The History of Pride in India
By Krithi Raghuram
In October 2023 the Indian Supreme court denied the motion to legalise same-sex marriage or civil unions. This ruling is representative of the controversial attitude to same-sex couples that is still highly prevalent within Indian society. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that the history of pride in India only dates back to 1999. In the most recent pride march that took place in 2023 in Delhi around 2,500 people attended. To many this may seem an inconsequential number in comparison to the vast population of India but in reality, the growth of the movement in the past twenty-five years is immense. Moreover, the story of pride in India is a hopeful one namely because of the profound impacts of pride on the safety and wellbeing of those in the queer community both in India and world-wide.
On 2nd July 1999 fifteen brave queer Indian men gathered on the streets of Kolkata to take part in India's first pride march. The small size of the gathering made the marchers incredibly vulnerable in part due to the fact that same-sex relations were still criminalised in the Indian Penal Code. Due to this the marchers called their demonstration a “friendship walk.” Despite the small size of the gathering, the march was reported on in multiple papers including “The Asian Age” and “The times of India”. The march was made even more difficult due to the torrential rains in Kolkata at the time, by the end of the day the fifteen men were drenched after visiting multiple non-governmental organisations and the State’s Human rights commission. They handed out brochures and leaflets that held information about the close link between LGBTQ rights and sexual health. While the march happened in Kolkata the participants themselves were from different places like Mumbai and Bangalore. They chose to meet in Kolkata due to its history of advocating for the rights of marginalised groups. The event was monumental in Indian history, in the years that would follow pride marches would begin to appear in states across India growing in size, as they continue to do to this day.
However, After the first march in 1999 India did not partake in any pride related events till 2003 when Rafique-Ul-Haque-Dowjah-Ranjan, one of the fifteen men who had marched four years prior, began organising the next event. Ranjan worked with charities such as the Amitie trust to coordinate India’s second pride march that was also held in Kolkata. This time the turnout was around fifty people which showed that the cause for queer rights was beginning to gain momentum. Notably the march began to be known as the “Kolkata rainbow pride march” which is a significant shift from the “friendship walk”. In fact, the march is still referred to as the “rainbow pride march” and has been at every annual march that has taken place in Kolkata since 2003.
Despite the ever-growing support for pride in Kolkata it took many more years for other states to follow suit. In 2008 the shifting perspectives of society would lead to pride events being celebrated in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore all for the first time. This rise in support for queer issues in India would lead to the 2009 Delhi high court ruling which legalised same-sex relationships. The ruling gave a cause for celebration amongst LGBTQ+ Indians and Chennai would have their first pride march in the same year. Of course, the reaction was not all positive and the court ruling would face several appeals and push back from mainly conservative religious groups. However, pride celebrations continued to spread. In 2010 Thrissur, Kerala and Coimbatore would hold pride marches for the first time followed by Pune in 2011 and finally, Patna as well as Madurai in 2012.
Momentum for the movement to equality would face severe setbacks in 2013 when the supreme court appealed the 2009 ruling, again criminalising same-sex relations in India, claiming that queer relationships were “unnatural”. While this did put those involved the movement in danger LGBTQ+ people in India appeared to be invigorated instead of deterred from the cause. In fact, in the same year as this detrimental ruling Surat and Ahmedabad would hold the first pride marches in spite of the contentiousness of the issue of queer rights. Guwahati would follow in 2014.
As a result of unfaltering support for the pride movement under difficult conditions equality would prevail in 2018 when section 377, which outlawed homosexual relations, was overturned. The court also ruled that discrimination based on homosexuality was now a fundamental violation of rights under the law. Section 377 itself had been a law in India since 1861 and was introduced under British rule and therefore was only overturned definitely one hundred and fifty-seven years after its creation. The celebrations that followed this Supreme Court ruling were electric. Not only did the announcement of the ruling draw large cheers from the activists standing outside the Court but celebrations spread across India with marches being held in places such as Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi. It is arguably the pioneering work of those who involved themselves in India’s first pride marches that paved the way for such legislation to be made and to allow the changing of attitudes amongst the people of India.
It is true that stigma around same-sex couples has begun to decrease in India, namely in urban areas but the movement still has a long way to go, as the battle to recognise marriages or civil unions is ongoing. Changes and protection under the law are fundamental in allowing queer people in India to live happy and healthy lives but the significance of the pride movement has often been overlooked. The upsetting reality is that a study done in 2016 that was carried out by the centre of disease control and prevention showed that suicidal thoughts are three time more likely to occur in queer people than their cisgender, heterosexual counterparts. These statistics make sense when putting them in the context of Indian society in which the queer community are marginalised and stigmatised. However, the rise of the pride celebrations in the last twenty-five years has the potential to make a real difference to people’s lives as it enables people to build communities who accept and understand them. Overall, pride helps to tackle stigmatisation and as a result tackle the mental health issues that the LGBTQ+ community face.
Bibliography
In October 2023 the Indian Supreme court denied the motion to legalise same-sex marriage or civil unions. This ruling is representative of the controversial attitude to same-sex couples that is still highly prevalent within Indian society. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that the history of pride in India only dates back to 1999. In the most recent pride march that took place in 2023 in Delhi around 2,500 people attended. To many this may seem an inconsequential number in comparison to the vast population of India but in reality, the growth of the movement in the past twenty-five years is immense. Moreover, the story of pride in India is a hopeful one namely because of the profound impacts of pride on the safety and wellbeing of those in the queer community both in India and world-wide.
On 2nd July 1999 fifteen brave queer Indian men gathered on the streets of Kolkata to take part in India's first pride march. The small size of the gathering made the marchers incredibly vulnerable in part due to the fact that same-sex relations were still criminalised in the Indian Penal Code. Due to this the marchers called their demonstration a “friendship walk.” Despite the small size of the gathering, the march was reported on in multiple papers including “The Asian Age” and “The times of India”. The march was made even more difficult due to the torrential rains in Kolkata at the time, by the end of the day the fifteen men were drenched after visiting multiple non-governmental organisations and the State’s Human rights commission. They handed out brochures and leaflets that held information about the close link between LGBTQ rights and sexual health. While the march happened in Kolkata the participants themselves were from different places like Mumbai and Bangalore. They chose to meet in Kolkata due to its history of advocating for the rights of marginalised groups. The event was monumental in Indian history, in the years that would follow pride marches would begin to appear in states across India growing in size, as they continue to do to this day.
However, After the first march in 1999 India did not partake in any pride related events till 2003 when Rafique-Ul-Haque-Dowjah-Ranjan, one of the fifteen men who had marched four years prior, began organising the next event. Ranjan worked with charities such as the Amitie trust to coordinate India’s second pride march that was also held in Kolkata. This time the turnout was around fifty people which showed that the cause for queer rights was beginning to gain momentum. Notably the march began to be known as the “Kolkata rainbow pride march” which is a significant shift from the “friendship walk”. In fact, the march is still referred to as the “rainbow pride march” and has been at every annual march that has taken place in Kolkata since 2003.
Despite the ever-growing support for pride in Kolkata it took many more years for other states to follow suit. In 2008 the shifting perspectives of society would lead to pride events being celebrated in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore all for the first time. This rise in support for queer issues in India would lead to the 2009 Delhi high court ruling which legalised same-sex relationships. The ruling gave a cause for celebration amongst LGBTQ+ Indians and Chennai would have their first pride march in the same year. Of course, the reaction was not all positive and the court ruling would face several appeals and push back from mainly conservative religious groups. However, pride celebrations continued to spread. In 2010 Thrissur, Kerala and Coimbatore would hold pride marches for the first time followed by Pune in 2011 and finally, Patna as well as Madurai in 2012.
Momentum for the movement to equality would face severe setbacks in 2013 when the supreme court appealed the 2009 ruling, again criminalising same-sex relations in India, claiming that queer relationships were “unnatural”. While this did put those involved the movement in danger LGBTQ+ people in India appeared to be invigorated instead of deterred from the cause. In fact, in the same year as this detrimental ruling Surat and Ahmedabad would hold the first pride marches in spite of the contentiousness of the issue of queer rights. Guwahati would follow in 2014.
As a result of unfaltering support for the pride movement under difficult conditions equality would prevail in 2018 when section 377, which outlawed homosexual relations, was overturned. The court also ruled that discrimination based on homosexuality was now a fundamental violation of rights under the law. Section 377 itself had been a law in India since 1861 and was introduced under British rule and therefore was only overturned definitely one hundred and fifty-seven years after its creation. The celebrations that followed this Supreme Court ruling were electric. Not only did the announcement of the ruling draw large cheers from the activists standing outside the Court but celebrations spread across India with marches being held in places such as Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi. It is arguably the pioneering work of those who involved themselves in India’s first pride marches that paved the way for such legislation to be made and to allow the changing of attitudes amongst the people of India.
It is true that stigma around same-sex couples has begun to decrease in India, namely in urban areas but the movement still has a long way to go, as the battle to recognise marriages or civil unions is ongoing. Changes and protection under the law are fundamental in allowing queer people in India to live happy and healthy lives but the significance of the pride movement has often been overlooked. The upsetting reality is that a study done in 2016 that was carried out by the centre of disease control and prevention showed that suicidal thoughts are three time more likely to occur in queer people than their cisgender, heterosexual counterparts. These statistics make sense when putting them in the context of Indian society in which the queer community are marginalised and stigmatised. However, the rise of the pride celebrations in the last twenty-five years has the potential to make a real difference to people’s lives as it enables people to build communities who accept and understand them. Overall, pride helps to tackle stigmatisation and as a result tackle the mental health issues that the LGBTQ+ community face.
Bibliography
- https://feminisminindia.com/2019/06/24/pride-parades-india-history/
- https://www.deccanherald.com/specials/history-of-the-pride-movement-in-india-742950.html
- https://www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/benefits-of-celebrating-pride#benefits-of-celebrating
- https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-66220514
- https://friendshipwalk20.wordpress.com/2019/07/05/friendship-walk-99-memorabilia-10-media-headlines-on-the-event/
- https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-45429664
- https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/06/indian-supreme-court-decriminalises-
- https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/india/mental-health-issues-lgbtq-community-members-face-in-society/articleshow/88281953.cms?from=mdrhomosexuality
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=232&v=WxzfwBvl6cs&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Ffeminisminindia.com%2F&source_ve_path=Mjg2NjIsMjg2NjIsMjg2NjIsMjg2NjIsMjg2NjIsMzY4NDIsMTM5MTE3LDEzOTExNywzNjg0MiwxMzkxMTcsMTM5MTE3LDIzODUx&feature=emb_title
- https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/06/indian-supreme-court-decriminalises-homosexuality
- https://www.gaylaxymag.com/exclusive/a-walk-to-remember/
- https://www.hrw.org/news/2013/12/12/india-supreme-court-ruling-undermines-lgbt-rights
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