External links
  Yuki Museum of Art

Art museums and galleries in Osaka
Art museums established in 1987
1987 establishments in Japan
Chūō-ku, Osaka

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
About Country Perspective
Country Perspective's Annual Awards List
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Country music and a little bit of everything else
Country Perspective's Top 10 Other Genre Albums of 2020
December 10, 2020 December 7, 2020 Josh
Country Perspective will be posting multiple best of albums lists this year to recognize the staggering amount of high quality album releases in 2020. It will ultimately conclude with Country Perspective's Top 10 Albums of 2020, which will reflect all genres and crown this blog's top award, Album of the Year.
Today I take a look at the top ten albums from all other genres in 2020. So this list was a bit of a crapshoot. As you can see before this list I had no problem formulating lists for country, hip hop and pop. Then I was left with a bunch of albums scattered across multiple genres and not enough in any of those categories to make a long enough list for each. Not to mention determining the genre that some of these albums felt like a rather pointlessly tiresome exercise. At the end of the day I don't concern myself much with this anymore and just focus on if the music is good or not. So rather than just forego putting them on any list, I decided to make a list of the best of the rest outside of the three genres aforementioned. The whole point of these smaller lists is to cover more artists and specific niches, while also showcasing the variety of great albums talked about on this blog through 2020. Just throwing up my top ten albums of the year didn't feel like it was wide-reaching enough. So on this list you'll find R&B, indie, alternative, rock and more. Without further ado, here are Country Perspective's Top 10 Other Genre Albums of 2020:
10. DUCKWRTH — SuperGood
Smooth, slick and funky are the three best words to describe this album. If you're looking for lyrical prowess, this album won't have it. Not to say the lyrics are bad. They're solid, yet unspectacular as most of the lyrics deal with love and enjoying the party. But if you're looking for some smooth beats, this album is overflowing with them. This is an album to move to and sing along with on a Saturday night. While it's listed as hip-hop, this is far from a straight hip-hop record. No, I would describe this more along the lines of Tyler the Creator's IGOR. This album is very much genre fluid, an enjoyable blend of hip-hop, R&B, soul, pop and disco. While I was a big fan of DUCKWRTH's earlier material that was edgier and had an almost rock flavor to them, it's clear this sound seems to suit him best.
9. CeeLo Green — CeeLo Green is Thomas Callaway
Dan Auerbach, David Ferguson and Easy Eye Sound just continue to churn out quality albums. CeeLo Green is known for such hits like "Crazy" as part of Gnarls Barkley and "Forget You" as a solo artist. But this album is much different than his popular material, as the glitz and glamour is all stripped away in favor of more subtle and smooth sounds. It's an enjoyable mix of R&B, soul, pop, gospel and even some country. Many have described Green as a chameleon-like performer and I think this album exemplifies this more than any of his others. Green's voice really excels in the more dramatic songs, as his dynamic voice can add the right amount of tension to build up the lyrics. If you're into soul music or enjoy Green's voice, this album is definitely worth your time.
8. The Mavericks — En Español
This is definitely one of those times where I wish I had taken more Spanish classes. I know some of the language, but unfortunately not enough to understand and appreciate the lyrics of this album. So I can only analyze the other elements of this album and they're top level as always from the eclectic and dynamic group. The instrumentation is flamboyant, colorful and vibrant, a beautiful mixture of country, pop, Tex Mex and a whole lot more. Raul Malo still has one of the best voices in music, as it still sounds as flawless as ever. So based on the two elements of this album I can understand, this is another great album from The Mavericks.
I find it difficult to get into instrumental music most of the time and even harder to review it. But Khruangbin is easily an exception to this rule. I had never heard of this group until their excellent collaborative Texas Sun EP with Leon Bridges earlier this year. I'm so glad I found them, as I've now listened to their entire catalog after hearing the EP. Even better that they've dropped even more music with new album Mordechai. While I wouldn't put it at the level of their great, southwestern-flavored 2018 album Con Todo El Mundo, this album is another pretty damn good record from the trio. This album centers mostly around a groovy, psychedelic funk sound with tinges of disco and jam pop mixed in at times. The band also surprises by mixing in some vocals on this record and they actually work pretty well. Most importantly they don't detract from the hypnotic sounds of the band, which will always be the focus and strength of the group. If you're looking for a relaxing album, you will be hard-pressed to find one more chill than this one this year.
6. John Moreland — LP5
LP5 is another fantastic album from John Moreland. He's always been a great songwriter since his first album, but it's the recognition to grow and experiment with his sound starting with his last album that's taken him to a whole new level in my mind. Too many singer-songwriter artists think they have to stick to a stripped-down, folk-y sound for their lyrics to be taken seriously. At the same time, drum machines are dismissed as "not real instruments" used by pop stars. Well with LP5, Moreland proves both these claims to be moot.
5. Tame Impala — The Slow Rush
The Slow Rush sees Tame Impala once again delivers a memorably great album. But it's also hard not to see this album is a few missteps away from equaling the brilliance of Currents. It lacks focus in a few spots and there's one song that just isn't needed. But this is also a bit nitpicking admittedly. The production from Kevin Parker is once again deeply rich and textured, engulfing you with it's fantastic details. The songwriting mostly hits and the hooks are some of the best from Parker. You really couldn't ask for much more from an album like The Slow Rush.
4. AC/DC — POWER UP
POWER UP showcases this group at their best. There's anthemic, blaring riffs, strong hooks and powerful vocals. This record is a fantastic swan song and a perfect way for a legendary band to take their final bow. The entire band is on their A game and you couldn't ask for better performances from these guys. I've seen some say this one of the group's best albums and I can absolutely buy this argument. Personally I wouldn't put it in my top three, but maybe top five. Regardless, I find this album to be quite poetic. Everybody thought this group was done when Bon Scott passed, but then they made their career-defining album in Back In Black. And everybody again thought they were done when Malcolm Young passed amidst other group issues. But once again they have surpassed expectations and made a damn great album.
3. Sturgill Simpson — Cuttin' Grass – Volume 1
Now I expected this album to be good. Sturgill Simpson's love and appreciation for bluegrass has always shined through. But man I did not expect this album to be this good. The melody on this album is so damn infectious, making old songs sound completely new and giving real vibrancy to his previously unrecorded Sunday Valley songs. Simpson is clearly in his element on Cuttin' Grass – Vol. 1. He takes to bluegrass like a duck takes to water. Who knows what direction he will go on his fifth and supposedly final studio album and who knows when he'll release Volume 2 of Cuttin' Grass. In a tumultuous year, the best thing to do is sit back and enjoy this wonderful surprise from Simpson.
2. Tennis — Swimmer
With Swimmer, Tennis delivers an excellent album about love. It's quickly became one of my favorite love albums. And this isn't rash hyperbole on my end. I'm being serious when I say that this album truly delivers a heartfelt, genuine and truly touching take on true love. Love albums and love song are an absolute dime-a-dozen. They're churned out every day. Most only focus on the surface level of love and the flip-side with heartbreak. What they don't ever seem to focus on are the little things, the nitty gritty of relationships that aren't easy to convey in an informative and interesting way. But that takes brilliant songwriting with equally high-quality production that aids it. Tennis delivers this.
1. The Weeknd — After Hours
After Hours is a phenomenal achievement by The Weeknd. This album is a rich, cinematic experience of love, losing it, fighting to regain it and ultimately reaching the realistic conclusion of realizing that it's lost. The production team absolutely nails every emotion on this album and takes the lyricism to a whole new level. The juxtaposition of the breezy, mixed cocktail of genres (R&B, pop, hip-hop, dream pop, 80s) feels perfect on this album of frenetic, dark emotions that permeate throughout it. This is without a doubt one of the best albums of 2020.
Opinion, ReviewsAC/DC, alternative, bluegrass, CeeLo Green, Country Perspective's Best of 2020, DUCKWRTH, indie pop, indie rock, John Moreland, Khruangbin, R&B, rock music, Sturgill Simpson, Tame Impala, Tennis, The Mavericks, The Weeknd
Country Perspective's Top Ten Albums Mid-Way Through 2020
July 16, 2020 July 15, 2020 Josh7 Comments
2020 has been a tumultuous and crazy year around the world. But throughout all the madness of this year, I've found this year in albums to be pretty damn amazing in terms of quality. In fact it's already surpassed the last couple of years and 2020 is easily on pace to be at the fantastic levels of 2014-2016, which saw some of my absolute favorite albums of the 2010s released. By year's end some really good albums won't even crack the top ten that would easily make it in average years. From your usual suspects and new contenders to surprise releases and comebacks, my best albums of 2020 list has a little bit of everything in terms of sound and artists. So without further ado, here are Country Perspective's Top Ten Best Albums of 2020 so far (in no particular order)…
(Click on the titles to read the full review)
Dua Lipa delivers an absolutely fantastic album in Future Nostalgia. It has the elements I want to hear in a pop album and it comes oh so close to be an album of the year contender. Despite one slip-up, this album delivers everything else perfectly. It encapsulates disco, electro pop and dance music with the kind of aplomb and grace I would expect out of Carly Rae Jepsen, while at the same time delivering incredibly infectious hooks and vocal performances that will stick with you long after listening. This is one of the best pop albums you'll hear in 2020.
John Moreland — LP5
Khruangbin — Mordechai
While I wouldn't put it at the level of their great, southwestern-flavored 2018 album Con Todo El Mundo, this album is another pretty damn good record from the trio. This album centers mostly around a groovy, psychedelic funk sound with tinges of disco and jam pop mixed in at times. The band also surprises by mixing in some vocals on this record and they actually work pretty well. Most importantly they don't detract from the hypnotic sounds of the band, which will always be the focus and strength of the group. If I had to pick my favorites they would be "Time (You and I)", "Father Bird, Mother Bird" and album closer "Shida." The latter is probably the top song for me, as the bass line is simply flawless. And if you're looking for a relaxing album, you will be hard-pressed to find one more chill than this one in 2020.
Ashley McBryde — Never Will
Ashley McBryde delivers exactly what I had hoped for and then beyond with Never Will. She leans heavily into her natural heartland rock sound and combines it with traditional country to create an album I will remember for a long time. The songwriting is brilliant and varied, running the gauntlet of emotions and most importantly I think Ashley McBryde delivers a flawless presentation of flawed characters. They're never framed as likable, but real and as they are, which can be hard to get behind as a listener. But just like Sturgill Simpson's SOUND & FURY, it can be understandable to not want to listen to music about such real and flawed characters, songs where there are no heroes even. For me though this is the music that is truly intriguing and has a lasting impact.
Tennis — Swimmer
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit — Reunions
While I wouldn't put this amongst the very best of Jason Isbell's work, it's yet another fantastic album from the singer-songwriter and his talented band. Reunions more than anything is a testament to Isbell's relentless pursuit of his craft and how he constantly pushes himself to do better than he's done before (which is quite difficult considering how high he sets the bar). Of course as always there are lots of sad songs too. But it's hard to argue anyone writes sad songs better than Isbell. Every generation has their own Dylan and Lennon. I feel it's safe to say Isbell is that level of songwriter for this generation.
Denzel Curry & Kenny Beats — UNLOCKED
The songs themselves don't have any big messages and are essentially bangers that focus on delivering fun bars. So many hip-hop albums are like this today and many are largely forgotten because the delivery just flat-out sucks. But Curry brings so much aggressive passion and rawness in his voice, along with his choice of diction in his delivery makes what would be an average banger into something that's truly memorable. And this big reason is why UNLOCKED is the first great hip-hop album I've heard in 2020. While it doesn't quite reach the heights of ZUU (an album I'm ashamed I omitted from my best of 2019 list), this is yet another high-quality project from Denzel Curry (and another great one from Kenny Beats too).
Carly Rae Jepsen — Dedicated Side B
Dedicated Side B is yet another pop masterpiece from Carly Rae Jepsen. I can't believe how she just continues to blow me away with fantastic project after fantastic project. Jepsen won Country Perspective's 2019 Album of the Year with Dedicated and she's putting herself in the unprecedented position to win it again in 2020 to make it back-to-back. It's simply incredible. And oh yeah she still has another album on the way.
After Hours is a phenomenal achievement by The Weeknd. This album is a rich, cinematic experience of love, losing it, fighting to regain it and ultimately reaching the realistic conclusion of realizing that it's lost. The production team absolutely nails every emotion on this album and takes the lyricism to a whole new level. The juxtaposition of the breezy, mixed cocktail of genres (R&B, pop, hip-hop, dream pop, 80s) feels perfect on this album of frenetic, dark emotions that permeate throughout it. This is without a doubt an album of the year contender.
The Slow Rush is another great album from Tame Impala without a doubt. But it's also hard not to see this album is a few missteps away from equaling the brilliance of Currents. It lacks focus in a few spots and there's one song that just isn't needed. But this is also a bit nitpicking admittedly. The production from Parker is once again deeply rich and textured, engulfing you with it's fantastic details. And the songwriting mostly hits. So ultimately I can say this is one of the best albums you'll hear in 2020.
Honorable Mentions (just missed the top ten)
John Anderson – Years
Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist – Alfredo
Mike and the Moonpies – Touch of You: The Lost Songs of Gary Stewart
Hot Country Knights – The K is Silent
Ingrid Andress – Lady Like
Opinion, ReviewsAshley McBryde, best albums of 2020, Carly Rae Jepsen, country music, Denzel Curry, Dua Lipa, Freddie Gibbs, hip hop, Hot Country Knights, indie rock, Ingrid Andress, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, John Anderson, John Moreland, Kenny Beats, Khruangbin, Mike and the Moonpies, pop, R&B, rock, singer songwriter, Tame Impala, Tennis, The Alchemist, The Weeknd
Spinning All The Records — February 2020
March 3, 2020 March 3, 2020 Josh6 Comments
Spinning All The Records is a brand new feature on Country Perspective that is a monthly overview of all the albums reviewed in the previous month on Country Perspective to give any readers, new and old, a quick look at what I covered and to catch anything you missed. In addition I take a look ahead at what I want to cover, upcoming album releases that catch my eye and a throwback album recommendation. So without further ado…
Looking back on February 2020, it was a surprisingly great month of high-quality releases. While the Tame Impala and John Moreland albums did not surprise me in the least with being great, the releases from Khruangbin & Leon Bridges, Tennis, and Denzel Curry & Kenny Beats really caught me off-guard with how great they were and proved themselves to be some of the best music you'll hear in 2020. I did not expect to give this many high grades so soon and I mention this because something I didn't like about myself in the past with this blog was so many 9s and 10s being given. But when I give them now I assure you that I put a lot more thought behind it. And I definitely welcome this influx of high grades, as the music is pretty damn good. If 2020 can continue to have months like this, we're in for one hell of a year of music.
(Click on the album titles to read the full review)
Tenille Arts — Love, Heartbreak, Everything in Between
Love, Heartbreak, & Everything in Between is a good showing from Tenille Arts. The songwriting is really smart and shines at times and the production of Kline, Grand Vogelfanger and Adam Wheeler shows they know how to pull off a great pop country sound. A couple of unnecessary cuts, some average songwriting moments and a few small cases of getting carried away with the production bring this album down enough to prevent it from being a great album. But if you're a fan of pop country I still recommend checking out Tenille Arts, as she shows a lot of promise and talent on Love, Heartbreak, & Everything in Between.
Pet Shop Boys — Hotspot
The highs the Pet Shop Boys deliver on Hotspot are really fun and are definitely memorable, while the lows are completely forgettable. It's a bit of a roller coaster listen, but if you're a fan of synth pop it's worth listening to it a few times and picking out your favorite songs to go back to. But the album taken as a whole is just decent and leaves more consistency and cohesiveness to be desired.
Khruangbin & Leon Bridges — Texas Sun
Texas Sun is a truly brilliant little collection of music. As I said in the beginning, man I wish this was a full album instead of an EP. Khruangbin and Leon Bridges go together so well and come together to create a vibrant and colorful set of songs. It's a true homage to the many sounds of Texas music that is fresh and invigorating. Do yourself a favor and listen to this exciting EP.
The Cadillac Three — COUNTRY FUZZ
Fun is a word I repeat over and over in this review. And it's for good reason: that's the ultimate appeal of The Cadillac Three and their album COUNTRY FUZZ. It's entertaining country rock that aims to help you have a good time and forget your worries. The lyrics aren't deep, and they aren't meant to be; they're meant to singalong with and have fun. So while this album may not be one for the record books or album of the year lists, it is an album that entertains and it's exactly what you're looking for when you just want to listen to something with loud guitars and big hooks.
Curry brings so much aggressive passion and rawness in his voice, along with his choice of diction in his delivery makes what would be an average banger into something that's truly memorable. And this big reason is why UNLOCKED is the first great hip-hop album I've heard in 2020. While it doesn't quite reach the heights of ZUU (an album I'm ashamed I omitted from my best of 2019 list), this is yet another high-quality project from Denzel Curry (and another great one from Kenny Beats too).
Looking Ahead to March 2020…
As of this moment, there's a few albums I'm heavily considering reviewing that were released in February. Those would be the new albums from Nathaniel Rateliff, The Steeldrivers and Hailey Whitters. As far as other releases I may have not covered, they simply didn't catch my eye enough to review them or I feel I didn't have enough thoughts for a review. But I most likely did listen to it (I listen to a lot more albums than I review), so feel free to hit me up in the comments and ask me about those, as I'm happy to answer with my thoughts on them. I want this monthly post to serve as not only a monthly review, but a place to cover anything "in the cracks" so to speak.
As far as upcoming new releases in March 2020, there's definitely a few I want to highlight that catch my eye more than others. I'm curious to hear the new live album from Cream, Goodbye Tour – Live 1968, coming out on March 6. Usually I don't like to review live albums, but I wanted to throw this out there for those into classic rock. Caitlyn Smith will be dropping her new album Supernova on March 13. I loved the previous album Starfire and this new one appears to be pushing the sonic envelope even more, so I'm excited about that one. The enigmatic Jay Electronica is rumored to be finally dropping a new album on March 18. We'll see, as you can never be sure with him.
The Weeknd just recently announced a release date for his new album After Hours. So far I've enjoyed the singles I've heard from it and for the most part I liked the previous album Starboy, but I found that album to be a bit too long for my liking. I'm glad to see this one is four songs shorter. This will be dropping on March 20. Finally, Ingrid Andress will be releasing her debut album Lady Like on March 27. I find her voice and style of pop country to be promising. Her songwriting comes off as both catchy and sharp (the song "Both" in particular impresses me). So I'm curious to hear what she brings to the table with her album.
A Throwback Album I've Been Listening To That I Recommend
Travis Tritt's Country Club
If you want some fun and "drive" in your country, Travis Tritt and this album in particular are a great place to start. It's amazing to me how underrated Tritt is when looking back at 90s country, as he undoubtedly released some of the best. This album in particular showed you could make a stone-cold country album that still incorporates elements from other genres. Most importantly, Tritt just has the "it" voice for country music.
News, OpinionCaitlyn Smith, Cream, Denzel Curry, Ingrid Andress, John Moreland, Kenny Beats, Khruangbin, Leon Bridges, Pet Shop Boys, Spinning All The Records, Tame Impala, Tenille Arts, Tennis, The Weeknd, Travis Tritt
Album Review — John Moreland's 'LP5'
February 26, 2020 February 24, 2020 Josh3 Comments
You would be hard-pressed to find many songwriters in music today better than John Moreland. His albums over the last decade contain some of the rawest and realest lyrics you'll hear and his new album LP5 is no different. "Harder Dreams" opens the album, serving as a commentary on modern media, ads and the difficulty of realizing individuality in a world where everybody wants you to be something else. Right away you get to hear the new production approach Moreland and his producer Matt Pence take with this album, incorporating airy synths and drum machines. Just like Moreland's last album Big Bad Luv, I love the different approach he takes with the production. And rest assured this isn't the first time on this album I come away impressed by the instrumentation.
"A Thought is Just a Passing Train" has a catchy and bouncy feel thanks to some well-deployed drum loops throughout. The song though reflects on how dark thoughts can pass through your mind, but Moreland ultimately telling the listener to let their shame of this darkness go and to be easier on oneself. I enjoy the vocal effects used by Moreland too, as it gives the song a more ominous and serious tone. "East October" is another song focused on darkness, this time on what appears to be a fallout of a relationship and leaving the man questioning how he can continue on alone. Atmospheric guitars, drum loops and melodic pianos blend together to create a lush, sobering, mellow sound that set the perfect background to the lyrics.
"I'm Learning How to Tell Myself the Truth" is about a man recognizing the lies each person in the relationship is telling themselves. He then comes to the conclusion that he just wants to "move her" and seeing things more clearly than what he has been seeing. It's a moving and honest song about…well honesty. But what makes this song so good is how Moreland's lyrics dance around kind of vaguely throughout and at the end they all add up, leaving me as the listener with a sort of "a ha" moment of realizing what this song is all about. A lot of songwriters who use abstract lyrics fail to make them work because most listeners aren't able to derive the message, but Moreland excellently deploys subtlety to tell this song's story.
"Two Stars" is a peaceful and easy-feeling instrumental that shows another side to Moreland I'm happy to see. So many songwriters get hung up in the lyrics and don't pay attention to the production, but Moreland is clearly not one of these songwriters. "Terrestrial" explores each sides of a relationship, the joyful beginnings and the sorrowful end. This might be my favorite on the album, as the lyrics are beautifully descriptive of each side of the relationship coin and the production is rich and textured. The mix of instrumentation in the bridge, largely driven by delicate plinking of the piano, gives me chills with it's serene sound. My only complaint is I wish it was longer. Well done to Moreland and Pence.
Moreland once again does a great job of using abstract lyrics to tell a story on "In Times Between." This one is about the crushing and lingering heartbreak after breaking up. The last lines in particular are so devastating, yet just drive the point of the song home so well: "But lately I've been feelin' like I'll never sleep again/I sit up in a satellite and watch the cold world spin/But damn it all to hell, but don't it mean a thing?/The love we knew so well was barely hangin' on a string." After that dark note, Moreland lightens things up with "When My Fever Breaks." It's a heartwarming love song, a side I'm glad that Moreland opened up thanks to his newfound marriage on his last album Big Bad Luv. While it may not quite punch the gut likes his dark songs for many, I think he can write the love songs just as well too.
"I Always Let You Burn Me to the Ground" once again sees Moreland and Pence find a good balance of drum loops and synths to create an interesting and vibrant sound. It's another love song that features solid songwriting, but doesn't quite stick as well emotionally for me as "When My Fever Breaks." Moreland delivers another enjoyable instrumental with "For Ichiro," which I thought would be about the legendary outfielder. But Moreland said it was basically just a random shoutout. Damn. Still a funny little story behind the song though. The album closes with "Let Me Be Understood," which features some well-placed, warm harmonica licks throughout. The song itself is about being accepted and understood for who you are, not who you once were. It's a nice choice to end that album, as Moreland clearly seems to be drawing from his experiences of growth and change, reflecting on the man he once was and the man he is now.
Grade: 9/10
ReviewsJohn Moreland, Matt Pence, singer songwriter
Album Review – Carter Sampson's 'Wilder Side'
May 17, 2016 May 15, 2016 Josh2 Comments
How have I never heard of Carter Sampson? That was my reaction upon coming across the Oklahoma singer-songwriter. From an early age she knew she was born to make music and her passion still runs deep today. She averages 220 shows annually, as she loves to travel and play music, although she has a deep fondness for playing in her home state. Sampson is also the founder and director of Oklahoma City's Rock 'n' Roll Camp for Girls, which partners with nonprofit organizations that help educate empower women through music education. And earlier this year she released her fourth studio album Wilder Side, produced by Travis Linville. If you're a fan of that old school, 70s country sound, you'll really enjoy Wilder Side.
The album title track establishes the tone of the entire album, a down to earth, classic country feel. The song is about Sampson exploring her wild, gypsy side. The acoustic guitar and some soft pedal steel guitar give the song a relaxing feel and make the listener feel right at home. Sampson further explores the life of living on the highway on "Highway Rider." She sings about how when you're living life on six-wheels you never know where home is next. It's your traditional rambling, highway song about never being able to really settle down. I should also point out that fellow Oklahoma singer-songwriter John Moreland joins Sampson on this song. It's a real treat to hear two talented songwriters come together on this song. A plucky banjo plays in "Run Away." Once again Sampson sticks to the life on the road theme, as she sings about falling in love with someone only to tell him she can't stay. This is more bluegrass-based song, making it one of the lighter tracks on the album. The instrumentation is really strong on this song.
"Holy Mother" is about Sampson asking the holy mother to pray for her and her girls as they go out on the town for the night. She knows they're going to drink and have some fun, but she asks that none of them go home with a "guitar man or anyone else in the band" because she knows it will lead to heartbreak and trouble. Sampson explores moving on from her past and town on "Everything You Need." Throughout the song she's speaking to an ex she has left behind for a new life, hoping that he's found what he needs in his life now. It's this type of song that really makes you appreciate Sampson's mature approach to songwriting. There's no bitterness from the woman, as she only hopes her ex finds his happiness like she has found it.
One of my favorites on Wilder Side is "Medicine River." The folky song is an ode to the Medicine River and Wichita Mountains in Oklahoma. What stood out in particular on this song for me are Sampson's vocals, which are quite strong. What helps her vocals stand out is the light and stringy instrumentation, which lets her stand out and guide the song. The soft and tender "Take Me Home With You" is about a lonely woman and man meeting at a bar. The woman is just coming off a break up she can't shake off her mind and just wants someone to take her home so she can lay next to them and feel safe. It's by no means a rebound song, but a coping mechanism to deal with the sobering feeling of being alone. This much is evident by the achenes in Sampson's voice.
"Wild Bird" is a song about Sampson being out on the road and hearing about a major storm heading towards her hometown in Oklahoma. She explains as much in an interview with American Songwriter, where she talks about being out on the road and hearing about a large storm hitting her town for the first time while she wasn't there. She explains how fearful she felt for her family and friends because of Oklahoma and it's reputation for the amount of tornadoes they experience. It's a song that also explores how powerless a person can feel when there's nothing they can control about a situation. It's another superbly written song on this album.
Sampson explores leaving home and hitting the highway again on "Tomorrow's Light." It goes further than this as she also sings about listening to the radio and the voice of Hank Williams. As she returns home later in life, the only she says that has changed are the voices on it, which she doesn't recognize (she's better off I say). It's one of those you can always go home songs that almost anyone can relate to and understand. Wilder Side comes to an end with "See The Devil Run." It's a gospel-inspired song about the sights and sounds Sampson takes in as she sits in a church pew. Listening to the song closely you feel like you're sitting right next to her because the song describes the scene so well. I can picture it right in my head and it once again speaks to the testament of the great songwriting from Sampson. It's the right type of feel good song to close the album.
Wilder Side features some of the best songwriting I've heard this year. The instrumentation is no-frills, straightforward and just good old country music. The only thing I could say I didn't like about this album is there's maybe one too many songs about the rambling, highway life. These songs are well-written without a doubt, but the theme can get a little tiring after hearing it on multiple songs. It's a minor complaint, as the album as a whole is really an example that all country and Americana songwriters should take notice of and strive to achieve. Carter Sampson is an artist more people need to hear and talk about, as it's crazy it took this long for me to hear such a talent. As I've said many times, the amount of talent out there in the independent scene is staggering and Sampson is another example of the many artists who deserve to be heard. Wilder Side is an album any country and Americana fan can appreciate.
ReviewsCarter Sampson, John Moreland, Oklahoma music, Travis Linville, Wilder Side
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9. In speaking with other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance and that it is the initial evidence of the baptism in the Holy Ghost.
12. In the Lord's Supper and washing of the saints feet.
13. In the premillenial second coming of Jesus. First, to resurrect the righteous dead and to catch away the living saints to Him in the air. Second, to reign on the earth a thousand years.


Jerusalem's wealthy elites threw in their lot with the empire and its ways. But out in the rural heartland where the old ways where still kept, a spark flared to life. Modi'in. Maccabee. And so war came between the handfuls of Jewish Maccabee partisans and the armies of Antiochus IV's Selecuid empire. A war that had its echoes in the past and would have it again in the future as lightly armed and untrained armies of Jewish soldiers would go on to fight in those same hills and valleys against the Romans and eventually the armies of six Arab nations.
And now the flame still burns, though it is flickering. Sixty-four years is a long time for oil to burn, especially when the black oil next door seems so much more useful to the empires and republics across the sea. And the children of many of those who first lit the flame no longer see the point in that hoary old light.
May you and yours enjoy a blessed and peaceful Chanukah.
May the light of G_d's possibilities always shine within you, and may that flame burn, whether dimly or brightly, in the Ark of His will, until all that He has spoken be fulfilled.
"Each time we light a candle or dip a wick in oil, we release a flare of light from the darkness comes to remind us of what was, is and can still be."
A very inspiring article. A happy and healthy Chanukah.
Imma have to make myself some latkes because latkes are yummy. Also, Chanukah is legit for Christians to appreciate (particularly since it was still literally the Old Testament around then).
Daniel, your mind is like a well conditioned, finely tuned top performing athlete. Keep going.
Can we get a heads up when your book is due out?
Bless you for this reminder. I'm sharing it with both my Jewish and Christian friends. And I, too, eagerly await your book.


text:
namespace QuantConnect.Brokerages
{
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    /// Specifies the type of message received from an IBrokerage implementation
    /// </summary>
    public enum BrokerageMessageType
    {
        /// <summary>
        /// Informational message (0)
        /// </summary>
        Information,

        /// <summary>
        /// Warning message (1)
        /// </summary>
        Warning,

        /// <summary>
        /// Fatal error message, the algo will be stopped (2)
        /// </summary>
        Error,

        /// <summary>
        /// Brokerage reconnected with remote server (3)
        /// </summary>
        Reconnect,

        /// <summary>
        /// Brokerage disconnected from remote server (4)
        /// </summary>
        Disconnect
    }
}

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