Indian Cities Celebrate Pride

"This is a national coming-out party," said Alok Gupta, a lawyer from Mumbai, as he stood among several hundred activists in New Delhi. "This is a simple thing: We are seeking the right to love."

While small groups have marched in the eastern city of Calcutta in recent years, Sunday's events were the first gay pride parades in Bangalore and New Delhi. Several hundred people turned out at each of the three events.

The marches came days before the Delhi High Court is expected to hear arguments on overturning a law against homosexual sex that dates to the British colonial era. The law, which forbids sexual acts "against the order of nature," carries punishment of up to 10 years in prison.

The law is rarely enforced, but activists say it sanctions discrimination.

"Discrimination is widespread because there is no protection or law or societal understanding," said Lesley Esteves, 32, a gay rights activist who helped organize the New Delhi parade. "There's discrimination in the workplace; there's discrimination in the family - it's on every level."