Watch: Friends of Linger Rally for Gay Rights on ‘Head Held High’

Within days of the Supreme Court of India’s (S.C.) ruling on Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (which made homosexuality a criminal offence) in December 2013, New Delhi-based musician-writer Sharif D. Rangnekar’s rock band Friends of Linger performed their first single “Head Held High.”

Rangnekar says, “Our band had a date with Hard Rock Café [New Delhi] given long before and we thought this song would be a celebration of sorts and not a protest as such. But the S.C. order turned things around.” Recorded and released in 2014 with a video, their debut single gets a new video to celebrate Pride Month and renew the fight for LGBTQ rights in the country.

The video features stock footage, and clips sourced from friends as well as the LGBTQ community from around the globe, set to vocals by Smiti Malik, guitars by Adhir Ghosh (both from jazz/rock band Kitchensink), keys by Anindo Bose (fusion acts Advaita and Shadow and Light), drumming by Aveleon Vaz (currently part of rockers Menwhopause) and bass by Steve Peter. Rangnekar adds, “And then other individuals let us access to their material too, like Dimple Chaudhury, who shared photos of herself with her partner. To me this is what makes the video very special as well as personal for me.”

Watch the video for “Head Held High” below.