From queer to straight, from theists to atheists, from boldly black to brightly colourful, the Kolkata lanes heard loud protests, prayers, songs and slogans of the LGTQIA movement. Following are the demands laid down by this year’s Kolkata Rainbow Pride Festival:
- Withdraw the transphobic Transgender Persons’ (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2016 and introduce a new Bill taking community needs into account. Honour the NALSA verdict
- Read down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code to exclude consensual same-sex activity from its purview
- Institute a thorough judicial enquiry into Tara’s murder
To read the entire Kolkata Rainbow Pride Walk leaflet, click here.
While some wait for this event throughout the year, some have interrogated the terminology of “happiness” and “celebration” associated with the Kolkata Rainbow Pride Walk 2016. While some have defined this event as an opportunity to display one’s “Queer” identity with “Pride”, some have pointed at the deaf ears that the Indian Government produces after all these ongoing struggles and parades. Nevertheless, nothing can stop the liberal minds to keep up their hopes on equality and justice. Nothing could restrict the colourful souls to jump into the Rainbow pool of Kolkata on 11 December, 2016.
All photos clicked by Nilanjan Majumder.
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article quoted Kolkata Rainbow Pride Walk leaflet without proper credit. This has now been rectified and the core editorial team sincerely apologises for this neglect.
Are there any reliable demographics (statistics) of LGBTQ in India?
There is no reliable or official demographics of LGBTQ population in India. Although I remember reading the count of 2.5+ million submitted to the Supreme Court of India in 2012, this figure is vague. A proper demographic study will be possible only when the devilish 377 is removed so that the queer may breathe equality and voice themselves louder.
Thanks for the article and thanks for highlighting the Pride’s demands which often get lost in mainstream media coverage. However, I wish you would acknowledge that major portions of the article are direct quotations from the Kolkata Rainbow Pride Walk leaflet. That acknowledgment would mean recognition of the collective effort of the Pride organizers. This is not expected from an article on Feminism in India. Disappointed.
Hi Sayan, thank you for flagging this. I sincerely apologise for this neglect and no credit. We take plagarism very seriously and we did not cross-check the piece before publishing since the writer has been with us since more than an year. This is very embarassing for us and I assure you it will not repeat in future. We have edited the piece and given proper credit with a link back to the original leaflet. Please let me know if I can do anything else. Again, I’m very sorry for this.
Hi Sayan! Thank you for pointing this out. Plagiarism is the last thing I shall ever intend to attach to this event of solidarity. I just wanted to put forth the objectives of the Kolkata Rainbow Pride Walk 2016 being a part of the team, especially keeping in mind that this article is more about a Photo Gallery. Sincere apologies for committing this mistake.
@Shreya… Good Article. Thanks for the article.
Please ignore negative comments. THANK YOU.
@Sayan… You should rather be grateful to Shreya for the article and her support. Very strange you are!
Thankful for what? Is she doing any charity by extending her support? The queer movements in India and elsewhere have been fighting it out for decades now! And we shall. If you want to show support, first learn to show respect to the movement and don’t take up its space.
Unethical journalism is unethical journalism!
I am thankful to the editor, Japleen Pasricha for understanding that and making changes to the article.