Pride celebrations in India today dazzle the senses with vibrant parades, rainbow flags, and an outpouring of joy. But beneath the surface color and festivity lies a powerful tale of resistance, visibility, and hard-won change. Tracing Pride’s journey in India is to witness the transformation from protest to celebration—and the continuing tension between the two.
The roots of Pride in India can be traced back to acts of open defiance by queer activists in the early 1990s. A critical milestone was the protest organized on August 11, 1992, by AIDS Bhedbhav Virodhi Andolan (ABVA) at Delhi’s ITO, in response to the harassment of young men suspected to be homosexual. ABVA’s legal challenges would later spark the decades-long battle against Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, a colonial-era law that criminalized homosexuality and cast a long shadow over queer life.
The first-ever Indian Pride march took place on July 2, 1999, in Kolkata, where just 15 activists gathered for what was then called the “Friendship Walk.” Drenched by monsoon rains and wary of open hostility, they wore bright yellow T-shirts with the motto “Walk on the Rainbow.” Their courageous visibility marked a turning point, inspiring subsequent marches in Kolkata and gradually in other cities—Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore among them—through the 2000s and beyond.
For years, Pride celebrations remained deeply political—marches doubled as urgent demands for safety, dignity, and equal rights. This political edge sharpened during the turbulent struggle over Section 377. In 2009, the Delhi High Court struck down the law, igniting hope, only for the Supreme Court to reinstate it in 2013. The tide finally turned on September 6, 2018, when the Supreme Court, in the landmark Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India ruling, decriminalized consensual same-sex relationships. This judgment was a watershed moment, offering legal recognition and validation to countless queer Indians.
Today, Pride in India is both a jubilant celebration and a political statement. Parades are filled with music, dance, and vibrant displays of queer joy, fostering community and solidarity, but they remain rallies for acceptance and equal rights. Marriage equality, legal gender recognition, and protection from discrimination are still pressing demands.
Pride in India, thus, is not just a festival but a living movement—an exuberant celebration of queer identity and community, and a reminder that the journey toward full equality is far from over.
~Written by Sage
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