Rainbow Lit Fest (RLF), South Asia’s leading queer and inclusive literature festival, will be held on 6–7 December 2025 at Gulmohar Park Club, New Delhi, bringing together writers, actors, activists, journalists and community leaders for two days of conversation and storytelling that centre gender and sexuality while addressing issues such as consent, representation, visibility and lived experience. The festival programme foregrounds themes including morality and sexuality, queer ageing, bodily autonomy and stories from the margins, creating space for honest dialogue, community-led learning and practical conversations on wellbeing, safety and inclusion.

RLF 2025 will feature panels, performances and film screenings that explore how identity, agency and belonging are negotiated in families, institutions and public life; sessions will combine lived testimony, research and cultural critique to make these conversations accessible and actionable for audiences. The festival is supported by partners committed to inclusive cultural engagement: Durex The Birds & Bees Talk as Official Health Partner, The Lalit Group, Mariwala Health Initiative, Kunzum, Blossom Kochhar Aroma Magic, AvianWe, Yuvaa, Excurators and several others.

Sharif D. Rangnekar, Festival Director, Rainbow Lit Fest, added, “Rainbow Lit Fest is built on community voices and the conviction that storytelling can shift attitudes. This year’s programme deepens that work by pairing lived experience with practical conversations about safety, dignity and inclusion. We’re grateful to our partners and speakers for helping us make the festival a space of empathy, learning and solidarity.”

Speaking on the association, Ravi Bhatnagar, Communications and Corporate Affairs Director, South Asia, MENARP and Africa, Reckitt, said, “At Reckitt, we remain committed to fostering diversity, inclusion, and meaningful dialogue as essential foundations for building informed and responsible communities. Durex The Birds and Bees Talk's partnership with the Rainbow Literature Festival enables essential conversations into a cultural setting that celebrates identity and expression. With a focus on open dialogue around consent, we aim to empower individuals with the confidence and knowledge to create safe, respectful, and equitable communities.”

Over the five editions, the Festival has platformed over 250 speakers from different parts of the world, from Moirang in Manipur to Vancouver in Canada. Over two dozen artists have held the stage and 26 queer-run businesses have been supported. Therefore, the Festival has reached more than 2.7 billion people.

This may explain why so many partners have come on board in support of the Festival. As Gaurav Dhingra, Director, Defence Bakery says: Being part of Delhi’s heritage means creating a space — and a table — where everyone belongs. Adding to this, the creative director at Excurators, Minhal Hassan, points out, “Literature becomes a bridge between communities, and this festival is a bold step towards a more expressive, empathetic India.”

As Rainbow Lit Fest 2025 approaches, the festival reiterates its commitment to creating a space where conversations are honest, perspectives are diverse and stories are shared without hesitation. Each edition aims to strengthen understanding across communities by foregrounding voices that often go unheard. While the predominant languages are English and Hindi, this year, through the Mariwala Health Initiative, sign language interpreters will be available.

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