Kanav is a consultant with the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy’s Access to Justice vertical (Nyaaya) and a Visiting Faculty at the National Law School of India University, Bengaluru, where he teaches an elective on queer rights and politics in India. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce from St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata, and a Master’s degree in Development from Azim Premji University, Bengaluru.
Kanav is also a contributor to Global Voices, an international citizen journalism platform committed to advancing digital rights, and writes a monthly Sunday column for the Deccan Herald titled Engendered, which, in 2023, received the Likho Award for Media Excellence by the Humsafar Trust.
Kanav has been deeply engaged with the Indian queer movement. Between 2017 and 2021, he held a leadership role in a Delhi-based queer collective and co-executed one of North India’s largest queer film festivals, the Delhi International Queer Theater and Film Festival.
More recently, he provided inputs to the high-powered Supriyo Committee, constituted by the Central Government and headed by the Cabinet Secretary, in the aftermath of the Supreme Court of India’s 2023 judgment in the marriage equality case and in 2025, he engaged with the LGBTQIA+ Vertical of the All India Professionals’ Congress.
Kanav is not professionally affiliated with any political party.