LGBT Pride marches have been held in the Indian state of Gujarat in various cities since 2013. [1] The first LGBT pride march was held in Surat on 6 October 2013. Since then, pride march in the state has been held in Ahmedabad and Vadodara. [2]
The first pride march in Gujarat was held in Surat on 6 October 2013. [3] The march was organised by LGBT activist Swagat Shah. [1] Over 150 participants from across Gujarat and Mumbai took part. The march started from New Civil Court and ended at Kargil Chowk. [4] On 1 December, a 2nd pride march was held in Ahmedabad. [5] The march started from IT building at and ended at Gandhi Ashram. [6] [7] Ahmedabad mayor Meenaxiben Patel was the chief guest and flagged off the march. Participants included school students, students from IIMA and parents of LGBTQ people. [6] Manvendra Singh Gohil did not participate in the pride and said one should not be aping the West. [8]
In 2014, pride march was organised in Vadodara city on 30 November from Genda Circle to Chakli circle. [9] On 29 November, ‘Best of Kashish’ - a movie package of the best films screened at the Kashish Mumbai International Queer Film Festival- were screened, followed by dance, music and other art performances showcasing local talent of Vadodara at Swastik Auditorium at Ellora Park area . [10] [11] Another march was held in Ahmedabad on 1 December from Bata House to Income Tax Circle. [9] Over 300 people took part in the 2nd pride held in Ahmedabad. [12]
Pride march was held in Ahmedabad after a gap of 4 years on 24 February. The march began from Kanoria Centre for Arts and ended at Darpana Academy of Performing Arts and was attended by 200 people. [13] [14] A queer conference titled Sambandh too was organised a day before the march. [15] The city of Vadodara held a pride march under the banner Vadodara Samman Yatra on 1 July. [16] The march started from Dairy Den Circle and culminated at Yog Niketan. [17]
In 2019, Ahmedabad pride march was held on 24 February from Ankur Char Rasta to the Darpana Academy. [18] A panel discussion SamBandh: Dissident sketches was held as part of the pride celebration. [19]
Gujarat is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about 1,600 km (990 mi) is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some 196,024 km2 (75,685 sq mi); and the ninth-most populous state, with a population of 60.4 million in 2011. It is bordered by Rajasthan to the northeast, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu to the south, Maharashtra to the southeast, Madhya Pradesh to the east, and the Arabian Sea and the Pakistani province of Sindh to the west. Gujarat's capital city is Gandhinagar, while its largest city is Ahmedabad. The Gujaratis are indigenous to the state and their language, Gujarati, is the state's official language.
Vadodara formerly, Baroda, is a major city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, 141 km (88 mi) from the state capital of Gandhinagar. The railway line and National Highway 8, which connect Delhi with Mumbai, pass through Vadodara. The city is named for its abundance of banyan (vad) trees. Vadodara is also locally referred to as the Sanskrutik Nagari and Kala Nagari of India.
The Gujarat Samachar is the leading Gujarati-language daily newspaper published in India. Its headquarters are in Ahmedabad with a branch in Surat. It is distributed from Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Mumbai, Mehsana, Bhuj and New York City.
Vadodara Airport is a customs airport and Indian Air Force base serving the city of Vadodara in Gujarat, India. It is located in the suburb of Harni, northeast of Vadodara. It is the third-busiest airport in Gujarat, after Ahmedabad and Surat airports. In 2020, it was ranked the second-cleanest airport in India by the Airports Authority of India. Vadodara Airport ranked 2nd Cleanest in India.
Vadodara Junction railway station is the main station in the Indian city of Vadodara, Gujarat. Due to its strategic location, it is the fifth-busiest railway station in India in terms of frequency of trains after Kanpur Central, Vijayawada Junction, Delhi Junction, New Delhi, and Howrah,and busiest in Gujarat state as well as second important railway station in Gujarat after Ahmedabad Junction. It is also major stop on the Western Railway zone of Indian Railways. Around 340 trains start, end, or pass through the station weekly. This railway station is a junction point for rail lines from Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Ektanagar (Kevadiya) and Chhota Udepur.
Pune Pride is an annual LGBT pride parade that was first held in Pune, Maharashtra on 11 December 2011. It is the second Pride parade to be organized in the state of Maharashtra, after the Queer Azaadi Mumbai Pride March.
India has a long and ancient tradition of culture associated with the LGBTQ community, with many aspects that differ markedly from modern liberal western culture.
Queer Azaadi Mumbai Pride March, also called Queer Azaadi March and Mumbai pride march, is an annual LGBTQIA pride parade that is held in the city of Mumbai, capital of Maharashtra, India. It usually begins from Gowalia Tank ending at Girgaum Chowpatty. It, along with the Pride Week, is organized by Queer Azaadi Mumbai, a collective of organizations and individuals working for the rights of LGBTQIA community. The participants of the march include people from the LGBTQIH community as well their "straight allies", from India and outside. In addition to being a celebration of queer pride, the pride march and related events are a platform to ask for equal rights.
Delhi Queer Pride Parade is organised by members of the Delhi Queer Pride Committee every last Sunday of November since 2008. The queer pride parade is a yearly festival to honour and celebrate lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, and their supporters. The parade usually runs from Barakhamba Road to Tolstoy Marg to Jantar Mantar.
Gaylaxy is an Indian lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) magazine. The magazine is based in Kolkata.
XUKIA is a queer collective based in Assam, India that works for LGBT issues in the region. It is one of the first Queer Collectives to come up in the North East India.
Queer Pride Guwahati was organised for the first time by the members and supporters of the local LGBT community in Guwahati, Assam on 9 February 2014. The Queer Pride Guwahati was the first LGBT Pride in the entire North Eastern India. The Pride is now an annual event.
The Ahmedabad–Mumbai main line or the Mumbai–Ahmedabad main line is a railway route on the Western Railway section of Indian Railways. It is one of the busiest railway routes of the Indian Railways and is fully electrified. The Western line of the Mumbai Suburban Railway operates on the southern part of this route.
Kolkata Rainbow Pride Walk (KRPW) is the oldest pride walk in India and South Asia. The first march in Kolkata was organised on 2 July 1999. The walk was called The Friendship Walk. Kolkata was chosen as the first city in India to host the march owing to Kolkata's history of movements for human and Political Rights. Currently, Kolkata Rainbow Pride Walk is organised by the Kolkata Rainbow Pride Festival (KRPF).
The Chandigarh LGBTQ Pride Walk is an annual march held as part of the "Garvotsava" pride week celebrations in Chandigarh, the capital city of the northern Indian states of Punjab and Haryana. The event aims to celebrate and bring together the LGBTQ community and its supporters.
Hyderabad Queer Pride has been celebrated on one of the Sundays in February since 2013. First held on 3 February 2013, Hyderabad became the 12th Indian city to join the queer pride march bandwagon, fourteen years after the first Indian pride march was held in Kolkata. In 2015 it was renamed as Hyderabad Queer Swabhimana Pride, emphasising the self-respect and the acceptance of the community of themselves, as they are. In 2016 it was altered to Hyderabad Queer Swabhimana Yatra and has been retained since.
Queer Gulabi Pride Jaipur is the name of Rajasthan's LGBT Queer pride walk, first held in March 2015 in Jaipur and organised by Nai Bhor Sanstha, a community based organisation working for LGBT rights and development for the last 15 years.
Bengaluru Namma Pride March is a queer pride march that is held annually in the city of Bengaluru in Karnataka, India, since 2008. The march is organised by a coalition called Coalition for Sex Workers and Sexuality Minority Rights (CSMR). The pride march is preceded by a month of queer related events and activities.
Gujarat Metro Rail Corporation Limited (GMRC) is a joint venture company between the Government of India and Government of Gujarat. It was established on February 4, 2010, with an initial investment of ₹202 crore (approximately US$25 million). The company is headquartered in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India.