India as the Republic of Love! Announcing the release of Love Sex and India: The Agents of Ishq Anthology edited by Paromita Vohra, published by Westland Books

New Delhi, January 25, 2026: The 77th republic day celebrations just got a little more exciting as Westland Books announced the release of the much-awaited anthology of Agents of Ishq on 26th January.  Love, Sex and India: The Agents of Ishq Anthology, edited by acclaimed author and director Paromita Vohra, celebrates the different ways in which India loves, desires, and understands intimacy. It brings together real stories by Indians across identities, geographies and experiences, reframing sex not as taboo, but as a democratic expression of selfhood.
Born out of the influential digital project Agents of Ishq, this anthology captures the many stories of love as Indians speak for themselves about sex, desire, intimacy, heartbreak, pleasure and power.
At its heart, the book is about the demographics of love - how age, gender, caste, class, geography, language and access shape the ways Indians experience desire. Each story examines a very distinct aspect of what intimacy means in a country which often sees desire as a taboo, how choice, identity, gender, caste or class works in a deeply divided society. The stories are raw, colourful, funny, aching, messy and deeply human.
Together, these narratives bring together different generations of real-life encounters and open up expansive, unapologetic conversations around love, erotica, sensuality and agency.
Speaking on the book, Paromita Vohra, says, “The stories that came to Agents of Ishq over the years shared one quality – they never ceased to surprise. We speak of sexual life through a lot of stereotypes – it’s all abject shame or rah-rah liberation. But between these poles, is real life, where everyday people are trying to discover who they are, sometimes tentatively, sometimes boldly. Their honesty is tender and breathtaking and it gives us all a moment to reflect on our own personal lives;a little more courage, a little more sense of mischief and freedom with which to live in a republic of love.
Each story also has such a tone of the writer’s own personality – as well as the writer’s English. We never tried to iron out the regional inflections and cadences with which people write English, the Malayalam or Marathi phrase mixed with the angrezi. There is a lovely desi intimacy to that too, the sheer exuberance of tongues intertwined!”
Karthika V.K, editor and publisher at Westland Books said, 'From the very outset, at Westland, we realised how many shared values we had with the work at Agents of Ishq: intersectionality, the centrality of freedom balanced with responsibility and concern for others, and much else. Equally, as much fun as they seemed to be having over at AoI, we recognised how critical their work was. It is then with immense pleasure that we announce this anthology of voices that reclaim intimacy and sex as both personal and political.'
A powerful and necessary intervention in India’s cultural conversation, Love, Sex and India: The Agents of Ishq Anthology celebrates the messy, magical business of love and lust- made in India, told by Indians, without apology.