A few thousand members of New Delhi, India’s LGBT community and their supporters filled several blocks of the city center the Sunday before last for the 4th annual Delhi Queer Pride, an event with the electricity, flair and volume befitting a proper Indian blowout. Still, many marchers wore colored masks, indicative of the anti-gay prejudice that unfortunately remains lurking in some sectors of Indian culture — this despite the 2009 overturn of Section 377 of the country’s penal code, which had previously made gay sex illegal. Delhi Queer Pride is sponsor-free, with support coming entirely from joint fundraising efforts of several of the massive city’s small but growing gay-and-friendly organizations.
The November 27 Pride march was the highlight of more than a week of gay-related events in India’s second biggest city, which kicked off with the art-oriented Nigah Queer Fest, and culminated in the post-Pride Rock for Rights concert, headlined by superstar Indian singer Rekha Bhardwaj. The following day saw Delhi host the groundbreaking 1st Asian Symposium on Gay & Lesbian Tourism, presented by San Francisco’s Community Marketing and New Delhi gay tour operator Out Journeys.
A few thousand members of New Delhi, India’s LGBT community and their supporters filled several blocks of the city center the Sunday before last for the 4th annual Delhi Queer Pride, an event with the electricity, flair and volume befitting a proper Indian blowout. Still, many marchers wore colored masks, indicative of the anti-gay prejudice that unfortunately remains lurking in some sectors of Indian culture — this despite the 2009 overturn of Section 377 of the country’s penal code, which had previously made gay sex illegal. Delhi Queer Pride is sponsor-free, with support coming entirely from joint fundraising efforts of several of the massive city’s small but growing gay-and-friendly organizations.
The November 27 Pride march was the highlight of more than a week of gay-related events in India’s second biggest city, which kicked off with the art-oriented Nigah Queer Fest, and culminated in the post-Pride Rock for Rights concert, headlined by superstar Indian singer Rekha Bhardwaj. The following day saw Delhi host the groundbreaking 1st Asian Symposium on Gay & Lesbian Tourism, presented by San Francisco’s Community Marketing and New Delhi gay tour operator Out Journeys.
Wordsmith
“Delhi-shus”
Bravo.
bagooka
Awesome.
Bob
If you have to wear a mask, you have no pride!!!
Timmmeeeyyy
@Bob:
Homosexuality is still culturally taboo and only recently decriminalized in India. There are no anti-deiscrimination protections for sexual orientation in India. Delhi (probably the most gay-friendly city in India) is roughly three times the size of NYC, so a few thousand people is still a small number to publicly show support for LGBT rights. To march at all, mask or not, takes much greater courage there than it does in the west.
Dan Allen
Hear hear, @Timmmeeeyyy!
tallskin2
Timmmeeeyyy – you say: “Homosexuality is still culturally taboo and only recently decriminalized in India. ”
Yeah, and you have to fight to change this. And fight hard. Like we had to.
True, we do have it easy now compared to many countries but we’ve had to work fucking hard to get to that position.
Mark Snyder
Proof that you don’t need corporate sponsors for Pride.
Bob
I still say that wearing a mask is no better than being in the closet. I know what it is like to be discriminated against. I am almost 60 years old and came out in 1973 at the age of 20 and saw my share. I was bashed and almost killed but I stood tall as a proud gay man. If these people are proud; show your faces!
John May
Tell me how to move there from Boston…HOT!