On February 4, 2025, the Godrej DEI Lab hosted India’s Queer Futures at the Godrej One Auditorium. This event was organized in collaboration with our partners, Dasra, a leading strategic philanthropy foundation, and the Keshav Suri Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Lalit Suri Hospitality Group, for an unprecedented celebration. The partners launched the Pride Fund, India’s first philanthropic fund dedicated to supporting grassroots civil society organisations working for LGBTQIA+ people.
Open to the public, the event attracted a diverse crowd, including key leaders in the Indian queer advocacy space, writers and artists, and a queer community that has long seen Godrej One as a safe space and a queer home in the city, thanks to the decade-long efforts of the Godrej India Culture Lab, a predecessor to our DEI Lab. On arriving at the Godrej campus, attendees were greeted by a striking nine-foot-long Pride flag hanging across three floors in the atrium. Inside the auditorium, guests received a leaflet outlining the key findings of Dasra’s report on the landscape of queer philanthropy in India. It doubled up a cheat sheer on Pride Fund. We were also proud to hand out copies of the “ThisAble Me” handbook, a brief explainer on disability inclusion in the workplace produced by our colleagues at Godrej Properties Limited.
Parmesh Shahani, head of the Godrej DEI Lab, hosted the afternoon. He began by welcoming everyone and expressing his gratitude for being part of an organization that prioritizes inclusion. Parmesh introduced the Lab’s film Pride at Godrej, which showcased Godrej’s decade-long efforts at LGBTQIA+ inclusion.
Following the screening, he presented a headcount of LGBTQIA+ employees at Godrej then went on to discuss various initiatives Godrej has been part of to foster a safe and welcoming world for queer folx, including its collaboration with the UN in 2017 for the global launch of standards to prevent discrimination and the introduction of the Godrej Trans Manifesto in 2018. Parmesh emphasized that India’s Queer Futures builds on Godrej's ongoing commitment to inclusion, expressing hope that the audience would continue to view Godrej as their queer home. He then invited Nisaba Godrej, Executive Chairperson at Godrej Consumer Products Limited, to deliver the opening remarks.
Nisa began by thanking everyone for their support for India’s Queer Futures. Quoting an excerpt from Steven Pinker’s book Enlightenment Now, she noted the importance of rationality and liberality in global societies turning away from violence and towards inclusion. She also brought along 20 copies of the book as gifts for the audience: “First come, first serve,” she quipped. “Don’t fight.”
Pinker’s book shows that despite backsliding in some societies, the world has turned towards greater LGBTQIA+ inclusion in recent years. She further highlighted significant milestones, such as the reversal of Section 377 in India and Thailand’s recent move toward marriage equality, noting that over 30 countries now recognize same-sex marriage. Concluding her remarks, she said, “The Pride Fund represents our constitutional values of liberty, equality, dignity and justice and I hope it will in the coming days be a real force good."
Yash Thakoor and Pratyaksha Jha from Dasra presented the report findings, highlighting the vital contributions that grassroots civil society organisations make to LGBTQIA+ life in India. Key highlights included a historical overview of queer policy, mapping current queer needs, key organisations, and the overall funding landscape in India. One finding revealed that India, with 18% of the world’s population, receives only 1% of funding for queer causes. Additionally, many grassroots organizations struggle to secure funding due to the lack of an FCRA license.
Radhika Piramal addressed the audience next about the importance of the Pride Fund. Radhika elaborated on how the Pride Fund, founded by Godrej, Dasra, and the Keshav Suri Foundation, will provide a three-year support to eight organisations with a corpus of Rs 2 crore. She explained the selection process and urged the audience to spread the word about the Pride Fund to ensure better support for many more organisations. Finally, Parmesh, Radhika, the Dasra team, and the Keshav Suri Foundation come together to launch the Against All Odds report.
Launch of Against All Odds Report
The launch was followed by an engaging panel discussion. The panel featured Dr Aqsa Shaikh (Jamia Hamdard, Delhi), Maya Sharma (Vikalp Women’s Group), Chandini (Director of Payana), Radhika Piramal (VIP Industries) and Keshav Suri (Executive Director – The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group). Parmesh Shahani moderated.
When asked about his motivation to contribute to the Pride Fund, Keshav replied, “I think the future of the world is India and the future of India is queer.” Radhika, on the other hand, found her motivation after the disappointing verdict on marriage equality in India. “I live in two worlds—the corporate world and the world of the LGBTQ+ community. Maybe my role is to be a bridge between these two worlds.”
On being asked about the support grassroot organisations need required in addition to funds, Maya proposed for more dialogues between funders and grantees and inclusion of beneficiaries during such events. Chandini advocated for an inclusive process in requesting for funds. She noted that smaller organisations are not able to submit proposals due to language barriers. Dr. Aqsa Shaikh, who served as a jury member for grantee selection, remarked that the Pride Fund arrives at a crucial moment in queer historyand sees the Pride Fund as a beacon of hope for the LGBTQIA+ community.
The panel ended with the panellists sharing the vision for India’s queer future. Chandini shared, “I want the entire trans community to experience the warmth and dignity that I experienced over the course of this event.” Radhika expressed her desire to live in a country “where you can serve your country and be proud in the way the country treats you.” Dr. Aqsa, meanwhile, said that India has the potential to become a vishwaguru – a teacher to the world – in queer rights, saying, “We’ve had Make in India. Let’s now have Pride in India.”
Saurabh Kirpal delivered the closing remarks, highlighting that support should stem from compassion, but also because when queer people are allowed to be themselves, they contribute to the flourishing of the economy. He concluded by addressing the queer individuals in the audience, "it does get better but only if you want to make it better.”
After Saurabh’s remarks, the heads of two of the grantee organizations shared what the Pride Fund means to them and the communities they serve. Sadam Hanjabam, founder and CEO of Ya_all, talked about the lives of queer folx in Manipur (where Ya_all is based) and how the Pride Fund’s support prevented the organisation’s closure due to paucity of funds. A spokesperson from Sappho for Equality talked about need for data on queer populations and improved access to basic facilities like healthcare.
The evening ended with a captivating Kathak performance by Aditya Garud, set to a soulful melody with Punjabi and Urdu lyrics. Next came a delightful gathering in our cafeteria, where everyone took the opportunity to connect, share common interests, and explore new ones, all while enjoying the delicious cupcakes from Zainab Patel’s Trans Cafe. The venue also had stalls set-up by Aravani Art selling beautiful prints depicting queer life and books by our panellists Maya Sharma, Saurabh Kirpal and Parmesh Shahani with Elphie Comics courtesy of the Lalit Group. As we talked, laughed, and celebrated our friendships, India’s queer future looked more welcoming than ever.
Text by Pulakita Mayekar.