New Delhi:
Hundreds of people danced, sang and marched their way through central Delhi on Sunday as part of the third Gay Pride parade to take place in the city.
People belonging to the gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual communities wore masks and colourful scarves and carried flags and signs demanding improved rights for their communities.
"It's a celebration of the fact that the community is here, and it's not a kind of complaining parade. I guess underneath it there is a kind of quiet demand for rights in various areas but today is really just about a celebration. We have survived, we are here and there's work to be done, we recognise that, but we should also be able to party," said Sunil Gupta, Photographer.
In a landmark judgement in 2009 the Delhi High Court struck down a law, Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, that made sex between people of the same gender punishable by up to 10 years in prison....The ruling has been challenged in the Supreme Court which is yet to give its verdict.
While actual criminal prosecutions were rare under the law, it was frequently used to threaten and harass people.
"I think it's been important for the community for the first, over the last three years, to actually have a space where they could come out and actually be able to talk about who they are in whatever form that they wanted - whether they cover their face or not. But to feel a part of a larger set of people, who were like anybody else. But I think it's just being able to meet and connect with each other," said Pramada Menon, Activist.
The last two years have seen large gay pride parades in New Delhi and other big cities like Mumbai and Kolkata.