Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar (; ) is the capital and largest city of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Odisha. The region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Ekamra Kshetra'' (area (''kshetra'') adorned with mango tr ...

, the capital city of

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of Sc ...

, India, held its first Pride Parade on 27 June 2009. Since then Pride has happened in 2010 and then again in 2018. Hundreds of people from Bhubaneshwar, Cuttack and other parts of Odisha take to the streets to celebrate the city's

LGBTQ+ ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is ...

Pride Parades.

History

2009

Bhubaneswar's first queer Pride parade was held on 27 June 2009. It was jointly organised by Sakha, Institute for Development Programmes and Research (IDPR), and SAATHII. The even
included
keynote addresses by community members, government officials and NGO representatives, a documentary screening, street theatre performances, a public meeting at walk end-point; and concluded with a candle light vigil.

2010

On 3 July 2010, Bhubaneswar had it
second Rainbow Pride walk
that included a solidarity event and candlelight vigil. It was organised by Sampark, a coalition of community based organisations working on LGBTI and HIV issues. The event was covered by travel bloggers.

2018

1 September 2018 marked the third time that the city of Bhubaneshwar witnessed a queer Pride parade. The 2018 Bhubaneshwar Pride was put together by three organisations – SAATHII, an NGO working for the cause of

HIV-AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ma ...

care and LGBTIQ rights, Sakha, which is run by Meera Parida and is an indigenous trans collective that has been supported by the Odisha government, and The Parichay Collective, an LGBQ community in Odisha. The Pride organisers said that a Pride march was essential to foster a spirit of community and visibility for the queer community in Odisha, where tier II cities like Bhubaneshwar did not display much awareness about the LGBTQ+ community. The focus of the Pride was not just visibility, but also intersectionality and inclusion. An organiser was quoted as saying, ''"This Pride will not only address the LGBTQIA problems but also the general constructs of the society like shame, untouchability, class bias and sex discrimination within and outside the community and the majority deciding what is best for minorities."'' The 2018 Bhubaneshwar Pride also had the distinction of being the last Pride March in India that demanded the overhaul of

Section 377 Section 377 of the British colonial penal code criminalized all sexual acts "against the order of nature". The law was used to prosecute people engaging in oral and anal sex along with homosexual activity. The penal code remains in many former col ...

– the law criminalising "unnatural sex", as Section 377 was scrapped in a historic judgment by the

Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India (IAST: ) is the supreme judicial authority of India and is the highest court of the Republic of India under the constitution. It is the most senior constitutional court, has the final decision in all legal matters ...

just a few days later, on 6 September 2018.

Gallery

;Bhubaneswar Pride Parade 2018 File:Bhubaneswar Pride Parade 2018 01.jpg, Participants of 2018 Bhubaneswar Pride Parade File:Bhubaneswar Pride Parade 2018 02.jpg, Participants of 2018 Bhubaneswar Pride Parade File:Bhubaneswar Pride Parade 2018 03.jpg, Participants of 2018 Bhubaneswar Pride Parade File:Bhubaneswar Pride Parade 2018 04.jpg, Participants of 2018 Bhubaneswar Pride Parade File:Bhubaneswar Pride Parade 2018 05.jpg, Participants of 2018 Bhubaneswar Pride Parade File:Bhubaneswar Pride Parade 2018 06.jpg, Participants of 2018 Bhubaneswar Pride Parade

References

{{LGBT in India Pride parades in India 2009 establishments in Orissa Bhubaneswar Recurring events established in 2009