Over 2,000 join LGBTQ march in New Delhi after COVID break

By SHONAL GANGULY
Associated Press

NEW DELHI (AP) — More than 2,000 members of the LGBTQ community and their supporters have returned to New Delhi streets after a three-year break caused by the COVID-19 pandemic to press for equal marriage rights. Dancing to drumbeats, they carried rainbow flags, balloons and placards as they walked for more than an hour to an area near India’s Parliament. Their hopes have been raised by India’s Supreme Court hearing petitions on granting legal recognition to same-sex marriage, which most Hindu nationalist leaders say is against India’s culture. Although there are openly gay celebrities, and some high-profile Bollywood films have dealt with gay issues, many in the community still face isolation and persecution.