In Pics: Gurgaon Celebrates Its First Rainbow March

Hundreds of people came out in Gurgaon to celebrate their sexuality in its first LGBTIQ Pride March.

For the first time, Gurgaon hosted Pride. (Photo: Manon Verchot)

In a brightly coloured and happy march, Gurgaon joined hundreds of cities who celebrate sexual orientation and identification in its many forms. Around 200 people gathered in Leisure Park to come together and fight intolerance and discrimination through songs, spoken word and speeches.

LGBTIQ-identifying people from different communities came to the march. (Photo: Manon Verchot)

Pride began in the US as a commemoration of the Stonewall Riots in 1969, where the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Intersexual Queer community protested police raids on LGBTIQ spaces like the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar.

“Pride is equal parts a celebration, a protest, and a community building event. It’s the one time a year when we can come together and be surrounded by the family we choose,” writes Meg Ten Eyck in Matador Network. “Because our bodies and our identities are still policed by the government, religious groups, and even the people we love, we reserve Pride as the opportunity to express ourselves in the way that is most authentic to our community.”

The group gathered in Leisure Valley Park, Gurgaon. (Photo: Manon Verchot)

The event has now spread around the world. Organisers of the Gurgaon Pride celebration called out discrimination in all its forms as they brought together people from many different religions and communities.

“It’s a call for freedom from discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation to ensure social justice and a truly inclusive environment that has no one left on the margins. It’s a celebration of an inclusive dialogue resting on a political stage built on the notion of Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Intersexual Queer pride, a carnival of individual identities, human rights and a larger solidarity against 377.”

“Straight? So is spaghetti until you heat it up!” (Photo: Manon Verchot)

A spoken word performance before the crowd of around 200 people. (Photo: Manon Verchot)

Both LGBTIQ-identifying people and allies came together in the park. (Photo: Manon Verchot)

“This machine kills homophobia.” (Photo: Manon Verchot)

People at the march also commemorated members of the LGBTIQ community who were killed in Orlando, Florida earlier this month. (Photo: Manon Verchot)

Many people who identify as LGBTIQ face daily discrimination. Out of respect for their safety and privacy, The Quint has not identified people attending the parade unless they have given permission themselves.