Do you have any information on what went down in Pune with the two prides?
So i looked it up and apparently Bindu Queer Rights Foundation (BQRF) and Yutak organization have rules for the pride such as no inappropriate clothing, no political slogans for issues other than lgbt, no music etc. They state that their pride March reflects the identity and culture of the city (Pune) and they will not imitate American Pride Marches
On other hand, two organizations Qutcast and Mist, held a gathering at Goodluck Chowk called 'Pride… to beg or to claim your identity?' which allowed for more diverse people who did not fit in the 'traditional' theme of the first March.
It's a clash of two ideologies as the news articles state. Frankly i don't agree with the first one. I understand what and why they're doing it. They're trying to play the respectability politics and the 'Pune Culture' they're so trying has a colourful history of maintaining status quo of privileged upper caste people.
Pune herself has never been inclusive to anyone who isn't Bramhin and to pretend that by wearing traditional attires for a Pride March the homophobic people will accept you is delusional. They want to keep pride 'safe' and 'family friendly'. But safe from whom? Friendly to whose families?
The BQRF has been doing Pride Marches for like 10-11 years now and they have for sure contributed immensely to the queer community. I don't believe they mean to exclude anyone or they have hidden agendas or anything. But the way they are moulding the parade does actually go against the spirit of being Proud in not conforming to the society's expectations of you.
The queer movement is not about assimilation into society but of expanding the rigid bounds of society until they include you. And that's missing in the BQRF parade.
