Announcing Delhi Queer Pride 2012

Delhi Queer Pride Turns 5 on Nov 25^th!

The Delhi Queer Pride is turning five this year! Like every year, the march will bring together members and supporters of the queer community to celebrate our diversity and stand in solidarity with those who face persecution and violence because of their gender or sexual identity. 

In our fifth year, we are planning fundraisers, floats, picnics and a lot of masti in the run-up to the march. Given that Pride has also always been about our lives and struggles, we turn our attention to one aspect that oppresses us all – the strait-jacket of gender. We open out the possibilities with our theme – Genders. We’re also revealing a great new logo to match our increasing fabulousness!   

So Mark the Date:

25th November 2012 is our day to shout aloud and walk proud!

To make all this happen, we need your support! The Delhi Queer Pride march continues to be organized and funded entirely by the queer and queer-friendly community members who donate time, effort and money to make it happen every year. The DQP organizing committee would like to reach out to all of you, as well as to the friends, family and well-wishers of our queer community. Your presence is always your support, but if you would like to donate, volunteer or otherwise help out, please write to delhiqueerpride@gmail.com. 

We kick-start the Pride events this year with a fundraising party!! Do come to be part of the fun, bring all your friends, and donate generously!

When: 2nd November, 2012

Where: Spoons Bistro,

3, Local Shopping Complex, Near JMD Mall, GK II

Rules: The entry fee is Rs 300, but feel free to give what you can! Come in your fine feather boas, saris, hot pants -- all are welcome.

And here are some of the other fun things in the pipeline for November! Watch this space for detailed updates about when and where!

Queer Mela – a space to meet, have fun, shop till you drop and get in the mood for Pride.

Seminar – a one-day conference to discuss where we are right now as a queer community, especially focusing on issues of queer genders.

Press Conference – Our tryst with the media to ensure that we make the news and it's news we can all use!

Placard-Making – join us for a romp in the Lodhi Gardens for a relaxed Sunday afternoon of making placards to infuse more colour and meaning into the march. Bring the wittiest, funniest, most relevant and most compelling slogans you can think of, and join us to put 'em on paper.

Post-Pride Picnic – End the march with some good food, gubbaras and games as we watch the sun go down on another day in queer life in Delhi. 

We are also inviting everyone to contribute to the Pride celebrations by organizing their own events during November to celebrate, stand in solidarity and engage more people in our cause. Do let us know if you are organising a queer event in November and if our great minds think alike, we’ll be happy to include it in our online calendar. We strongly believe that pride events should be inclusive and accessible to all across the range of gender identities and behaviours. Please see our blog for more details.

DQP committee members meet on Sunday evenings to plot the eventual take-over of the city. Want to join in and help with events or share your ideas? Then send a mail to: delhiqueerpride@gmail.com to get involved. Otherwise, see you at Delhi Queer Pride!

Delhi Queer Pride 2010

We invite all queer people, friends and supporters to join us for the 3rd Delhi Queer Pride on Sunday 28th November 2010.


What the afternoon looks like: We assemble at Barakhamaba Road at 3 pm and start marching at 3.30 pm. We should reach Jantar Mantar at around 5.00 pm where we have organized a small stage for people to speak or sing or dance or shout slogans… whatever else you want to do, as long as its under 2 minutes! Everyo...ne is welcome and best if you can give your name in advance by sending a mail to delhiqueerpride@gmail.com

Thanks to the amazing support we have got from the dilli queers, Delhi Queer Pride this year too remains funded and organized entirely by the community. And just like in the previous years, we are using the funds raised to buy material that will be given away free of cost at the march - masks, small rainbow flags, whistles, candies, rainbow scarves and leaflets! Come by 3 pm on the day of the march and collect what you want.

But mind it!:
- Do not the litter the place with masks or parchis or water bottles.
- There will be a box kept near the stage at Jantar Mantar where you can drop off extra leaflets, masks etc.
- Carry a bottle of water with you.

Join us in all your colorful splendor!
Spread the word and bring along friends, lovers, family, pets!

Zindabad!
Delhi Queer Pride Committee
delhiqueerpride@gmail.com

Fund Raiser Party - Delhi Queer Pride 2010

Dear All,

Delhi Queer Pride March will be held on November 28th this year.

To support the cause and show the spirit, Delhi Queer Pride Committee invites for a Fundraiser party. Your presence is your support. Lets spread the word.

Please find the details as follow :

Date : 12th November, 2010 - Friday
Time : 10:00 pm onwards
Venue : Orange Hara, 3-4, Southern Park, Behind Select City Mall, Next to KFC, Saket
Entry : Rs 200 ( goes to Pride Committee as a donation )
Come One, Come All.


Hope to see you there !

Delhi Queer Pride Committee

Party!!

Join us for at Delhi largest, Post Pride Party at M Lounge, Sector 15, Opposite Nirula’s Hotel/Indian Oil, Noida on Sunday, 28^th March, 2009. 10 pm onwards. No entry charge. All sexual minorities welcome to join the celebration. Free to and fro bus will leave from Jantar Mantar to M Lounge @ 9.30 pm and 10.30 pm. Return at 2 30 am.

Directions: Once you cross DND to Noida from Ashram, drive straight for about half a km, till you come to Rajnigandhar Chowk, which has a large Rajnigandha board. Turn Left here, and drive along the Metro line for 2 km. On your right you will see a big M Lounge board. ENTRANCE FROM SIDE. DO NOT STAND/CROWD OUTSIDE THE CLUB AREA.

Return Route No One from M Lounge to: Noida-CP-Gol Market-Karol Bagh-Kirti Nagar-Punjabi Bagh-Pitam Pura-Model Town-Delhi Univ. Return Route No Two from M Lounge to: Noida-Sri Niwas Puri-Lajpat Nagar-South Ex-AIIMS-Green Park-IIT-Ber Sarai-Munirak-RK Puram-Dhaulan Kuan.

Come to the Delhi Queer Pride, 2009!

We welcome all Queer people, friends and supporters in Delhi to join us for the Delhi Queer Pride on Sunday 28th June 2009. Join us in all your colourful splendour, bring along friends, lovers, family and lend your voice to the slogans that will reverberate in the streets of Delhi! Marching with us will be a brass band that will play our favourite tunes and some dhol wallas too!

The programme:

We assemble at Barakhamaba Road at 5 pm and the march will start at 5.30 pm. We should reach Jantar Mantar at around 7.30 pm - where we have organised some space for people to come up and say a few words or sing or shout slogans! Everyone is welcome!

Please collect from us what you want:

Ÿ We have organised masks so you can cover your face.

Ÿ We have made some placards and have other material like small rainbow flags, whistles, badges and leaflets

All this material, including masks, is free of cost and you have two options to collect these:

a) reach a bit early and collect it from us at the march starting point on 28th June itself.

b) collect it a day before from Saheli office on 27th June 2009 between 4-7 pm. Saheli address: Above Shop No. 105-108, Under Defence Colony Flyover, New Delhi -24 (landmarks: near Defence colony Nirulas and above DeeZ Biryani)

And please keep the following in mind:

Ÿ Do not the litter the place with masks or parchis or water bottles.

Ÿ There will be a box kept near the tent at Jantar Mantar where you can drop off extra leaflets, masks etc. There will also be a box where you can leave the placards that you are carrying.

Ÿ Please carry a bottle of water with you.

Cheers!

Delhi Queer Pride Committee

delhiqueerpride.blogspot.com

Delhi Queer Pride 09!

On this 28th of June 2009, Delhi will celebrate its second ever Queer Pride! Hundreds of queer people; lesbians, gay men, bisexual, transgender and intersexed people and their friends and families will come together to celebrate with pride, the dignity and rights of sexually marginalized people all across India and the world.

What is this "Queer"?

400 years ago, the word "queer" meant odd or unusual. 100 years ago the word was used as an insult for anyone who was different from society's norm of gender and sexually "correct" behaviour. It was used to demean and marginalize people. Today, people across the world have reclaimed that word to empower, celebrate and unite people of diverse genders and sexualities. With the rainbow as our symbol of beauty in diversity, we celebrate Queer Pride in solidarity with queer people across the world.

Queer Pride is about celebrating who we are, whether gay, kothi, lesbian, queen, dyke, transgender, bisexual, hijra, butch, panthi... whether manly looking women or men who sleep with men, whether sex worker or sex changer, Queer Pride affirms our diverse expressions and our everyday struggle for respect and dignity.

But why are we marching?

Today in India, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people face violence and discrimination from different quarters. Here are some examples of our daily oppression:

· Lesbians are subject to violence, forced into marriage and even driven to commit suicide by their families.

· Gay men are blackmailed by organized scandals that often involve the police.

· Hijras are routinely arrested and raped by the police.

· Same sex couples who have lived together for years cannot buy a house together or will their property to each other or even adopt a child as a couple if they wish.

· LGBTI people are constantly mocked, demeaned and denied their basic human rights of self-expression.

All this is happening because Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code treats LGBTI people as criminals. It has been used to arrest, prosecute, terrorize and blackmail sexual minorities. It has strengthened the already existing stereotypes, hatred and abuse in homes, schools, workplaces and streets, forcing millions of LGBTI people to live in fear and silence at tragic cost to themselves and their families. And yet, these lives go on. They go on as a struggle every single day.

It is essential that –

· Section 377 is duly read down in the Delhi High Court and this precedent replicated across the country.

· The government introduce specific legislation protecting queer people from discrimination on the basis of their gender and sexuality.

· Violence against LGBTI people by the police be addressed and severely reprehended.

· Discrimination and violence against LGBTI people in all spheres of life (family, workplace, educational institutions) be acknowledged and addressed.

· Positive efforts, such as the Aravani Welfare Board set up by the Tamil Nadu Government for the hijra community, are replicated in other parts of the country.

· All persons are able to exercise their right to live their lives with dignity and freedom, regardless of their gender and sexuality identities.

It is also important that –

· We celebrate the creation of small but significant spaces for queer people to express themselves as who they are among groups of friends, in organizations or in the public sphere as a whole.

· Celebrate each and every family, workplace and friend who have accepted their queer sisters, brothers, children, colleagues and friends for who they are.

· Celebrate the support from politicians and other significant public figures, such as writers, thinkers and artists from across India, for the struggle.

· Congratulate the untiring efforts of activists, lawyers, journalists, artists and all individuals across the country, who not only live their own lives as queer people, but fight for queer people everywhere.

· Celebrate individual victories, such as the life of Shabnam the politician in Madhya Pradesh, who is a hijra.

· Celebrate the positive response from some quarters of the media while we hope this becomes the overall trend.

On June 28^th, 2009 Queer people, friends and supporters in Delhi will join other cities across India to break this silence and splash the colours of our lives and the full rainbow spectrum of our diversity on the streets of Delhi.

Join us at 5:30 pm on Sunday, June 28th, 2009. The March will start at the corner of Barakhamba Road and Tolstoy Marg, continue along Tolstoy Marg and end at Jantar Mantar.

For more information about Delhi Queer Pride ‘09: delhiqueerpride.blogspot.com.

Contact: delhiqueerpride@gmail.com.

Announcing Delhi Queer Pride 2009!

Delhi Queer Pride '09

Announcing the Delhi Queer Pride '09! For the second year running queer people, friends, and allies take this message to the streets!

Queer Pride is a celebration. It is about loving who we are, whether lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, hijra or straight, and affirming everyone's right to be respected.

Starts at 5:30pm, Sunday, June 28th, 2009, at the corner of Barakhamba Road and Tolstoy Marg.

We'll gather at the Corner of Barakhamba Road and Tolstoy Marg at 5:00 pm. The Parade commences at 5:30, down Tolstoy Marg to Jantar Mantar, where we will have more celebrating!

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Delhi Queer Pride is an open forum. Anyone - gay, bisexual, transgender, lesbian or straight can join. Please email delhiqueerpride@gmail.com to be part of organising Delhi Queer Pride '09.
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The Queer Pride is organised by the LGBT community for the LGBT community and allies, and not by any organisations, and we hope that it can continue to be entirely funded by individual donations from queer and queer friendly people from India and elsewhere. To find out how you can donate and contribute to Queer Pride '09, please email finance.delhipride@gmail.com.
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First responses from a galvanised community

These are just some of the emails Delhi Queer Pride began receiving in response to the pride announcement. Each email, whether expressing excitement, offering help with organising and funds or simply sending solidarity, was a shot in the arm and greatly treasured by all of us at DQP. This was an event that inspired not only those of us fortunate enough to have organised and marched in the parade, but (as you can see from some of the emails), had huge emotional resonance for people connected with this city but no longer living here.

June 18, P.M.
Nice and exciting .I would definitely be there .Sure Dear. HUUUUUUURRRRRRAAAAAAHHHHHHH

June 19, R.S.
i am 32 years old lesbian and I want to be part of u r group .Thanx

June 20, P.D.
this is really a good idea to let people knw that we have our own idientity thru this queerpride. i will be there.

June 20, P
I came to know about the queer pride rally thats happening.. I stay near Bangalore and I am interested in join the rally at Bangalore.. Could you please send me the details of it, such as where it will start and when and so on..

June 21, RK
I heard about Delhi's first pride parade celebration this year and would love to help out in attempting this superb venture. I'm a student from Harvard University currently in Delhi, and while I cannot contribute financially, please let me know what opportunities there are for volunteering at/for the event.

June 22, AA
Dear Organisers: I would like to help in funding or time or materials for this parade.

June 23, Trikone Australasia
I got forwarded the email about the Desi Queer Pride parade in Delhi on the 29th. I just wanted to congratulate you on this endeavor and extend our best wishes for the event. Please let us know if we can offer any support from here. Best Wishes from all the members of Trikone Australasia

June 23, VVK
I am very exited that Delhi finally has its own paride parade. It was also good to read about it in the national newspaper. I got more info on it through guys4men. Bless the people who are doing all this. I would like to help in the run up to the event and on the day as well. Im wondering if anyone is organising a float with dance space music and pom poms. That would be fun! Anything to increase our visibility. I can get some friends for the float if the logistics allow.

(Signed) Charged up, V

June 23, XX
I am interested in volunteering at the Delhi Queer Pride Event on June 29. Please let me know if there is anything I could do. I'm a student of Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi, and have been a part of Kaivalya, a project of the Youth Parliament Foundation that works actively for the transgender community.

June 23, Trikone, San Francisco
I received intimation of the delhi pride plans via an email forward...and am thrilled to hear about it. As someone who lived and worked in delhi till late 2004, when the only thing that seemed to be happening was the tuesday party at xxx - its truly great to see the first steps towards building a queer community. Congrats...

One of the reasons I'm writing also is because I'm part of the Board of Trikone - which is the San Francisco Bay Area's South Asian LGBT association (some of you might be familiar with it). (trikone.org). I'm also the new editor of the trikone magazine - a quarterly - which we are in the process of revamping. The next issue is due in September and it would be great if we could get pictures of the march as well as an article write up about the pride marches in Delhi and the other cities (Just Delhi would be great too). Please let me know - I look forward to hearing from you. And wishing you a fantastic pride!

June 25, XX
I am a crossdresser. I love to wear all the femail dresses whether Indian or Western. But I could not do so often as I have no place to dress myself as a lady. For this reason I feel depressed.I am annxious to participate in the Delhi Queer Pride of 29th June in female mode but without revealing my identity. Can you people tell me any place where I can transform myself as a lady for the purpose of witnessing this great occasion aswellas whenever I wish to do so. Kindly also suggest me some suppot group ,preferably a hijra group, in whose company I can feel secured. When and wherefrom I can acquire the mask to cover my face.

June 25, M
Hello, I am a traveller staying in Delhi for a (suprisingly) long time and have decided to stretch my stay a few days further after reading that the first gay pride march for India will be held here on Sunday. Congratulations! As I am really only staying in town for the march, I will be free for the next few days. Is there anything that I can help you with before Sunday rolls around?

June 26, AM
Dear Dehli Queer Pride,
I'm actually organizing a pride event this year in Toronto. I just wanted to wish you all the best and god bless you for going out there and marching for your rights! Living in Canada is one thing, but knowing that your homeland, there's still so much homophobia is pretty depressing. There's STILL homophobia HERE! just because same-sex marriage was legalized, it means nothing. It doesn't change people's attitudes. Hope all goes well!
Jai HIND!

June 27, JA
I wanted to know about the committee that you guys talked about in the email. What sort of help would you be needing in fundraising and organizing the parade?
JA, University of Maryland, Class of 2011

June 28, DS
While I don't know yet if I can actually make to the Pride parade tomorrow or not (I live in Gurgaon, so I always have transportation issues) I would love to get involved with the queer rights movement in India in general, and Delhi in particular. If there is any way in which I could help out at any time (petitioning, political advocacy, publicity, anything) do please let me know. I'd love to be of help! If you could direct me to other ways I could get involved in the queer rights movement here, please let me know that as well!