At Chennai Pride, the personal meets the political

The 2024 Chennai Rainbow Self Respect March allowed for a powerful display of intersectionality between identity and activism

Slogans and placards of clever political quips brightened up the streets of Chennai’s Egmore on June 30, as about 5,000 people came together for the 16th annual Self-Respect Rainbow Pride March, organised by the Tamil Rainbow Coalition.

The event marked the end of Pride Month, a commemoration of the contributions made to the LGBTQIA+ struggle by queer individuals across history, as well as the existing community in the city.

The event was chock full of signs with messages that made heads turn for different reasons, ranging from ‘Neutrality in the face of oppression is complicity’ to ‘Out of the closet, into your mom’s heart’.

“To me, Pride is the event that best captures the intersection of personhood and politics,” says Shravan*, 21, a freelance journalist from Chennai, “but I think palpable elements of Pride marches, like the outfits and the funny signs, tend to take away from its political aspects. Pride has always been, at its core, a protest,” they said.

Political expression at Pride marches have taken a turn in other metropolitan cities such as Mumbai. Colour Positive, the NGO that organises Mumbai’s Pride parades, has indicated that signs and slogans that are deemed “irrelevant” to the queer cause are not allowed at the event.

“We recognise that identities are intersectional and people are impacted by a variety of oppressions not limited to gender identity and sexuality”, says L Ramakrishnan, a member of SAATHII, the public health NGO which has been a co-organiser with the Tamil Nadu Rainbow Coalition since its inception. The coalition has allowed for the advocacy of various causes including animal rights, Palestine, and in solidarity with the survivors of Orlando’s Pulse nightclub shooting in 2016.

While the sentiments of solidarity expressed at the event extended worldwide, the music and performances kept the proceedings rooted in Chennai. Speakers across the crowd blared old-school Tamil music while parai attam performers grooved along to the beats of their drums, an integral part of Tamil tradition.