Walking the Walk follows the participants of Hyderabad’s queer Swabhimana(self-respect) pride march in February 2015.

The walk draws inspiration from the most recently successful social movement which led to formation of a brand new state in India, Telangana. This film demonstrates how a group of unfunded individuals embarked on a quest for freedom in organizing this pride. It shows how a collective of activists do more than talk the talk; they set into motion a political movement that celebrates small successes, demands resources for working-class transgender people, stands up to police violence, and allows the community to grieve for lost loved ones.

In India, the most visible face to the queer community – the Hijra community – also is the most victimised: rape, violence, discrimination, and even death are motifs of their daily existence. To a lesser degree, the other transgender, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and queer-identified Indians go through similar ordeals. The film also brings attention to these gruesome acts of violence to raise awareness within the mainstream society.

Walking as a form of protest against discrimination and exclusion has a long history in India. Dr. Ambedkar’s historical Mahad Satyagraha in 1927 protested caste discrimination at one of its fundamental levels: access to water. It was Gandhi’s walk, Salt Satyagraha in 1930 against the unfair salt tax of the British that ignited the people to take to the road. Since then countless anti caste and anti colonial marches have galvanised the masses to fight for freedom – but these struggles must be kept vitally alive today. It is important to not only fight the British colonial residue in the form of an archaic Sec. 377 (that criminalizes homosexual behaviour) but also to fight the deep rooted stigma in the society and bring it to understand and accept alternate genders and sexualities. A public walk aims to do just that. Queer Indians have learned not to hesitate to talk the talk. This film shows how they also walked the walk.

All are welcome.