Namma Pride 2024: To the colours of love  

From community members to allies, people from all walks of life gathered at Sree Kanteerava Outdoor Stadium to support the LGBTQIA+ community

Love, laughter and a lot of happy colours: that’s how the 17th year of Namma Pride started in Bengaluru on October 24. Organised by CSMR (Coalition for Sex Workers and Sexual Minority Rights), Namma Pride & Karnataka Queer Habba play a pivotal role in bringing every queer individual in the city together to march for their rights.   

From community members to allies, people from all walks of life gathered at Sree Kanteerava Outdoor Stadium to support the LGBTQIA+ community. Apart from regulars, the city’s 17th Pride Walkalso saw a lot of first-timers. Some were from the community itself, while others came as allies, wanting to simply show support for their friends.

Devika, a first-year college student and a first-timer at the event, expressed how she has been looking forward to attending this march, “Today, I am expecting to join a community of likeminded people for the celebration that reminds us of the struggles that the community have to go through to reclaim what is rightfully theirs,” she said while Iora, also a first-timer to Pride this year added, “I have come here with my friends, I love the environment, it is so happy and cheerful, to be around people who are so supportive of each other.”

And there were others for whom this was finding a space to be themselves. Puja, who is attending Pride for the fourth time, was one of them. “Pride is about coming together as a community to find a safe space to be yourself. It gives the LGBTQIA+ community visibility and platform to show the world that we exist.”

Colourful costumes 

Many participants were dressed in colourful attire and carrying quirky placards, adding to the overall festive vibe of the one-day event. And yet, many of these costumes have taken weeks to come together. Prafull, who identifies as non-binary wore what symbolised metal armour, and explained how it took one week to create the entire look, “I am dressed as the lord of non-binary today; I created this whole look out of cardboard.”

There were others wearing more conventional, though still eye-catching outfits, one of them being Arti (name changed), a Pride regular.  “I feel that with Pride, apart from connecting with like-minded people, there is this sense of freedom to be ourselves and dress however we want to. Every year, people dress differently. Last time I wore a salwar, this time I decided to wear a sari,” who identifies as she/hersaid.  

Pride is Political 

Namma Pride 2024 also brought forward unified demands for the rights of sexual minorities and sex workers. These include establishing the Karnataka Transgender Corporation, announcing and operationalising the corporation immediately with a grand of ₹200 crore and ensuring that both the Karnataka and Central governments actively raise public awareness about the 2018 Supreme Court judgement decriminalising homosexuality. 

According to the charter of demands put forward by CSMR, immediate action should be taken to stop police violence and harassment against sex workers and protect their rights. Other demands included updating government apps for easy access for the transgender community to avail of their benefits and services, providing quality nutrition and accessible healthcare to HIV-positive individuals, the systematic implementation of the Karnataka Transgender Policy 2017 and the creation of a state-level committee to address LGBTQIA+ issues.  

Published - November 26, 2024 08:00 am IST