Bharathiyar in Guwahati

Hearty congratulations to the participants of the first Pride rally of North-East India, held in Guwahati, Assam, on Feb 9, 2014!

We gather from one of the organizers that participants included LGBT people and allies from Assam, Manipur and Meghalaya, West Bengal and Delhi.

While no one from the southern part of India appears to have been present, we were delighted to see a placard (photo below) with the words “Hues may vary, but humanity does not”. This line, translated from the original வண்ணங்கள் வேற்றுமைப் பட்டால் – அதில் மானுடர் வேற்றுமை இல்லை,  is by Tamil poet, social reformer and freedom fighter Mahakavi Subramanya Bharathi (1882-1921) who campaigned vigorously against the caste system and for the liberation of women. It is also, incidentally, the tagline of Orinam, and has been one of the rallying calls of Chennai Rainbow Pride since its inception in 2009.

Photographs from Guwahati Pride may be viewed at http://photos.orinam.net/tagged/GuwahatiPride. Thanks to Mili Dutta and Randoni Lairikyengbam for sharing these.

Mainstream media coverage includes pieces in the Times of Assam by Partha Prawal Goswami and a front page story in  The Telegraph by Rajiv Konwar.