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Now, a gay march in Kolkata: Hindustan Times
Kolkata, June 25: Kolkata will notch another first to its credit when it goes marching along with San Francisco, Sau Paulo, New York and Seattle on June 29. It`ll be, hold your breath, the first gay pride march in India.
Kolkata, June 25: Kolkata will notch another first to its credit when it goes marching along with San Francisco, Sau Paulo, New York and Seattle on June 29. It'll be, hold your breath, the first gay pride march in India.
The parade, organised in at least 100 cities across the world, is being held to commemorate the June 27, 1969 Stonewall Riots at New York's Greenwich Village — an event that was a turning point for the global gay rights movement. Gay pride marches are organised across Europe, the Americas, Australia and New Zealand around this time every year.
Christened 'Walk on the Rainbow', the march is being organised by Integration Society, an organisation that has been working with lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transvestites (LGBT) for several decades. LGBT India, a network of more than a hundred organisations working for sexual minorities in the country, is supporting the march in India.
"We expect a few hundred people to take part. Apart from LGBT members, people from all walks of life who support freedom of sexual choice are being invited," Integration Society secretary Rafiquel Haque Dowjah said. He believes the march will create awareness and increase tolerance towards the LGBT community.
The march will commence from the Park Circus Maidan and make its way to Rabindra Sarobar. Marchers would carry placards about gay rights and sexual equality. One placard, for instance, says: 'All roses are beautiful, but all roses are not red'.
There will be a banner with the colours of the rainbow. "The rainbow has been chosen by the global gay community to denote peaceful co-existence of people of all sexual inclinations,”he said.
The parade, organised in at least 100 cities across the world, is being held to commemorate the June 27, 1969 Stonewall Riots at New York's Greenwich Village — an event that was a turning point for the global gay rights movement. Gay pride marches are organised across Europe, the Americas, Australia and New Zealand around this time every year.
Christened 'Walk on the Rainbow', the march is being organised by Integration Society, an organisation that has been working with lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transvestites (LGBT) for several decades. LGBT India, a network of more than a hundred organisations working for sexual minorities in the country, is supporting the march in India.
"We expect a few hundred people to take part. Apart from LGBT members, people from all walks of life who support freedom of sexual choice are being invited," Integration Society secretary Rafiquel Haque Dowjah said. He believes the march will create awareness and increase tolerance towards the LGBT community.
The march will commence from the Park Circus Maidan and make its way to Rabindra Sarobar. Marchers would carry placards about gay rights and sexual equality. One placard, for instance, says: 'All roses are beautiful, but all roses are not red'.
There will be a banner with the colours of the rainbow. "The rainbow has been chosen by the global gay community to denote peaceful co-existence of people of all sexual inclinations,”he said.