Lockdown Diaries: Ashish Pandya, Sukhdeep Singh, Anwesh Sahoo continue their work for LGBTQ+ communities from their homes

The coronavirus lockdown in India, that has been carrying on from 25 March, is nearly four weeks old as we go to print. While this has been quite an anxious time for everyone, the situation has been especially tough for the LGBTQ+ individuals living away from home. Their family, work, and personal lives have come to a halt, affecting...

Lockdown Diaries: Anwesh Sahoo shares his gratitude for the real heroes during the lockdown in India

The entire frenzy around self quarantining in the very initial days of the 21 day lockdown here in India (which has now been extended till the 3rd of May) was baffling to me in the beginning. Perhaps because it reminded me of my 12th board exam preps from 2013, it didn't seem too difficult until I landed on the social media...

Over a third of children belonging to lesbian mothers are bullied

One in three lesbian mothers in Britain has experienced homophobia from other parents, while the same proportion have children who have been bullied for having two mums, according to a rare study of LGBT+ women. The online survey by research firm Kantar of more than 1,400 LGBT+ women – one of the largest of its kind – found 37% of...

Lockdown Diaries: Director-Producer Faraz Ansari raises funds to support transgenders and daily wage earners in the film industry

The COVID-19 pandemic has been one of the worst epidemics that the world has witnessed within living memory. The lockdown imposed by governments across the world has been a huge setback for industries across the world, and for many in the busy Bollywood industry, this shutdown has spelt doom for the thousands making their living out of it. Faraz Arif...

Lockdown Diaries: Ankit Bhuptani’s views on self-isolation and how our actions will define a generation

50 or 100 years from today we will not be able to talk about the year 2020 without talking about this COVID-19 pandemic. I wonder, will a teen of that time be able to believe that all the commercial planes of the world were grounded? Businesspersons, film-stars, industry leaders and other powerful people who hardly had time to eat a meal peacefully,...

Lockdown Diaries: Apsara Reddy fights against heightened abuse and vulnerability during curfew in India

Apsara Reddy is the first trans-gender Indian politician, who has led the way and been an inspiration to thousands in the community in India and across the world. The inspirational leader was appointed the National General Secretary of All India Mahila (Women's) Congress, in January 2019 by the Congress President Rahul Gandhi. The lockdown period imposed by the government of...

Proud of the Rainbow Pride

The Mumbai Pride March 2020 (#mumbaipride2020) organised by the collective called the Queer Azaadi Mumbai (QAM) and Humsafar Trust was held on February 1, 2020. Traditionally, since the last ten odd years, this march by the LGBTQIA+ has been held from the August Kranti Maidan, the same iconic park from where Mahatma Gandhi started the QUIT INDIA movement in...

What is Global Indian Stories?

Global Indian Stories is all about Indians being able to share their stories with their communities and around the world. Since we launched, we've had the pleasure of a wide variety of stories from countries across the globe. We're proud to present a selection from our archive, to give you a flavour of what globalindianstories.org is all about. Literacy and...

Equal rights for LGBT+ communities in India and Hong Kong still remains a far-cry

Leading publications in India and Hong Kong have recently reported on the legal challenges against discrimination of LGBT+ people in these countries. The battle for civil rights is far from over in India, where the Supreme Court de-criminalised same-sex relationships and discrimination against the entire Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community, through Article 377 in September last year...

Swarnavel Eswaran’s first feature film Kattumaram (Catamaran) gets a standing ovation at BFI during LIFF 2019

Kattumaram (Catamaran), the coming-of-age tale of Tsunami-survivors in a small village where a conservative maternal uncle supports his orphaned niece and nephew while they struggle with their simple but complicated lives, has been very well received by London film-lovers. As a part of the London Indian Film Festival, LIFF 2019, Kattumaram had its European Premiere at the iconic BFI...