Comments on: Not Welcome at the NY Parade: Gays and Lesbians

By: Wanderer

Wanderer — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 18:09:45 +0000

In the spirit of the article, I came across a beautiful story in Punjabi about two gay women. It is on a forum called Punjabizm

It has had over 1300 hits, which shows that there are people who think this is okay…yet I have found out that this story has never been published elsewhere because the Indian media are either too afraid, find it contraversial, or ar plain prejudice…

Enjoy

http://www.punjabizm.com/forums-piaar-da-naan-manzoor-savroop-27634-5-1.html

By: Archana

Archana — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 11:32:54 +0000

It’s 2009 and India is supposed to embody values of tolerance and pluralism. I can’t even believe SALGA was denied a place in the parade. I’m going to use the FIA form right now to write a letter.

By: bajuwali aunty

bajuwali aunty — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 20:32:21 +0000

When the L and Gs were marching last time, I waved to them merrily: one young man in a nice, ultra gaudy lehenga, another doing a slightly hijda type dance. I waved and smiled nicely, I think. They looked at me in horror and ducked under veils…. Bemused, I thought maybe they were software engineers undermined by acknowledgment from aunties.

By: Minal Hajratwala

Minal Hajratwala — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 02:41:35 +0000

I’m posting news updates on this issue as they happen. If you’re interested, please see http://www.minalhajratwala.com/blog .

By: DizzyDesi

DizzyDesi — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 00:04:09 +0000

Just heard the protest on NPR. There was more coverage of the protests than of the Independence day itself for what it was worth

By: Lionesspriyanka

Lionesspriyanka — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 23:59:31 +0000

I wanted to let you guys know that the protest went really well. There was a good turnout. There were minimal problems with the cops and we got a lot of visibility. Both, Sapna and I were asked by several press members to give interviews. Also, most of the straight desi crowd was very supportive.

By: Dr Amonymous

Dr Amonymous — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 12:41:45 +0000

Hi,

Bay Area folks have set up a very nifty form so that you can e-mail all the FIA people at once at this address: http://citizenspeak.org/node/1720 Your message would say the following, though you can tailor it:

From: Your Name To: dipakpatel@fianynjct.org, niravmehta@fianynjct.org, jmody@yahoo.com, hareshhemrajani@fianynjct.org, devenpatel@fianynjct.org, ahmedshakir@fianynjct.org, ypsoi@aol.com Subject: Shame on NY/NJ/CT FIA for excluding LGBTQ Indians Your Personal Statement I’m deeply disappointed that the tri-state FIA chose to exclude gay and lesbian Indians from the 2009 India Day Parade in New York City. 2009 was a special year for all Indians, because it marked the beginning of the end of the British-era restrictions on gay and lesbian Indians. All people of Indian origin have reason to be proud, seeing India throw off antiquated colonial laws and enter the 21st century. Why was the South Asian Lesbian and Gay Association’s application to march in the India Day Parade ignored, and their follow-ups not acknowledged? Why didn’t the FIA directly contact SALGA or other Indian LGBTQ cultural organizations to participate in the Parade on this particularly historic year? The FIA’s actions are an embarrassment to our community. I hope you will get in touch with SALGA to resolve this issue, and ensure that any issues are resolved before next year’s India Parade. Thank you. Your Name Your Organization 123 Your St. Yousville, YO 12345 Phone: (123)456-7890 Fax: (123)456-7890×123

By: Kabir

Kabir — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 08:16:44 +0000

lol @ straight people’s association, the whole world is a straight people’s association, unless explicitly stated otherwise

By: Manju

Manju — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 07:57:47 +0000

Would they allow something like South Asian Straight People's Association?

Lets not give SRK any more crazy ideas.

By: Dr Amonymous

Dr Amonymous — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 03:18:43 +0000

What’s amusing is when people conduct themselves in a discriminatory manner and then forget to take their contact information off the web

http://www.fianynjct.org/cms/Committee/2009ExecutiveCommittee/tabid/69/Default.aspx

FIA Executive Commitee

President: Dipak Patel 973-464-4515 dipakpatel@fianynjct.org

Executive Vice President Nirav Mehta 732-500-5165 niravmehta@fianynjct.org

Vice President Jaswant Mody 732-236-7084 jmody@yahoo.com

Secretary Haresh Hemrajani 732-766-8888 hareshhemrajani@fianynjct.org

Joint Secretary Deven Patel 732-710-1346 devenpatel@fianynjct.org

Treasurer Ahmed Shakir 917-822-2103 ahmedshakir@fianynjct.org

Immediate Past President Yashpal Soi 917-855-2057 ypsoi@aol.com

You can also find contact information for all their officials, including the people specifically in charge of the parade, at that website. However, I thought it would be most useful to identify a few key people.