‘You are Gay, That’s ok’

The 3rd edition of Delhi Gay Pride Parade took place on Sunday, November 28. The parade started from Barakhambha Road and ended at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. Nearly thousand people from every walk of the society joined the parade to show their support for gay community. Participants were wearing colourful masks, waving flags, blowing bugle, dancing on beats of dholak. The parade was displaying some kind of festive mood. Sushma, a gay, enthralled by the parade says “I have come here to celebrate my aazadi [freedom] with pride.”

3rd Delhi Queer Pride Parade on 28th November 2010. The parade started from Barakhambha Road and ended at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.

Many gays were supported by their family members. (Sambandh)  Sambhav was one such fortunate gay who was accompanied by her grandmother, mother, younger sister and younger brother. He says “Society should understand that it’s high time, they should realise that society should not be discriminating on the basis of their sexual orientation.” (Sambandh)  Sambhav faced hard time for being a homosexual but he preferred to tell the reality to his family rather than succumbing to the fear and pressure of society. “I wanted to be honest with my family; these are the faces that I will see till my death. So I didn’t want to lie on their face.”

Sambhav(left-most), a gay, accompanied by his family in gay parade

His 70-year old grandmother, who was cheered by the crowd as a hero, proudly says “I am supporting him for his right to live with equality and freedom. Every child should be loved whether he is a gay or not”.

A lot of people came in parade to support their gay friends. Mrinalini Sharma, 22, arts student says “I am straight but I am not narrow-minded, I have come here for supporting my gay friend.”

Parade was joined not only by gays but by their family members, friends and others who came out to show their solidarity for gay rights. People were raising slogans like “Hindu Muslim Sikh Ishai… homosexuals bhai bhai [Whether Hindu, Muslim, Sikh or Christian; homosexuals are brothers] and you are Gay, that’s ok”. Mrinalini Sharma, 22, arts student says “I am straight but I am not narrow-minded, I have come here for supporting my gay friend.”

Not only Indians but even many foreigners were present in parade. Sgoerd Kok, 57, a Dutch national says “such large crowd deeply reflects that things are changing in positive direction.”

Bharat, a gay, describes the parade as a success, “In first gay parade, I came here with mask and cried wondering when they [society] will accept us. Second year, I came without a mask but this year I am really happy to see thousands of people have came here to support us.”

But everyone is not fortunate like Sambandh. Dev, a gay, describes his misery “I was doing a job but when I revealed my sexual orientation, they fired me.” In India, homosexuality is often considered a taboo. People don`t welcome debates and talks about gay rights in open. Due to the fear of being ostracised by the society, many homosexuals don`t accept this reality and they get married and that results in failed marriage. Dev adds “If under the pressure of society, I am made to marry a girl and she comes to know about this after the marriage. Then I will be destroying two lives, hers and mine. Instead of all this, I would love to stay single as a gay.” Gautam Bhan, a writer and Social activist for gay rights says “There is rampant discrimination still prevalent in many parts of India, especially in down (southern India), there are many cases of lesbian suicides and gay violence.”

On 2 July 2009, Delhi High Court amended the Section 377 of Indian Penal Code and decriminalised the consensual sex among adult homosexuals. The plea was filed by NAZ Foundation saying that criminalising homosexuality [according to then section 377] is against the fundamental constitutional rights of living with freedom and equality of homosexuals. “It’s only a year now after the amendment of section 377, but there has been a huge change” says Hillol Dutta, a transgender. But Gautam Bhan thinks “With change in law alone, you cannot change the opinions of society. A lot of awareness about Gay rights has to be done. We should make sure that our future queer generation lives in a safe environment and they do not suffer like our present generation has suffered.”

Parade organisers stated “Last year’s edition was more of a protest, but this time it’s about celebration. As last time parade happened before the court judgement came.” People are hopeful that things will change and queer community will be accepted in Indian society.

Hillol Dutta says “It will take some time but these parades will definitely put a lot of confidence in the queer community, not only in Delhi but in whole India.”

—————————————————————————————-

Special Thanks to Priyanka Kumari for her Photos