Culture

India Gay Pride Parades

by korzac | June 29, 2008 at 10:37 pm

1715 views | 8 Recommendations | 5 comments

By coincidence or not, after Gay Pride Parade in Jerusalem , hundreds march in India Gay Pride Parades. In Jerusalem ..." 'the Haredis have understood this year that the fight [against the parade] is a shot in the foot,' said Sa'ar Netanel, a member of Jerusalem's city council for the leftist Meretz party. According to Netanel, who is also a representative of the gay and lesbian community in Jerusalem, the community has been experiencing 'bad years' since Mayor Uri Lupolianski took office. 'The parade has been happening for seven years,' Netanel said,'this year there is no acceptance but there is peace.' ".....see here.

What is good for Jerusalem is not necessarily good for the Indian gay activist, ..." 'We will not stop till we get rid of section 377 of the Indian code of law, 'Siddarth Narrain, a lawyer and activist of the group named Good As You or GAY, said. "..

And what is section 377 of the Indian code of law, I quote ..."Unnatural sexual offenses: Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.
Explanation: Penetration is sufficient to constitute the carnal intercourse necessary to the offense described in this section. The Indian Penal Code was later reproduced in most other British colonies – and to date many of these laws are still in places as far apart as Singapore, Sri Lanka, Nigeria and Zimbabwe."....see here.

..Everyone has to bear his own cross on the Via Dolorosa.

Gays, lesbians and transvestites took to the streets of three major Indian cities in the first nationally-coordinated pride marches aimed at overturning a law forbidding homosexuality.

In eastern Kolkata about 400 people took part in the city's annual Gay Pride parade, drawing curious stares from thousands of onlookers lining the roads to watch the procession.

Ringed by an equal number of police, the marchers set off on a four kilometre walk in the heart of the city, holding banners and placards with slogans demanding recognition and rights

But the fear of ostracisation was still evident among a section of marchers who preferred to wear masks to conceal their identity.

In New Delhi, where gays, lesbians and transgendered individuals have never attempted a public march, about 200 people gathered for a two kilometre walk in the heart of the Indian capital.

The southern technology hub of Bangalore also saw its first-ever gay pride parade.

But as in Kolkata, some of the 600 participants wore masks to conceal their faces while others wore fancy clothes to draw public attention in the cosmopolitan city, home to many Indian and international IT companies.

Activists say that while few people are arrested or convicted under the law, many gays and lesbians prefer not to come out.

"We want to say that we, too, like all the others in society, have the right to express ourselves freely," said 30-year-old Ranjit Sinha, who participated in the Kolkata parade for the fourth consecutive year.

"We wanted to tell everybody on the streets, people of all ages who watched the parade, that gays and lesbians are a part of the society, that we are as productive as others in society," he added.