As we celebrate Pride this weekend, let us understand what Pride actually means. According to Oxford dictionary, Gay Pride is a sense of strong self-esteem associated with a person’s public acknowledgement of their homosexuality. Being relatively new to Delhi's queer scene, I had the opportunity to speak to many people and talk about what pride means to them and where they see India when it comes to acceptance of same-sex relationships.
Aditya Bondyopadhyay, director of Adhikar, an LGBT Human Rights organisation, says, "Pride consists of various aspects, it is a celebration, it is about telling the society that we will be in your face and it is time to accept us, it is a protest against criminalization, oppression and laws that are against the LGBT community".
"I'm positive that with time people will come to accept the LGBT community and alternate lifestyles, things like Pride in general helps in normalizing what society still hasn't come to terms with," he added.
Satrang- the Gay India, an online forum, says Pride is very special for the LGBT movement in India. It becomes a way to reclaim that public space and fight that socially imposed shame and stigma. Pride, with its colours becomes the epitome of acceptance, where everyone, irrespective of gender or sexual identity will be accepted. However, legally, the battle is long. Section 377 is the biggest hurdle now, without crossing which we cannot think of any other issues like marriage, workplace protection etc.
Ashley Tellis, an LGBT activist based in Chennai, has a different opinion, he says "Pride means nothing to me. This is just mindless celebration with no politics to it and no sense of any of the substantive issues faced by sexual minorities. It is the kind of empty rhetoric that covers the structural violence of what it is to be a sexual minority in this country". Tellis says that same-sex relationships will not be accepted till there is a political movement that forces open the space for it.
MJ from Gaysi Family says "Doing a Pride march is all about letting people know the powers-that-be that queer people do exist and deserve basic human rights, dignity and respect just like other people in the society".
She says "There are various small towns and cities that have started to become proactive for LGBT rights. Support groups from bigger cities have also started reaching out and there have been many pride parades outside Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru, which only shows that the movement is picking up outside urban India as well".
According to Sukhdeep Singh, founder and editor of Gaylaxy magazine, Pride is the assertion of the true self and of one's identity. For people who have spent a lot of energy hiding this part of themselves throughout the year, or life, pride is a liberating experience from these shackles.
Singh added, "A country, which still considers sex as taboo, and sees gays/lesbians through the lens of sex, will take a much longer time to advance on gay rights as such."
When it comes to Pride, there are different versions, different meanings and connotations. What Pride means to me may not mean the same to you, but in the end, when we look at the larger picture it is all about the fight for equal rights and against Article 377.
Tell us what Pride mean to you, leave your answer in the comment section below.
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