Counsel Club
Counsel Club was a queer support group based in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It was founded in 1993 and functioned until 2002. It was one of the earliest queer support groups in India.[1][2]
History
[edit]In the early 1990s, a group of gay men and lesbian women set up the Counsel Club in Kolkata.[3] Their first meetings took place in secret at the home of one of the members.[2]
The group received thousands of letters, greeting cards, and postcards from queer individuals, activists, researchers, and journalists across India and abroad who were seeking information, friendship, and counselling.[4]
Publications
[edit]Counsel Club published a journal called Pravartak as its house journal. In 1995, after a charitable organization called Prabartak Sangha objected to the name, Counsel Club added the prefix "Naya" to the journal's name, renaming it Naya Pravartak.[5][6]
Activities
[edit]In January 1999, Counsel Club established Integration Society, a registered NGO.[5] Pawan Dhall, a founding member of Counsel Club, was among the organizers of India's first pride march, the Friendship Walk, held in Kolkata on 2 July 1999. Fifteen people participated.[7]
Legacy
[edit]Counsel Club continued to function as a non-registered, community-funded safe social space for queer people until the end of 2002. The archives of the group include between 2,500 and 3,000 letters, greeting cards, and emails. The archives are preserved by Varta Trust.[4][5]
References
[edit]- ^ "Pawan Dhall". Seagull Books. Archived from the original on 9 May 2026. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
- ^ a b "Gay activism in 1990s India". BBC. 5 August 2021. Archived from the original on 2 October 2025. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
- ^ "Over the Rainbow: In conversation with queer-rights activist Pawan Dhall". www.readersdigest.in. Retrieved 2026-06-09.
- ^ a b Dhall, Pawan (5 January 2023). "Indian activists embrace the power of queer archiving to rebalance history". Xtra Magazine. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
- ^ a b c "Digitized copies of Pravartak". Varta Trust. Archived from the original on 23 March 2026. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
- ^ "Counsel Club Archives". Varta Trust. Retrieved 2026-06-09.
- ^ Karia, Vedant (17 July 2024). "A walk down queer memory lane — 25 years after Kolkata's Friendship Walk". The Telegraph India. Retrieved 3 June 2026.