It is a criminal offense to be gay in India. Even then, a gay pride rally happened in Kerala, the southern most and a quite orthodox state of India. So things are changing, bit by bit. This time, the pride was definitely better as there was sizable participation from our heterosexual counterparts which is commendable because those straight people who participated in the pride will be labelled gay and most probably get bullied later. Still, they showed the courage to come out for the help of their friends, to voice for the rights of their friends. Special kudos for those brave hearts. Previously I had reservations about the pride rallies which often turn very loud and slap straight at the face of society, now I think, such rallies are needed, because society will not take notice.
Some snaps below....To see more go to this Kerala Queer community in Facebook named Queerala
Love to see the kid, at least he learns tolerance.
All images from Queerala
Celebrate tolerance and diversity. Make the world a better place for everyone.
Thank you for your post and the photos, Gay Bodhi! These people are very brave to march in such a conservative area. My hat is off to you all!
ReplyDeleteThank you Kathleen...........yes, very brave indeed.Actually the situation of gay men and women is somewhat okay here, if they stay put and remain masked, but the transgenders, they suffer like anything. They are easily targeted. We Indians lament a lot about the problems of Western cultural influence on us that the new generation is forgetting our own culture and homosexuality is usually considered as a western import here. But I think you guys are much more tolerant than us and we need to learn that from you......actually India was a very tolerant country, our epics and history show many instances of transgenders and even demigods........many of the temple art shows transgenders and even gay men/women indulging in sex....our society actually became more conservative during these years.
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