Intrusion of Corporate Organisations in Pride Marches

In a Facebook post on 26 June, 2017 Shubham Bose Roy argues that Faraz Arif Ansari’s short film Sisak is hardly the first silent film on queer issues in India as claimed by the media. Shubham insists – “please don’t self-aggrandize queer products in the name of novelty, because such misleading publicity erases the history of queer art and cinema that was done in far more challenging times than this”. This intervention comes a few months after another gender non-binary friend Vqueeram Aditya Sahai had lied down at the intersection near Ramjas College to stop what IIT Delhi claimed to be the “first Pride” of Delhi University. The poster that was shared in the Delhi Pride Committee’s google group by Dhrubo Jyoti had the names of Gaylaxy and Humsafar Trust as sponsors of the event. On the day of the march though, their representatives claimed that they didn’t fund it but only provided guidance. The new pamphlets still had the name of Rendezvous, IIT’s fest funded by Reliance. When Vqueeram, who was earlier assured that the participants would only assemble and not walk, pointed this out to the young organiser, the student responded – “It’s my money. Not theirs. Why are you making it political?”. The comment is perhaps representative of the larger impression of Pride marches on the mainstream (inclusive of progressive gay boys of course) who can’t see beyond the visibility attached to it, oblivious of working class struggles and the history of the event itself.

I mention this because a few days back I attended my 1st Chandannagar Pride with banners and rainbow flags that were sponsored by Scruff. The event was hosted by Amitie Trust and as far as I could gather, has been community funded. While most people didn’t seem too concerned about the fact that they are surreptitiously made to walk under a corporate banner, Sumit Pawar, who works under Scruff explained to us (Sayan Bhattacharya , Ani Dutta, Pranabes Dutta) at the end of the walk that since the organization has contributed financially to this event and also publicized it, this entitles them to showcase their brand name. Funding has of course been a contested territory. Last year, during a discussion in DQPC Google group on corporate sponsorship, Amit Agarwal revealed that Gurgaon Pride 2016 was corporate funded since his company donated a huge sum for the event. While the chief organiser was caught unaware and offered to return the amount, others insisted that donations from individuals who work in the corporate sector can’t be considered as “corporate money” especially since the donor does not seem to have clarified his subject-position at the moment of making this contribution. My Facebook post was made on July 2 and since then Aparna Banerjee, one of the Chandannagar Pride organisers admitted that permission was indeed given to Scruff to circulate those flags/banners though she wasn't aware of the organisation's bullying tactics as evident by its intrusion at Chennai Pride, 2017. Irrespective of the nature of this permission, Scruff’s use of the Pride space to advertise their brand is not just unethical but deeply opportunistic. By the time I wrote this post on July 2, Scruff had already organised India’s first (yes, another one) bike ride. The date is significant for being the eighth anniversary of the 2009 Delhi High Court judgment that “decriminalised homosexuality”. Harsh Aggarwal associated with Harmless Hugs explained to TOI that this event is supposed to be a celebration of the judgment. A celebration with bikes! Of course, nothing better than bikes for gay men/boys to retrieve/assert their sense of masculinity. Bravo! Did I hear someone say – “straight Pride”?

Yes, just as the DU “Pride” was about “their rights” and raised awareness about their fest, this bike ride is set to straighten up our curves. Not a coincidence really that all these corporate houses are engaged in a battle of “firsts” at a time others in the queer community are choosing to find alternate ways to sustain the struggle and provide care. As Atri (a trans school teacher) mentioned at the end of Chandannagar parade – “There are many straight allies here in the crowd who will ask for my phone numbers. But will you be able to take me to your houses or offer me help when I really need it? Just by being visible here doesn’t help”.

Vishal Tandon, a queer-identified research scholar from HCU who committed suicide on July 1 argues in an article that the depoliticized gay men are reluctant to acknowledge their caste/class privilege and represent an anxiety over hijra and trans bodies. The corporatization of Pride parades is, therefore, a form of majority appeasement that treats only certain bodies as bodies of desires who can be granted entry into this exclusively G circle. These (homonational) moments are also in my name and as some of us protest against the majoritarian culture of lynching and mourn those who have been silenced in the process, we must remember that the nation makes room for minorities but only a certain kind of minority who will abide by the construct of the “lesser citizen”. No matter how many “firsts” are attributed to these corporate sponsored events, the first Pride will always remain a riot... and the first casualties always those who live on the margins and beyond.