Rafiul Alom Rahman, LGBT activist and founder of DU Queer Collective, says, “Just like the rainbow is a spectrum of colours, our flag is a spectrum of all sexualities.
Read: Rainbow of hope: Will India vote for an LGBT resolution at UN?Īshok Row Kavi, activist and founder of the Humsafar Trust, says, “During the Stonewall Riots in New York, the activists decided on choosing the colours of the rainbow as they could mean to represent all sexualities.” Echoing this sentiment, Harish Iyer, an equal rights activist, says, “I believe that the flag is about all cultures and each colour represents all shades of the human personality.” ‘Acceptance’ is a sentiment that resonates across the community. The flag was first used in 1978 at the San Francisco Gay and Lesbian Freedom Day Parade. The design of the flag is credited to Gilbert Baker, who designed it when, in the year 1977. Activists and participants at the recently held Gurgaon’s first pride parade. The original flag had eight stripes, but in its current form, it has six, namely red (life), orange (healing), yellow (sunlight), green (nature), blue (harmony) and violet (spirit). As June - which is celebrated as the LGBT pride month - draws to a close, we speak to some members and activists from the community to understand what the flag represents. If you always wondered what the LGBT rainbow flag meant, here we help you decode it.
