India, April 15 -- Come June, we will have a flood of corporate logos in rainbow hues, tokenistic social media posts and proclamations of solidarity. But while companies (and seldom, the government) celebrate pride month, queer persons across India continue to face daily violence-ignored by the state, dismissed by law enforcement, and normalised by society.

In February, members of Sappho for Equality, a Kolkata-based queer rights organisation, were brutally attacked by a mob. Their only crime? Existing as queer persons in a country where legal protections remain largely theoretical. Recently, members of Tapish Foundation, a community-based organisation working towards transgender rights, turned to social media to speak out about the cont...