Sunday, 29 June 2008, sees history being made in Bangalore. For the first time, the city joins Kolkata and also-first-timer Delhi in having its first ever LGBT Pride Parade.
Worldwide, the modern LGBT movement is largely acknowledged as having had as a catalyst an event referred to as the Stonewall Rebellion. On 29 June 1969, following a police raided on Stonewall Inn in New York City the previous day, violent clashes resulted as the LGBT community came together to resist police harassment. A commemorative march was held the following year in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Over the years pride parades around the world became more about the celebration of being gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and others in an increasingly inclusive society.
In the Indian context, though, we are far from that stage. Thus, Sunday’s pride event is not just a celebration, it is a stage for every human being who believes in a free, fair and inclusive society to stand up and say so.
From the poster:
New York, 29 June 1969: Following a raid on Stonewall Inn, a gay bar, five days of protest marked the Stonewall Rebellion, where people stood up for their right to be who they were. This landmark event is widely acknowledged as the beginning of the LGBT pride movement.
Bangalore, 29 June 2008: Times change, and with it, people. This is your chance to step up and claim your rights. Whether lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, hijra, kothi, intersex, straight — join us if you believe in reaffirming the right to live and love.
Silence is death. We need you to fight for what is right. Come and revel in the sunshine of Bangalore’s first pride march. Join hundreds from Delhi and Kolkata in celebrating this event.
In Bangalore the parade starts at 2:00 pm at National College, Basavangudi and ends at Puttanna Chetty Town Hall, J.C. Road.
In Delhi it starts at the corner of Barakhamba Road and Tolstoy Marg, just south of the Metro station on Barakhamba Road, and in front of the Intercontinental Hotel on Tolstoy Marg, and ends at Jantar Mantar. Time: 5:30 pm.
~PD
Interesting trivia
Well yes, I came to hear about the Pride Parade in Delhi, but a tad late or I might have attempted to join it (my parents would certainly have been more than a little circumspect about it, though, as to my interests and the way on which I’m heading in life 🙂 ). Didn’t know about the Bangalore one till now. Moral of the story: Should read your blog more regularly, and as soon as it is updated!
I’m really happy that these tentative steps are being taken towards a freer society. I come to hear about it more and more. Yoda Press has a whole sexuality series on alternate sexuality, and people are coming forward and openly accepting their preferences. Good signs, although true freedom is still a great deal away, and groups like Shiv Sena and VHP are not going to sit quietly if this movement gains momentum. Let’s hope for the best, and pray that the general public sees sense and is more accepting.