Rights

I dream of holding a pride march in Kashmir: Aijaz Ahmad Bund

Unlike other Indian states, LGBTQ community in Jammu and Kashmir did not revel in the joy of the Indian Supreme Court verdict that decriminalised gay sex. Kashmir has its own constitution and follows the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC), as opposed to the Indian Penal Code followed elsewhere in the country. In an exclusive chat with IBNS correspondent Sudipto Maity, the trouble torn region's prominent LGBTQ activist Dr Aijaz Ahmad Bund opens up about the scene in Kashmir and his dream of holding a pride march in the state. While, some legal experts have suggested that the Supreme Court verdict reading down Section 377 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) that criminalises gay sex, is valid in Kashmir, others have given out contrasting statements, claiming that only the draconian Section of the IPC was in contention before the Supreme Court and not the RPC that governs Kashmir. Dr Aijaz Ahmad Bund is one of the few and the most prominent LGBTQ activists hailing from the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, working in the face of physical threats in a difficult zone. more

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