Press release

August Kranti Maidan to Girgaum Chowpatty
16th August 2008
Starts at 2 pm

Ab Azaadi door nahin….

India achieved Independence on 15th August 1947, but its countless queer citizens are still not free. We have no rights, and a British Raj law (Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code) treats us as criminals. That is why we’ve chosen 16th August (one day after India’s Independence Day) as Queer Azadi Diwas, so that we may be seen and heard, and to bring to the notice of both our society and our government issues that concern us.

Who is ‘queer’ Lesbian, gay, bisexual, hijra, transgender, kothi, panthi, intersex… all who identify with words like these have gathered here today under the umbrella of the “queer” community.

This event is not just for the queer communities. Our family members and friends will join us on the march, along with NGOs, women’s groups, human rights organizations, and trade unionists; educational institutions and their students.

We invite you to join us on our march as well and to raise your voice along with ours.
ORGANISED BY:
Aanchal Trust, Astitva, Dai Welfare Society, GayBombay, Humsaaya, Humsafar Trust, INFOSEM, Lesbians and Bisexuals in Action, Queer Media Collective, Rainbow Pride Connexion, Sakhi Char Chowghi, Salvation Star, Sarathi, Symphony in Pink
For more details: http://queerazaadi.wordpress.com

CONTACT PERSONS FOR MEDIA:

1) Humsafar Trust: Is an organisation with a holistic approach to the rights and health of sexual minorities, and promotes rational attitudes to sexuality. It was set up in April 1994 by a group of self-identified homosexual men who wanted to reach out to the MSM (men who have sex with men) population in the Mumbai metro and surrounding areas. The Trust has been working in the area of HIV intervention in Mumbai and Thane district with the MSM/Hijra population for more than a decade now.
Contact: Ashok Row Kavi (9820330169) Nitin Karani (98200 92561)
Website: www.humsafar.org

2) GayBombay is a safe, social space for the gay community in the city of Bombay. Founded in 1998, its activities include Sunday meets (regular and special subjects), film festivals, treks, parties and many others. The website is www.gaybombay. org and its mailing list gaybombay @ yahoogroups.com has over 5000 active members.
Contact: Vikram (vgd67@yahoo.co.uk)

3) LABIA (Lesbians and Bisexuals in Action): Is an autonomous and non-funded queer feminist collective of lesbian, bisexual and transgender women, since 1995. Our activities have included networking with individual queer women as well as queer groups in India and in other countries, campaigning for the rights of peoples and communities of marginalised genders and sexualities with other like minded groups, and organising jointly with the struggles of other marginalised groups, feminist and people’s movements.
Contact: 9833278171
Email: stree.sangam@gmail.com

4) Aanchal Trust: Was set up to counsel and support Indian women questioning their sexuality, regardless of caste, class, creed, religion and economic status, and in complete confidentiality. It aims to work towards the creation of safe spaces in India for women’s sexual and mental health issues, free from isolation and fear.
And
INFOSEM (India Network For Sexual Minorities) is a collective national effort by sexual minorities to ensure equality for themselves in all spheres of life, free from discrimination
Contact: Geeta Kumana

5) Salvation Star’s vision is to create a progressive LGBT lifestyle through specialised and quality events and entertainment, & foster a healthy, safe, and fun LGBT community culture
Contact: Nakul (98205 16912)

6) Symphony in Pink: SIP is a social group that provides a space for lesbians who want to meet other lesbians in Mumbai. We get together for fun and enjoy many social activities including movie nights, weekends, pubbing, friendly sports and just plain hanging out. The idea is simply to get women who love women together in a comfortable and friendly atmosphere to meet and mingle.
Email: symphonyinpink@gmail.com

Other contacts:
• Lakshya Trust (Baroda and Surat) — Manvendra Singh Gohil (93230 49357)
• Sarathi (Nagpur) — Anand (93256 32795) Email: anand.chandrani@gmail.com
• Samapathik Trust (Pune) – Bindumadhav Khire (09890744677)

 

Come to QAM 2008

16th August 2008
 
Time: 2 pm to 4:30 pm
 
The march will start at
August Kranti Maidan
 and end at
Girgaum Chowpatty
 
Route is August Kranti Maidan to Nana Chowk – take Kennedy Bridge – turn right on to S V Patel Road (also known as Sandhurst Road) and reach Sukh Sagar – climb the bridge to Chowpatty
 

Media will be present at the march, and if this is an issue for you, we will be providing masks. But we urge you not to let this be an overriding concern for one simple reason – there are going to be many more than just queer people at the march. There are many others who are coming like and they will make this march really special.So please consider coming,and please consider bringing your family and friends too.

BE THERE IN NUMBERS AT 2 PM

 

If you’d like to contribute money…

We have received some offers to contribute funds towards the expenses of the Queer Azaadi March, from people in India and from individuals abroad.

For those in India, you may please send drafts/pay orders/cheques favouring ‘The Humsafar Trust’ at their address below. Please enclose a letter mentioning that the contribution is towards expenses for QAM 2008. Also, please do mention whether you mind your name and the amount sent being mentioned on this blog or any public forum. By default, we will be making public details of contributions received.  So please specify if you aren’t okay with that.  

The Humsafar Trust’s address: III floor, Vakola Municipal market transit building, Near Shree Chakra Resturant, Nehru Road, Vakola, Santacruz (East), Mumbai – 400 055
Phone : +91 22 26673800/26650547 E-Mail : humsafar@vsnl.com website : www.humsafar.org

For those abroad, the better, faster route would be to put monies into Humsafar’s FCRA account (see details below). Again, please send a message mentioning the contribution is towards expenses for QAM 2008 and whether you mind your name/amount being mentioned on this blog or any public forum. 
FCRA Registration No. 083780663
FCRA Account Name: The Humsafar Trust
FCRA Account Number: 237-0-500526-1
Swift Code: SCBLINBB
Bank Name: Standard Chartered Bank
Bank Address: 65-F, S.V. Road, Santacruz (West), Mumbai – 400 054. India

Note that if the contributions received are in excess of the expenses for QAM 2008, the surplus will be held over for use next year.

 

Next planning meeting is…

Next meeting is scheduled on 20 July at 3 pm at this same venue (Humsafar Cefe office). All queer community members and supporters are welcome.

 

1st meeting minutes

Minutes of meeting about proposed ‘Pride march’ (to be organized on 16th August) called by Geeta Kumana on 5^th July 2008 at the Humsafar Cefe office at 5 pm.

 

Present:

Geeta Kumana, Aanchal and INFOSEM

Girish, ALAYAS and The Humsafar Trust (Humsafar)

Atharva, Astitva

Lakshmi Narayan Tripathi, Astitva

Sarah, Astitva

Sachin Jain, GayBombay (GB)

Pramod, Humsaaya

Ravi, Humsaaya

Amit, Humsafar

Mahesh, Humsafar

Nitin Karani, Humsafar

Sandeep, Humsafar

Shankar, Humsafar

Vivek Anand, Humsafar

Vivek, Humsafar

Chayanika, LABIA

Smriti, LABIA

Alifia, Rainbow Pride Collective (’RPC’)

Sharon, RPC

Pawan, Sarathi (Nagpur)

Seema, Sakhi Char Chowghi

Shankar, Sakhi Char Chowghi

Ashok Row Kavi (ARK), UNAIDS

Keith, unaffiliated
Raji, unaffiliated
Sabina, unaffiliated
Sanjay, unaffiliated

RSVP’d regrets: Shobhna; Bindumadhav Khire, Samapathik Trust, Pune; Manav Gohil, Lakshya Trust, Pune;  Vikram (GB); Viki (unaffiliated)

Invited but refused to attend: Vijay (Godha) of Udaan.

Opening comments
Geeta: “Viki and me had a talk and came up with some discussion points. (These and other points suggested by LABIA and GB were circulated among those present.) If Humsafar can share their experience of the marches they have organised so far….

Girish: Responsibilities for various things like permissions, community mobilization and logistics are divided among ad-hoc groups of participants. The previous walks have been between various points but mostly S’cruz Stn to HST Vakola office, Mahim-Bandra and Sion Hospital to M Udyan. Participants meet regularly to organise these marches. Security is provided by the police including the presence of a police van. It takes a few days to get the various permissions but the earlier we start the process the better it is.

ARK: There was a lot of police protection for the Delhi march. Initially the cops outnumbered the marchers but the number of marchers grew as we went along.

Discussion on possible routes, date, timing, permissions, end-event, etc
Sachin suggested Flora Fountain to Gateway and VT to Flora Fountain, mainly because he felt Fountain (Hutatma Chowk) has a historical context (the first 16th August queer protest demo was held there; Flora Foutain, ie Hutatma Chowk ['Martyrs' square] commemorates members of the Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti, who lost their lives when police fired upon their peaceful demonstration.)

 

We got sidetracked to a discussion about the tentative date of the event. Some have already said informally before this meeting that they are working on 16th August (it’s a Saturday) and therefore the march should be on the following day, i.e. Sunday. ARK said, and it was generally felt, that if it’s a working day, there’s more impact. We fixed Saturday 16th August 2008 after discussion.

 

Sachin said we could march in the suburbs instead. Someone suggested Bandra. ARK: We need an open space like a park to end the march (and hold a candelight vigil) and a good route to march. Someone suggested Marine Drive where some years ago women’s groups had held a successful anti-rape protest (the rape had occurred in a police chowky  on Marine Drive).

 

A music band will march along with participants. The candlelight vigil will take place if weather permits. There will be dances at Chowpatty, where a temporary structure will be constructed.

 

The discussion finalised three possible routes with the first the most preferred one:

1. August Kranti maidan to Girgaum Chowpatty (August Kranti maidan or Gowalia Tank was where M K Gandhi issued a call on 8th August 1942 for the British to quit India, which led to the launch of the Civil Disobedience Movement).

2 Air India building (Nariman Point) to Girgaum Chowpatty.

3. Flora Fountain to Girgaum Chowpatty

Assembly time: 3 p.m.

March begins: 4 p.m.

Duration: About 3 hours.

 

HST was delegated the task of obtaining permissions and asked to report back in a week on the progress.

Focus of the march
ARK: We should also talk about the draconian ITPA which has a ridiculous provision of charging the sex worker’s client.

Lakshmi, Vivek and Alifia: No, we shouldn’t lose focus of queer issues.

Vivek: Whatever the name, the focus is homosexuality. We can invite sex workers to march as supporters. Supporters can also include family, heterosexual friends, doctors, medical fraternity, academics, etc.

Lakshmi and ARK: Celebs should be mobilized. Call them  to be there at the end of the walk.

Geeta: They will hog the limelight.

ARK: We need Queer Media Collective support.

Chayanika: Sex workers can be included as they also can be counted as people of marginalized sexualities.

Sachin: Important to get as many people as possible.

ARK: Include supporters in the march so that we mainstream our sexuality. We’ll brief them.

Chayanika: Talk about forced marriages, anti-discrimination laws

Laxmi: Our (hijra) community will have a focused group discussion and come back with issues.

ARK: Talk about aversion therapy, women’s rights and the ridiculous rape laws.

LABIA will get in touch with women’s groups and human rights groups to ask them for support.

ARK: Humsafar and I will get in touch with doctors, healthcare givers, psychiatrists, etc

Geeta: will get in touch with lesbian groups with the help of RPC.

 

The consensus was that the focus should be on queer issues (not ITPA, rape laws, etc) and that people outside queer communities should be invited to march as supporters. We need to compile and work on the list.

Funding
Vivek: Bring in whatever individuals within our communities can give: Rs100, Rs500, Rs1,000. HST and GB can pledge some money too. Whatever can be mobilized can be brought to the next meeting.

Vivek will ask MDACS and ARK will ask UNAIDS for money.

ARK: We should be able to raise Rs40,000-50,000 and that should be enough.

 

Geeta volunteered to ask funding agencies like MAMACASH, ASTRAEA and Global Fund for Women for funds.

 

Shankar from HST has volunteered to maintain the accounts.

Event name
Suggestions included names that included ‘Gayzaadi’, which was quite popular, ‘Pink Freedom’, and names that included the words ‘Rainbow’ and ‘Pride’. Laxmi strongly objected to ‘Gayzaadi’ as it wasn’t inclusive. The majority vote went to ‘Queer Azaadi’.

Leaflets
One common double-sided, one-colour leaflet for the event in Hindi, English and Marathi, that will talk about all queer issues will be distributed at the march. LABIA and Sachin will draft the leaflet.

 

Groups can also distribute whatever printed material’s already available with them. HST volunteered to distribute their leaflet, ‘Answers to your questions on Homosexuality’  which is designed for the lay person.

Placards, slogans, songs, banners, posters, masks, etc
We’ll have a placard/posters-making day closer to the event at this same meeting venue. Humsafar boys will write songs specially for this event. Groups can bring their own banners. Sabina can make rainbow flags and masks. She could sell the masks.

Other points
Geeta volunteered to continue as event coordinator.

 

Nitin was tasked with setting up a blog for ‘Queer Azaadi’.