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Election in India’s most popular state seen as crucial LGBTQ rights test

Right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party currently governs Uttar Pradesh

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(Bigstock photo)

India’s most populous state and a battleground for Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold the election in seven phases in February as the Election Commission of India has announced.

The Uttar Pradesh election is the key prize in India’s parliamentary election as the state holds 80 parliamentary seats, the most in the country. Uttar Pradesh’s LGBTQ community and LGBTQ people from across the country have been eyeing this election because it can play a crucial role in policy changes for the community in India.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a right-wing nationalist party, is ruling Uttar Pradesh. The party is also ruling the country under Modi, but it has not been supportive of same-sex marriage.

“We are not a minority anymore. The community is thriving in the state,” said Lovpreet, a Lucknow-based activist who works for transgender rights in Uttar Pradesh. “If the current government is not going to give us the right for same-sex marriage, we should remove the government in this election.”

The ruling party is yet to release its election manifesto, but the party is not considering listing LGBTQ issues in it.

A newly married same-sex couple from New York last year applied for an OCI (overseas citizen of India) Card, which would have allowed them multiple entries and a multi-purpose life-long visa to visit India, but the country did not recognize them as legally married and refused to issue it to them.

The couple filed a petition in Delhi High Court. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who is the central government’s legal representative, stated in response to the petition that marriage is permissible between a “biological male” and “biological female” and the government therefore cannot issue an OCI Card to their spouse.

Although India struck down a colonial-era law that criminalized homosexuality in 2018, there is still no law for same-sex marriage. The LGBTQ community has been demanding for years that political parties legalize same-sex marriage, but the issue is yet to appear in any party’s manifesto.

Lovpreet, who lives in Uttar Pradesh, believes that BJP is doing some good, like forming a trans advisory board last September.

“BJP is slowly moving towards being LGBTQ friendly, and if given the time and opportunity, it can do some good in the future,” said Lovpreet.

The Indian National Congress (INC), a leading central left-wing party, is also fielding its candidate in the state election, but the party does not see LGBTQ issues as important.

Dr. Shashi Tharoor, an MP and chair of All India Professionals Congress, the INC’s professional wing, refused multiple requests to speak on the legalization of same-sex marriage. The INC last week released its manifesto for the Uttar Pradesh election, but there were no promises for the LGBTQ community.

Former Defense Minister Jitendra Singh, an INC member who will set the party’s agenda ahead of the Uttar Pradesh election, also refused to speak about the legalization of same-sex marriage and other LGBTQ issues in the state and the country.

Ram Gopal Yadav, the leader of the left-wing socialist Samajwadi Party and the head of the Council of States (Rajya Sabha), the upper house of the Indian Parliament, in 2013 while speaking with the media explicitly said that homosexuality is “unethical and immoral.” But the Samajwadi Party has recently changed its tone regarding the community.

“With every aspect, whether it is farmers, whether it is women, whether it is children or the LGBTQ community, there will be continuous policy measures of the party that are progressive and liberal,” said Samajwadi Party spokesperson Ghanshyam Tiwari. “When the government is progressive and not bounded by dogma, then every issue related to any community has to be looked at in a manner that gives equal opportunity and be empathetic towards them. The more vulnerable the community is, the greater government needs to do,” he added further. 

The Mayawati Prabhu Das-led Bahujan Samaj Party, a national party that is running in the Uttar Pradesh election, has emerged as an LGBTQ ally. The party, however, has not released its election manifesto and it is yet to be seen if it will include LGBTQ issues.

There is no political party in Uttar Pradesh or the country with significant LGBTQ representation.

Tiwari in a statement to the Washington Blade said there is no plan yet for the Samajwadi Party to field candidates from the community in the upcoming election, but the party can consider it for the upcoming parliamentary election.

“The central government is not decriminalizing same-sex marriage. They are looking at the conservative vote bank,” said Preeti Sharma Menon, a spokesperson of the Aam Aadmi Party.

Aam Admi Party is a national party in the country. The party had fielded candidates in previous Uttar Pradesh elections but had no significant luck.

“To appease conservative voters, the ruling party, the BJP, is not taking steps to legalize same-sex marriage,” Menon added further.

The Aam Aadmi Party in the previous parliamentary election had a trans candidate from Uttar Pradesh. The party has expressed its desire to field other candidates in the state’s election from the community.

The BJP is ruling both the country and the Uttar Pradesh with no intention to support or address LGBTQ issues.

Senior BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar from the state of Maharashtra last year made several homophobic comments in Parliament. The party did not punish him, nor did other political parties condemn his statements.

It is yet to be seen how this election impacts policies of different political parties for the LGBTQ community in the upcoming parliamentary election of the country.

Mohit Kumar (Ankush) is a freelance reporter who has covered different stories that include the 2020 election in the U.S. and women’s rights issues. He has also covered NASA, the European Space Agency, the Canadian Space Agency and loves to help people. Mohit is on Twitter at @MohitKopinion and can be reached at [email protected].

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Canada

Liberal Party wins Canadian election

Prime Minister Mark Carney railed against US tariffs, sovereignty threats

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Prime Minister Mark Carney (Screen capture via AFP News Agency/YouTube)

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal Party won the country’s federal election that took place on Monday.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation notes the Liberals won 155 seats in parliament, compared to the 133 the Conservative Party won. The Liberals need 172 seats for a parliamentary majority.

Liberal Bruce Fanjoy defeated Pierre Poilievre, an anti-LGBTQ MP from Ontario who is the Conservatives’ leader, by a 50.6-46.1 percent margin.

The Liberals last month elected Carney to succeed Justin Trudeau as the country’s prime minister. Monday’s election took place against the backdrop of growing tensions with the U.S. that stem from tariffs the Trump-Vance administration has imposed against Canada, and suggestions the country should become the 51st state.

“Our strength lies in our resolve to work together,” said Carney on Tuesday in a post to his X account. “United, we will build Canada strong.”

Egale Canada, the country’s largest LGBTQ and intersex rights group, earlier this year announced it will not attend WorldPride and other events in the U.S. because of the Trump-Vance administration’s anti-transgender policies and “economic warfare and threats to our national sovereignty.”

“Democracy thrives when people engage, and our voices are used in a way where we can say we voted with pride,” said Egale Canada on Tuesday.

“As the new parliament takes shape, we recognize that the journey toward equity and inclusion — especially for 2SLGBTQI communities — extends far beyond election day,” added the group in its post-election statement. “The work of understanding, addressing, and acting on the issues faced by 2SLGBTQI people must be ongoing, collaborative, and grounded in human rights and lived experience.”

Egale Canada said it looks “forward to working with all members of parliament, both newly elected and returning, to help build a Canada where every person is treated with dignity, where diversity is celebrated, and where all are equal — and none are other.”

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Kenya

Kenya Red Cross-owned hotel to host anti-LGBTQ conference

Speakers from US, European countries to participate in May 12-17 gathering

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Plans to host a family values meeting next month in a 5-star hotel in Nairobi that the Kenya Red Cross Society co-owns have sparked an uproar among local queer rights groups.

The groups accuse the Kenya Red Cross of violating its Global Fund commitment of protecting key populations by allowing its Boma Hotel to host an “anti-gender and anti-LGBTQ” conference. 

Influential guest speakers from the U.S., the Netherlands, Spain, and Poland will preside over the Pan-African Conference on Family Values that will take place from May 12-17. The Kenyan advocacy groups say these speakers’ organizations are globally recognized for undermining LGBTQ rights.

“As the principal recipient of Global Fund in Kenya, hosting this event contradicts (the) Red Cross’s humanitarian mission and threatens the safety and dignity of people living with HIV, women and LGBTQ+ individuals, the communities that Kenya Red Cross Society has long committed to supporting,” the queer rights groups state. 

The LGBTQ groups that have criticized the Kenya Red Cross include Upinde Advocates for Inclusion, the Initiative for Equality and Non-Discrimination, and Gay and Lesbian Coalition of Kenya. They have also launched an online signature collection drive to compel the Kenya Red Cross to withdraw the hotel from hosting the “Promoting and Protecting Family Values in Challenging Times”-themed conference.

“The event’s so-called ‘family values’ narrative is a smokescreen for policies that push hateful legislation and promote death, discrimination, femicide, gender-based violence, and restrict fundamental freedoms across Africa,” the groups said.  

The pro-life Western organizations that are scheduled to participate in the conference include Family Watch International from the U.S., CitizenGo from Spain, the Ordo Luris Institute from Poland, Christian Council International from the Netherlands, the New York-based Center for Family and Human Rights (C-FAM), and the Foundation for American Cultural Heritage. Their local counterparts include the National Council of Churches of Kenya, the Kenya Christian Professionals Forum, the Africa Christian Professionals Forum, and the Evangelical Alliance of Kenya.

C-FAM President Austin Ruse; Family Research Council Vice President for Policy and Government Affairs Travis Wever; Global Life Campaign Executive Director Thomas W. Jacobson; and the Rev. Ricky Chelette, executive director of Living Hope Ministries, Inc., and president of the Institute of Biblical Sexuality are among the U.S. guest speakers. Other participants include Henk Jan van Schthorst, president of Christian Council International’s board of directors, Ordo Luris Institute President Jerzy Kwasniewskie and his colleague, Rafal Dorosinski, director of the group’s Legal Analysis Center. 

The Kenyan groups through their online petition — “Tell Red Cross Kenya Not to Give Hate a Platform” — has so far raised more than 1,000 of the 10,000 signatures they hope to collect. The petition is addressed to Red Cross Kenya Secretary-General Ahmed Idris and his predecessor, Abbas Gullet, who is the hotel’s director.

“We call on you to immediately cancel this booking and publicly reaffirm Red Cross’ commitment to human rights, health and inclusivity,” the petition reads. “Failure to act will raise concerns about whether (the) Red Cross can still be trusted by the community to lead with empathy and fight for their rights.” 

The Kenya Red Cross, however, maintains the Boma Hotel is a separate entity, even though public records indicate it is one of the facility’s shareholders.

The LGBTQ groups note the hotel should be a safe space that promotes inclusion, not platforms that enable “harmful gathering” for hate and exclusion by “dangerous groups.”   

“By providing a venue for this event, Red Cross directly enables a platform for hate and discrimination — a stark contradiction to the values of inclusivity, humanity, and nondiscrimination that the organization claims to uphold,” they said.  

The organizations further warn that proceeding to host the conference threatens the relationship between the Red Cross and the marginalized communities who have long depended on the humanitarian organization for support and protection. CitizenGo has nonetheless criticized the LGBTQ groups, which it describes as “radical activist groups” for “trying to silence a pro-family event” and asked the Kenya Red Cross and the Boma Hotel not to back down.

“These groups are calling the event ‘hateful’ because it affirms the natural family — marriage between a man and a woman — and the dignity of every human life, including the unborn,” Ann Kioko, the group’s campaign director for Africa and the U.N., said.

Through an online counter signature collection drive, Kioko holds CitizenGo and other groups won’t be intimidated, silenced or apologize to the queer rights groups for defending “our families, our faith and our future”.  

“The real goal of these foreign-funded activist groups is to impose LGBTQ and gender ideologies on Africa — ideologies that have led elsewhere to the confusion of children, the breakdown of family structures and the rise of sexual libertinism that results in abortion, STIs and lifelong emotional and psychological trauma,” Kioko stated.  

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India

Opposition from religious groups prompts Indian Pride group to cancel annual parade

Event was to have taken place in Amritsar on April 27

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(Washington Blade photo by Ernesto Valle)

Pride Amritsar, a student-led organization in the Indian state of Punjab, earlier this month announced the cancellation of its Pride parade that was scheduled to take place on April 27, citing opposition from certain religious groups.

The event, planned for the Rose Garden in Amritsar, a city revered as a spiritual center of Sikhism, had faced mounting resistance from Sikh religious organizations, including the Nihang Singh faction and the Akal Takht, the faith’s highest temporal authority. These groups labeled the parade as “unnatural” and urged local authorities to deny permission, citing its potential to disrupt the city’s religious sanctity.

In an Instagram post on April 6, Pride Amritsar organizers Ridham Chadha and Ramit Seth elaborated on its mission and the reasons for the cancellation. 

“Since 2019, we have organized peaceful parades and celebrations in Amritsar to connect and uplift the LGBTQIA+ community, with a particular focus on transgender individuals and their rights,” their statement read.

Chadha and Seth highlighted Pride Amritsar efforts in providing guidance, counseling, and job opportunities, which have been met with positive responses. However, due to opposition this year, Pride Amritsar announced the cancellation of the 2025 parade. 

“We have no intention of harming the sentiments of any religious or political groups,” the statement read. “The safety of our members is our top priority, and we will take all necessary measures to ensure their protection.”

Chadha and Seth spoke with the Washington Blade about their decision to cancel the parade.

They explained that resistance came from both religious and political groups who labeled the parade and its values as anti-Sikh and contrary to Punjabi and Indian cultural norms. Critics specifically objected to the event’s location in Amritsar, a city regarded as a sacred center of Sikhism, arguing that the parade would disrupt its spiritual purity.

Chadha and Seth stressed Pride Amritsar lacks political, financial, or legal support. Composed of students and young professionals, the group organizes the parade biennially, dedicating personal time to advocate for the LGBTQ community.

“We do it independently, crowdfund the parade and cover the rest with our pockets,” said Seth and Chadha. 

When asked by the Blade why Pride Amritsar did not approach the High Court or local authorities to protect the parade, despite the Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling that decriminalized consensual same-sex sexual relations, Chadha and Seth cited significant barriers.

“Pursuing legal action in India requires substantial resources, both financial and temporal,” they explained. 

Chadha and Seth also noted that such action could lead to public shaming and unwanted publicity for participants, potentially harming their careers in Amritsar. They therefore chose not to pursue legal recourse.

Chadha and Seth said Pride Amritsar does not have any plans to hold alternative events.

“We are still exploring options, but we are likely not holding any events this year,” they said, citing significant harassment that organizers faced and the need for time to plan how to best serve the local LGBTQ community moving forward.

“Our evaluation of what the biggest challenge is has changed after this year,” said Chadha and Seth to the Washington Blade. “The biggest challenge, by far, seems to be education. We need to educate the community about what the community is, does, and why it exists. Why we do parades. Why we dance. Why calling someone ‘chakka’ is harmful. How we actually fit into religion and fall within the guidelines.”

Chadha and Seth said organizing the parade in Amritsar since 2019 has been an uplifting experience, despite continued opposition.

“The moment you join the parade, chant a slogan, or sing a song, it’s transformative,” they said. “Fear vanishes, and a sense of freedom takes over.” 

The cancellation of the 2025 Amritsar Pride Parade has sparked concerns among activists in Punjab, as the Indian Express reported. 

The Punjab LGBT Alliance and other groups expressed concern that the decision to cancel the parade may strengthen opposition to future LGBTQ-specific events. 

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