Queer inclusion doesn’t start or end with a march. It is a value that is reflected in our work all-year round. So, when we celebrate Pride at Godrej Industries, it’s to celebrate our joy and kinship; to recommit to our work for queer inclusion; and to keep our momentum going.
This June, the Godrej DEI Lab hosted Pride @ Godrej 2026, in collaboration with Godrej Capital, Godrej Consumer Products & Godrej Properties. A big part of this day was the launch of the new book, Queer India Now in partnership with Westland Books, and the official, on-ground launch of the Godrej Foundation’s Queer India Fellowship. It was also just part of a vast, and very fun agenda.
The Pride March and the launch of Pride in Manufacturing Toolkit
Like every year, Godrejites at the head office marked Pride @ Godrej with the annual Pride march through Godrej One. As the clock struck half past three, the march commenced from the offices of our Godrej Living colleagues on the 11th floor, who came down to Godrej Capital to join our Pride Marshall for this year, Sudhir Sitapati, CEO and MD – Godrej Consumer Products Limited (GCPL), held up a Pride flag and led the procession through the building. As the sounds of the dhols sounded the fanfare, Godrejites from every floor left their desks and joined in! We made two stops on the way for a taste of classic Pride celebrations – fun, brilliant, gender-bending dances by queer performers, set to popular songs we all know and love. As we headed down the stairs to the atrium, a troupe of Lezim performers, bringing in the beloved sounds of the people’s music of our city and state, led the finale of the march. The awe-inspiring drag artists Emperor Naaz and Zeesh captivated the audience with their electric dancing, casting a rainbow of queer love and joy over our atrium.
We were then addressed by Pride Marshal Sudhir Sitapati. Sudhir reflected on the work GCPL has done on LGBTQIA+ inclusion over the years. He then launched the 'Pride in Manufacturing Toolkit,' a guide to building a more inclusive environment for LGBTQIA+ talent in manufacturing and FMCG organisations.
After one last dance, everyone quickly grabbed a rainbow cupcake (or two, or four) from the cafeteria and made their way to the Queer Bazaar. This year marks the fourth edition of Godrej Properties’ hugely popular platform to spotlight queer-owned businesses. This year’s bazaar featured some favourites from last year like the home-cooked, ready-to-eat delicacies from the wonder chefs at Moving Meals as well as the most gorgeous collection of handcrafted textiles from the heart of India by Salsette Collective; with new favourites like the sketch artist, Timtantoast.
Once our bags and stomachs were full, we went to the auditorium for the launch of Queer India Now.
Launch of Queer India Now
Parmesh Shahani, Head, Godrej DEI Lab opened the floor by thanking everyone for their relentless support over the years and expressed his gratitude to the audience for celebrating with us. He then invited Pirojsha Godrej, Chairman Designate - Godrej Industries, to deliver the opening remarks. Pirojsha reflected on the recent public commitment to 40% inclusion goals to craft a better tomorrow.
"I think at the core of [our vision for tomorrow] is fairness and respect and trust and taking everyone along. And I think those are values that have been at the core of the Godrej group throughout its history. And those are very much things we want to celebrate going forward," Pirojsha said.
Following this, Jamini Baviskar, Deputy Manager – Godrej Properties took over as the host of the evening. “I'm an out proud and valid transgender woman working at Godrej Properties,” she said while introducing herself. Jamini underscored the importance of safe workplaces like Godrej Industries for the LGBTQIA+ community and for her personally.
Jamini invited Karthika VK, Publisher, Westland Books, on the stage to share a quick update on the Queer Directions, the imprint spotlighting queer stories by Indian authors that Westland Books co-founded with the Godrej DEI Lab last year.
"What books do sometimes is enter direct conversations that are really important, that are political, that need nuance in a way that other forms of media do not always provide,” Karthika reflected. “We hope that Queer Directions as an imprint will create not borders, but bridges that would provide ways of communicating, of telling stories that would be shared rather than stories that would exclude or only include certain kinds of people and certain kinds of narratives."
Our Chief Guest for the evening, Justice A. P. Shah, took the stage for his keynote address. Opening with a commendation to the contributors of Queer India Now, Justice Shah went on to discuss the role of the judiciary, law, and the Indian constitution in advancing queer inclusion. He spoke about the impact that law can have on the lives of the LGBTQIA+ community.
"The path toward full equality requires addressing a whole bouquet of basic civil rights, such as education, housing, access to services, and the institution of marriage... But it is not just about marriage and the bouquet of rights that accompany it. We also need a comprehensive anti-discriminatory law. You could say that the courts provided a great foundation, an opportunity for social transformation, but the legislature has not been as responsive.”
“NALSA provided the right to self-identify, but the 2026 amendment to Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, has undone this completely,” he continued. “The law was inadequate and even misconceived, particularly because it appears to have been drafted without appropriate consultation with, or representation of, actual stakeholders. The law does not recognize the practical reality of transpersons who, due to violence and discrimination from biological kin, rely on a "chosen" family for support. The chapter on discrimination also does not have effective remedial measures like compensation for survivors or serious punitive actions against violators. This law is a classic example of why the fight for basic rights cannot be restricted to the courtroom.”
He concluded his speech with a quote from Rumi: "Listen with ears of tolerance! See through the eyes of compassion! Speak with the language of love."
The anthology’s editors, Dhamini Ratnam and Dhrubo Jyoti, accompanied by contributors Priya Dali and Shripad Sinnakaar, spoke about how Queer India Now came to be.
Dhamini contextualised the anthology through the changes in legal framework for LGBTQIA+ rights in India talking about public morality versus constitutional morality, the role of Dr B. R. Ambedkar and the importance of precise definitions.
"[P]recision is political. We know how the law for hundreds of years stayed vague and imprecise, rendering us into what Justice Shah, so astutely, called ‘unapprehended felons’ in the Naz v. Union of India judgment. Queer India Now shows us that with precision comes dignity, and with dignity comes plurality which is the true strength of any democracy," she argued
Dhrubo spoke about the ordinary textures of queer life in India that the anthology holds. "This book is for the people who held stories inside them, even when they didn't say it out aloud,” they noted. “And the stories that were held inside a body in silence, sometimes for decades, only to one day spout forth in an inland letter destined for an unmarked post box, hoping for a future better than what they had at present. You all made literature out of longing. This book is a thank you to all of you." Then they called the extraordinary Bombay poet Shripad Sinnakaar to serenade the audience with his words.
Shripad began his address by recalling an old memory, of the time he first visited Godrej One. That day, he met a group of Kothi people (a term adopted for people assigned male at birth who show varying degrees of being effeminate) for the first time. He accompanied them while returning home, walking to Vikhroli station. On the train back home, the Kothis introduced him to the 2x2 compartment, a clandestine space where queer men would meet. This inspired his poem ‘2x2 Courtship,’ which he then read for the audience. He concluded by reading his most beloved poem, ‘Begumpura.’
Priya spoke about ‘The 11th Direction aka Disha Pinky Shah,’ her contribution to the anthology, and about what visual art does that other forms cannot. "Queer art makes us feel sane. We have queer visual art through movies, through all the other mediums around us. It's in the book that we see here as well, in words. But what the visual aspect allows us to do is place a visual for something that's also not tangible. It allows us to document in a way that we can hand on. Because visual forms — like comics and illustrations — are static, and that staticness gives us the ability to just hold on to it," Priya said.
Building the Future of Queer Leadership
The afternoon was also a space for another kind of future-building — the launch of the Queer India Fellowship; the new editions of the Pride Internship by Godrej Properties; and the BeYou Internship by Godrej Capital.
Parmesh publicly launched the Queer India Fellowship. He briefly explained its structure—a 12-month leadership programme to identify a cohort of incredible young leaders from the LGBTQIA+ community across disciplines and provide them with tools to become pioneers in their respective fields.
“There have been so many funding cuts for LGBTQ rights all around the world, as well as India,” Parmesh noted in his address. “And at the same time we see rising interest…We feel that this fellowship is actually going to be a useful bridge between the amazing queer talent that exists in India as well as so many of these other spaces which can then be laboratories or spaces for this queer talent to go and flourish and lead…We believe it's going to help us create queer leaders as well as think of queer leadership as a different kind of model that we in India can then offer the world.”
He gave several examples of what the fellows’ background might look like. “We want them to be as diverse as possible. They can be from any part of India, any discipline. In fact, we are going to curate it in a way that each person is different from the other. So, someone in science can learn from someone from the humanities, from different regions, from different, of course, we're hoping to get the entire range of the LGBTQIA+ spectrum as well.”
The fellowship consists of four pillars—Queerness in Context, Transformative Leadership, Impact Journey, and Community Bonding. The first pillar will help the fellows understand where their queerness is situated. Under this pillar, fellows will read foundational queer texts across disciplines like law, technology, culture among others. The ‘Transformative Leadership’ pillar will help the fellows hone skills like conflict resolution, team building, and negotiation. With these experiences, the fellows will develop their personal project under the ‘Impact Journey’ pillar and receive mentorship from leaders across the globe under the ‘Community Bonding pillar.
Parmesh concluded his presentation with his vision for the outcome of the fellowship. “Ten years from now there will be 100 trained leaders,” he said. “We want to see at least three or four fellows in the Supreme Court. We want to see three or four CEOs. We want to see three or four heads of institutions. We want to see our people in positions of power as well.”
Following this launch, Zoya Deputy General Manager, Godrej Properties, flagged off the 2026 edition of GPL’s Pride Internship. “[Real estate:] it's 12% diverse representation, which is also mostly only women. LGBTQ and PwD [people] are not even counted. So, what we're trying to do is create that opportunity for people to enter real estate and experience this space,” said Zoya of the Pride Internship’s mission. Bhavya Misra, Chief Human Resources Officer, Godrej Capital, introduced Capital’s flagship BeYou Internship. As a young company, Bhavya explained to the audience, Capital seeks to build on the work that other Godrej group companies are doing. The business is expanding rapidly – they currently have over 100 locations in India – and eager to be led by diverse and brilliant talent. Finally, she invited Parmesh to felicitate the graduating cohort of the 2025 BeYou internship.
The showstopping performances weren’t over! After the felicitation, the dance group House of Sway took over the stage with their breathtaking queer Lavani performance. Lavani, deeply rooted in Maharashtra's culture, is an art form that tells stories of strength and beauty. Featuring a troupe of seven dynamic dancers, House of Sway delivered a medley of performances to the tune of some of Maharashtra’s most popular Lavani tracks. Shweta, Shreyas, Talash and Shamita donned striking Nauvari sarees while Darshan, Zain and Shadab wore dazzling kurtas. As the troupe swayed their hips to the music, the whole auditorium roared in applause and glee. It was a loud expression of queer joy, talent and community.
Following the performance, people headed to the cafeteria to engage in exhilarating conversation over literature, art, queerness and more over delectable snacks by the Elior team. Many joined a community-led jewellery-making activity organised by the Good & Green team in collaboration with TWEET Foundation. Others delved into queer books at the Crossword bookstall and spent some more time filling their shopping bags at the Queer Bazaar. It was a day that celebrated queer joy, in literature and in life; filled with magnificent moments which we will cherish forever.
Text by Pulakita Mayekar.
