India Gets More Gay Pride

Gay pride’s slowly but surely spreading across India, where homosexuality remains illegal. Previous marches have been contained to Calcutta, but activists announced they’re branching out and proud to protest the discriminatory laws:

The marchers plan to sing, give speeches and hold candlelit vigils in simultaneous parades in New Delhi, Calcutta and Bangalore on Sunday, said Gautam Bhan, a writer and gay rights activist involved with organizing the marches.
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“The conversation has been growing. Over the last few years there has been a steady rise in organizing around gay issues,” Bhan said.

But he said there was still much work to be done.

“Pride in India is at a stage where it’s not just pure celebration, it’s always part protest. A reminder of how difficult things are,” he said.

We’d say that all pride celebrations are a sign of protest, although it’s certainly overdue in India – their sodomy laws date back to British colonialism.