Rainbow flag trail in campus: DU students spread hugs, cheer

Delhi University students are driven to spread awareness, inclusivity and joy, this June, in keeping with the spirit of LGBTQIA+ Pride month.

The rainbow hues have taken over as the world celebrates Pride month, every year in June, to commemorate the 1969 Stonewall uprising in US and the LGBTQIA+ community’s struggle for rights. In tandem with the global initiative to extend a shade of inclusivity, queer collectives in colleges across Delhi University aim to bring to centrestage, the difficult conversations required to change the perspective.

Queer collectives in colleges across Delhi University have organised physical and online events throughout the month, with photography, cosplay and digital art being some of the activities. (Photo: RaajesshKashyap/HT)

Iris, the queer collective at Bharati College, which celebrates one year of being ratified, has got great plans for the month. Ekta Singh, founder and president of the collective, says: “We are hosting our first annual three-day fest, Horizon, starting from June 16, with a seminar by Dr Sakshi Mamgain, from the non-profit organisation, United For Transgender Health. On June 17, we will have an open mic and bonding event with activities. Our final event, which is in collaboration with Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce (SGGSCC), is an art therapy workshop for the LGBTQIA+ students of both colleges.”

Besides the physical events, this society has online events lined up throughout the month, with photography, cosplay and digital art being some of the activities. “We want everyone to feel included,” shares Singh.

Talking about their joint effort with Iris, Shubh, president of SGGSCC LGBTQIA+ Collective, says, “These collaborations help us get mobility, ideation, and most importantly, people. Our collective is spearheading a Pride parade for all of Delhi University. The statement of our protest is intersectionality — we do not exist without the disabled, the silenced, the ones that are trampled upon. Additionally, we are planning a social media campaign with ZNQC, the queer collective at Zakir Husain Delhi College.”

The collective has also planned an Instagram live with Sukhdeep Singh, director of the documentary, Sab Rab De Bande, about the struggles of queer Sikhs trying to find a balance between their gender or sexual identity and their faith.

Perhaps, the most notable highlight of the Pride month are parades happening across the world. And DU will keep up with this tradition as students from the queer collective at Lady Shri Ram College for Women will hold a Pride parade on campus, towards the end of June.

Mannat Khan, junior coordinator of the collective, says, “We are trying to enlighten the masses via workshops on queer vocabulary and pronoun use — simple things for difficult conversations.” There will also be interdisciplinary discussions on the LGBTQIA+ cause through the lens of history, sociology, psychology and political science. Khan adds: “We are trying to understand queerness in structures of power through the social sciences, with the expertise of our professors.”

Pride marches ahead:

LSR Queer Collective: Online and offline talks on Queerness in Structures of Power

Hindu College Queer Collective: Talks, competitions and more on Instagram, themed Intersectional Pride

Shaheed Bhagat Singh College’s Queer-Feminist Collective: Movie screenings, and talks are being planned

Bharati College queer collective, Iris: Competitions in art, makeup, photography, cosplay; from June 16 to 18

Ramanujan College Queer Collective: Screenfest will discuss films with cishet tropes, plotlines that are queer coded, on June 25

Jashn-e-Queer by Queer Education: Open mic, dance, drag, theatre, Mamta: Revisiting Motherhood and Gender on June 25 at at WeWork Blue One Square, Gurugram

Follow more on Facebook and Twitter