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Bollywood films increasingly explore LGBTQ, intersex issues

Actress Celina Jaitly has appeared in U.N. ‘Free and Equal’ campaign

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Celina Jaitly (Photo courtesy of Celina Jaitly)

Music, dance, color, compelling stories and drama: Welcome to the world of the Indian film industry. 

With the production of more than 1,500 films every year, the industry is the largest in the world. Movies like “Dangal,” a 2016 film about wresting, impacted Indian society’s views towards girls. In a country with limited awareness of Tourette’s syndrome, the 2018 film “Hichki,” which means “hiccup” in Hindi, successfully sensitized audiences.

But the Indian film industry before 2015 failed to highlight an integral part of Indian culture: The LGBTQ and intersex community.

The 1971 movie “Badnam Basti,” which means “Infamous Neighborhood” in Hindi was dubbed as India’s first gay film. The movie disappeared into oblivion soon after its release, and the 35 mm film print was only recently discovered in a Berlin archive. The Central Board of Film Certification, a film certification body under the Indian government’s control, in 1971 certified the film as A-rated, meaning for adults only. According to Hari Om Kapoor, the son of “Badnam Basti” director Prem Kapoor, the film never explicitly showed homosexuality but implied it through scenes.

When India was going through a tumultuous time in 2004, and the political landscape was changing, “Girl Friend” appeared on large screens. 

Although it was not the first lesbian feature film, it portrayed a lesbian character as evil and stereotypical. The film explored a love triangle between two girls’ best friends and a man. One girl ā€” Tanya, who played by one Bollywood’s biggest stars, Isha Koppikhar, soon realizes she is in love with her best friend, Sapna, who Amrita Arora plays. But Sapna is in love with a man, Rahul, played by Ashish Chaudhary. When Rahul realizes that Tanya is too close to Sapna, making him uncomfortable, he vindicates Tanya for the troubled relationship. The film then ends with the gruesome murder of Tanya by Rahul and Sapna, portraying Tanya and Rahul as heroes, and a lesbian character, Tanya, ends up becoming evil. This film received poor reviews from film critics.

“Indian cinema has played an important role in conditioning the mindsets of Indians of all backgrounds, and while the recent it has made great leaps in the types of cinema being attempted, most Hindi films still thrive on the offensive and stereotypical portrayal of the non-binary gender characters,” said Celina Jaitly, a former Miss India and one of the most popular Indian actresses. 

Jaitly, through her performance in various big films, won millions of hearts in India and globally. Her activism in India for LGBTQ and intersex equal rights attracted the endorsement of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, which in 2013 made her an Equality Champion. Jaitly has supported the U.N. Free and Equal campaign to counter homophobia and transphobia. 

“I have always wondered as an actor, why a gay or a trans person is constantly seen as outside the bounds of ā€˜normal.ā€™ Ironically, despite the rampant transphobia, one particular trope is extremely popular in Bollywood, even after so many years, and that is cross-dressing men,” she told the Washington Blade. “Trans people are abnormal but cis men in drag are applauded. Every time a ‘hero’ dresses in drag it is considered to be iconic piece of performance, itā€™s always been difficult to wrap my head around that one. Casting trans and gay people in trans roles is still a challenge as cisgender actors consider it as a loss of opportunity to win awards, and producers/directors would rather cast cis actors who pull in an audience rather than a trans or a gay actor who pulls in the character.”

Jaitly, who have worked in the Indian film industry for more than a decade, appeared in “Seasons Greeting” last year in which a trans person is the lead actress. 

Jaitly said she has fought for LGBTQ and intersex rights in India for years, and the reason for which she agreed to work in “Seasons Greeting” is that the director Ramkamal Mukherjee cast a trans woman for the first time in a trans lead film. Jaitly told the Blade that she believes in the importance of trans/gay cast in a trans/gay role, and only they can and should portray and become the beacons of reflections of the agonies and ecstasies of their journeys no matter what the script.

“Filmmakers hold supreme responsibility in being sensitive, empathetic, and rational while attempting to make films on the said theme,” said Jaitly. “And as complex, as it may seem, the underlying principles of treating people respectfully and equally is a no-brainer and requires no special education. Cinema like literature is the reflection of society and not only does it influence the society but has great impact on successive generations.”

In 2008, the star-studded romantic comedy film “Dostana,” which means “friendship” in Hindi, also attracted criticism and praise for depicting a gay couple. 

Hollywood sensation Priyanka Chopra played a central role, with megastars like John Abraham and Abhishek Bachchan. The film explores the world of two men living in Miami who pretend to be a gay couple so they can live with a charming girl (Chopra), and they both eventually fall in love with her. Many critics argued that the film mocked LGBTQ and intersex people and making fun of the serious subject. But some critics also said that the presence of megastars like Chopra helps make audiences feel comfortable about the issue.

The Blade reached out to Chopra for a comment, but the actress did not respond.

With the advent of cheaper mobile data in India after 2015, more people are aware of LGBTQ and intersex people, and the Indian film industry is making LGBTQ and intersex-based films more than ever. 

Maanvi Gagroo, a prominent Indian actress, in an email to the Blade said that there was hardly if any, LGBTQ and intersex representation in Bollywood for the longest time. And whatever little there was, was almost always comedic. Gagroo believes comedy can be a great tool for social change.

“it was always the manner or the nature of the humor that was problematic for me. Often the jokes were at the cost of the gay/queer characters, and audiences were meant to laugh AT them rather than WITH them. These characters never had any sort of redemption, no arc and often created and/or perpetuated outlandish, garish stereotypes!” said Gagroo. “There is hope though. I see makers becoming much more sensitive towards the community. And this change is parallel in society as well. I mean we only decriminalized homosexuality a few years ago. Now whether Bollywood is mirroring society or vice versa, I can’t comment but the change is positive for sure.”

Gagroo’s first LGBTQ and intersex film was “377 AbNormal,” is based on the Indian Supreme Court ruling in 2018 that decriminalized homosexuality. The film explored the five people who challenged Section 377, a colonial-era law that criminalized consensual same-sex sexual relations.

“‘377 AbNormal’ was actually very educational for me. While I pride myself as an ally, I was completely ignorant about the journey of the movement and what led to the monumental verdict of 2018. I knew I had to be a part of the film from the time I first heard the concept,” said Gagroo. “Again, that was another film where the director, Faruk Kabir, was extremely cautious of not only getting the film factually right but also portraying the entire process sensitively. We would often choke up and would have to stop shooting because all of us would get so emotional.”

“In terms of preparation, I didn’t need to work on sensitizing myself on the topic,” added Gagroo “I was there. I was ready to tell that story and I felt I had to do it well without minimizing anyone or anything related to the film.”

Although “377 AbNormal” was the first LGBTQ and intersex film for Gagroo, it was not the last. 

Gagroo in 2020 appeared in “Subh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan,” a film that Hitesh Kewalya directed.

The film explores the story of a gay couple who have trouble convincing their parents to accept their relationship. The film generated a buzz at the box office. While talking about the film, Gagroo, who also starred in it alongside megastars like Ayushmann Khurrana, Jitendra Kumar, veteran actress Nina Gupta, and Gajraj Rao, said that the film came with empathy and a respect and that the intent of the film is clear.

“Our director, Hitesh Kewalya, was very clear right from the start, that he didn’t wish to delve into the gruesome hardships that the gay community is subjected to, but aim to normalize a lot of the conversation around it,” said Gagroo. “It dealt with so many different social issues even beyond LGBTQ. Even while shooting you could see the cast and crew evolving and their growing comfort with the topic was palpable.”

While talking with Blade, Kewalya said that things changed, and people became more aware of the issue, which led to the making of “Subh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan.” He argued the Section 377’s abolition made it possible to make such films. Kewalya also noted that Indian society was already talking about the issue, so making such a film became easy.

“It was challenging because there was no precedent to it. In a commercial film like this, where a top star is headlining the film, and a top production house is backing it, and all the great actors backing it,” said Kewalya. “It was also challenging because it is a sensitive topic in our society. Even the LGBTQ community was never happy with the kind of representation that was happening in the cinema.”

According to Variety, India produces films in staggering 41 languages, mostly regional. In 2017, Lokesh Kumar released “My Son is Gay,” a Tamil language film. The story revolves around a school principal and her only son. The mother-son duo shares a strong bond, and the mother soon finds out the hard truth that her only son is gay, which leads to a drastic change in her life.

“I am glad many people supported and showered a lotta love for our little indie feature film ‘My Son is Gay.’ I have attended an LGBTQ film festival once, where I have seen many queer films across the world and also got to meet many community members. That’s when I realized there are only very few Tamil films which showcased queer characters and there are no full-length gay-themed films as such,” said Kumar. “I really felt the need to tell the stories like ‘My Son is Gay.’ So, I have decided to meet LGBTQ members and their parents and did my research, wrote the story which is based on many real incidents. It wasn’t an easy journey at all, as there were very less support from people around me considering the theme of the film. Many actors and technicians were hesitant to involve. There weren’t many producers who wanted to back this project. However, producer Anil Saxena, an Indian citizen who lives abroad, Cyril D’souza and actor Anupama Kumar understood the importance of this story and they backed me. Finding the right cast and making the cast, crew understands the importance of such stories and making them confident and comfortable to play the characters was really a challenge. Am glad I didn’t give up.”

While LGBTQ and intersex films are doing well in India and globally, in 2022, another film, Junglee Pictures’ “Badhaai Do,” generated a buzz among the masses. Star-studded films with casts like Rajkummar Rao, actress Bhumi Pednekar, Sheeba Chaddha and Chuma Darang helped the film highlight the LGBTQ and intersex issues in India. The film tells the story of a gay cop who enters into a sham marriage with a lesbian teacher to convince their family that they are living a normal life.

“The films that came before us had already placed the LGBTQIA+ issues and concerns in the mainstream space. Not having the burden of explaining an ‘issue’ was liberating for us as we could focus on aspects of representation while negotiating with our own heteronormative conditioning without worrying about having articulate and politically correct sounding characters,” said “Badhaai Do” director Harshavardhan Kulkarni. “It helped us locate the film in familiar realities of caste, class, and patriarchal family units. I feel that too often, we tend to gloss over the fact that sexuality is only one aspect of our being, and it exists within the many other aspects which govern daily life in large parts of our country. I feel that we need to do more to understand and educate ourselves about this. Until we do that, our understanding of the real-world problems faced by the LGBTQIA+ community will remain limited.”

In recent years, the Indian film industry has released some critical films that show real-world issues of the Indian LGBTQ and intersex community. Films like “Badhaai Do,” “Subh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan” and many more have not only created an impact on Indian society but also started the discussion.Ā 

Samantha Ruth Prabhu, an Indian film star who won millions of hearts across India and numerous awards for her contribution to Indian cinema, told the Blade that Indian movies and the film industry are constantly evolving.

“I do believe we have a long way to go before mainstream films refrain from crudity, insensitive humor and homophobia completely,” said Prabhu. “I am extremely proud of having been a part of a path breaking and ambitious film like ‘Super Deluxe.’ The film tied many intricate stories to an overarching philosophy, so I wouldnā€™t say it was only about a transgender person. The characters portrayed by me and Mr. Vijay Sethupathy (an actor who appeared in ‘Super Deluxe’ with Prabhu) were similar in that they both exhibited their own brand of bravery.”

Prabhu has joined the cast for her next LGBTQ and intersex film, Arrangements of Love. Wales-based BAFTA-winning director Philip John is also joining the team as director. The film will revolve around an Indian man in Wales who visits his homeland to find his estranged father. Prabhu will be playing a bisexual detective who becomes part of the search.

“The industry is evolving-slowly but surely. There was a time when people were forced to tuck away a very real part of themselves in the way they told their stories, in a bid to conform. That thankfully has changed,” said Prabhu. “Directors and scriptwriters are being more real, and the audience is here and ready for it!”

Ankush Kumar (Mohit) is a freelance reporter who has covered many stories for Washington and Los Angeles Blades from Iran, India and Singapore. He recently reported for the Daily Beast. He can be reached at [email protected]. He is on Twitter at @mohitkopinion

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India

Indian government announces equal opportunity policy for transgender people

Privacy among regulation’s key tenants

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(Photo by Rahul Sapra via Bigstock)

The Indian government has announced a first of its kind equal opportunity policy for transgender people.

The policy will prohibit the disclosure of a trans person’s gender identity without their consent as the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Rules 2020 requires. The Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry says the Equal Opportunity Policy for Transgender Persons will encourage the fair treatment of trans people and create workplaces free from discrimination, harassment and bias. 

The policy seeks to ensure a trans employee’s the right to choose a pronoun, gender and a chosen name ā€” every business, non-governmental organization and other employers in India will be required address the trans individual with the chosen names in all workplace communications. The Indian government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has circulated the notice to all the states and chief secretaries and asked them to ensure the swift implementation of the policy.

The notified policy highlights the importance of maintaining confidentiality of gender identity. 

“Information related to gender identity will be treated with utmost confidentiality,” it reads. “Employees are expected to respect the privacy of their colleagues and refrain from disclosing any such information without explicit consent.”

The policy also states a business’ HR department will launch an inquiry that could lead to sanctions if the policy is violated. The policy also prohibits bullying against trans people in the workplace.

“Harassment or bullying based on gender identity is strictly prohibited,” it reads. “Any reported incident will be promptly and thoroughly investigated, and appropriate corrective actions will be taken.”

Every organization will have a grievance redress system in order to address policy violations. Workplaces will also be required to have infrastructure facilities for trans employees ā€” unisex bathrooms and amenities that include hygiene products, for example ā€” for trans people to effectively discharge their duties.

Sudhanshu Latad, an advocacy manager atĀ Humsafar Trust, an organization that promotes LGBTQ rights in India, told the Washington Blade he supports the initiative, while adding a person’s identity does play a role in their experiences.

“The care and support, let’s say in this case a trans person requires will be very different than support a cis woman will require,” said Latad. “They need different short of bases to be covered to be able to perform to the same expectations that a cis man like me would require to perform in a situation or a role.” 

“It is important to give everyone an equitable platform, this is a welcome step because it discloses that the government is keen on working with various communities,” he added. “This formal acknowledgement or expression of interest in including gender minorities at workplace by the central government is a welcome move.”

Latad nevertheless told the Blade the policy alone “would not be enough” to address discrimination based on gender identity.

“There needs to be enough focus dissemination of this policy within the existing workforce,” he said. “Until and unless a senior manager from the government understands the use and need of pronouns in the communities … the implementation of this amazing policy will not happen on the ground.”

Latad told the Blade that sensitization, roundtables and equal dialogue will help unlearn and then learn which is the way forward for providing equal rights to the community. He said the use of chosen pronouns does seem like a small effort, but it does take a lot of effort and it is important. Latad added everyone, not just employers, needs to be taught equality.

Doctor Yoga S. Nambiar, founder and director of Global Rights Foundation and the first trans person in India to hold a PhD in mental health, said the new policy is good. They noted the government has announced many policies since the Supreme Court issued its National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) vs. the Union of India ruling, but they’re only on paper.

“Till the time the government does not take the initiative to take care of the policies, nothing is going to work,” said Yoga. “Government promised housing for trans people, government promised transgender cell in police stations, nothing has came in force as of now. So, if things workout, it’s good, if not, we are struggling anyways. We are fighting for our rights.”

The Supreme Court in the NALSA case in 2014 ruled in favor of the trans community, saying state and central governments must fully recognize trans people under the law in order for them to receive an education and health care without discrimination. The Supreme Court also said trans people will be considered a “third gender.”

Ankush Kumar is a reporter who has covered many stories for Washington and Los Angeles Blades from Iran, India and Singapore. He recently reported for the Daily Beast. He can be reached at [email protected]. He is on Twitter at @mohitkopinion. 

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New Delhi high school students champion LGBTQ rights

Tagore International School’s Breaking Barriers program making a difference

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Tagore International School in New Delhi (Washington Blade photo by Ankush Kumar)

NEW DELHI ā€” New Delhi woke up to a frosty morning on Feb. 3. The air was crisp and biting, as a thick blanket of fog enveloped the surroundings in a ghostly haze. Amid this wintry scene,Ā Tagore International School – Vasant Vihar bustled with life, its buildings standing strong against the chilly breeze while teachers hurried for an outdoor tour on the weekend.Ā Ā 

In India traditions and customs sparkle like jewels in every corner. In the vast land, where old beliefs often hold strong, Tagore International School in South Delhi is a special place where something magical is happening. The school is becoming the beacon of inclusivity. 

The Washington Blade visited the school and talked to the students, board members and its project coordinator. 

While talking to the Blade, Vaanya Kalra, a 12th grade student at the school, said her parents are understanding and supportive. Vaanya, with a smile on her face, said she had free access to the internet when she was younger. It was during this time that she discovered a campaign called Breaking Barriers at her school that aims to support and raise awareness about LGBTQ rights.

“Breaking Barriers has existed for the past 10 years at my school, and I kind of always wanted to join it,” said Vaanya. “I did when I had the opportunity to join it.”

Vaanya, with a mixed feeling of sadness and anger in her eyes, opened up about her journey and said people were reacting differently to people who were different. Vaanya, who has always been an empathetic person, saw unnecessary hatred around gender and sexuality over the internet, and it became difficult for her to ignore it. She excitedly said she had time, energy and empathy and decided to join Breaking Barriers at her school.

Vaanya told the Blade she had the conversation with her friends and family before she joined the campaign. Her family was accepting of everything. She confidently shared that she enjoyed her journey in Breaking Barriers while supporting the LGBTQ community in her school and campaigning for it in other schools. Vaanya said she is considering higher studies in international relations.

While talking to the Blade, Vaanya expressed her extreme displeasure with an Indian news outlet for accusing Breaking Barriers members of ‘brainwashing children.’ She said that when she went online for a meeting on Breaking Barriers activities, random people took over the platform to dictate how wrong this campaign was.

“It was a very difficult journey,” said Vaanya.

Tagore International School Student Development Advisor Shivanee Sen joined the interview virtually from New York and discussed the campaign’s background. 

She said Safina Ameen and Sohini Chakrabarti were student leaders and participated in the South Asia competition for an expansive school-wide social background and Shivanee chose to join the group. Sohini, Safina and Shivanee, at their young age, sat together and decided to work in gender space. While the discussion was going on, Shivanee suggested working in the field of gender and sexuality, and the other two happily agreed to work.

Shivanee said the initial group discussion was about working on women’s rights issue, but her idea was to work on other populations who suffer discrimination in India. Shivanee’s idea led the group of three young women to work on LGBTQ rights in India. Shivanee sent Sohini and Safina home for their parents’ consent and they luckily gave it. The group then started to work on LGBTQ rights at the school level.

From left: Sohini Chakrabarti and Shivanee Sen at a UNESCO conference.(Photo courtesy of Priyanka Randhawa/Breaking Barriers)

Sohini, one Breaking Barriers’s founders, said that there was an institutional void around this thematic area across schools in India.

“These things are not being discussed in schools. I was also 13 years old when we began. So as a young kid who was trained by professionals from NGOs, and because we were on the field working on gender rights at the same time, I was talking to students older than I was, and teachers about sexuality which was quite strange and jarring to some people to have like a school-wide campaign on this thematic, because of its central kind of overarching challenge,” said Siddhi Pal, one of Breaking Barriers’ original members. “It was really hard for us to take the campaign to different schools as our work was labeled as criminal, illegal and brainwashing. Those kind of things were a huge barrier, but apart from that we were so onboard. We pushed through it and made it work. But 10 years ago subject mattered the most as we were all kids.”

While answering what kind of resistance the campaign faced from the parents, Shivanee said not much because all members joined in with pre-parental consent. Shivanee further said that in the past 10 years, her Breaking Barriers campaign that supports the LGBTQ community at schools rarely faced parental resistance.

“I am quite surprised that in past 10 years we haven’t really had parental pushback,” she said. “They might not be okay with their kids joining the campaign, but no parent has taken it upon themselves to try and stop the workshops happening at school.”

Expressing concern about how an Indian news outlet published a homophobic article about Breaking Barriers and Tagore International School, Vaanya said with extreme confidence that when negative news about the campaign and the members, especially in a newspaper, comes out that means the campaign is making a change.

Siddhi joined the interview from London and said the biggest source of support is when new students enroll each year. That’s when they see what their peers are doing and that helped further inspire the campaign.

“What I have heard from others over the years, people actually aspire to join the campaign as they get into more leadership position,” said Sohini. “It’s interesting to see as it was hard to start it off, and there were lots of challenges in the beginning, not to say there are not now, but to keep it going has been easier because every year more students come in, there is more and more information about the campaign. So, to keep it going has been really amazing.”

Tagore International School students (Photo courtesy of Priyanka Randhawa/Breaking Barriers)

Tagore International School Project Coordinator Priyanka Randhawa told the Blade the campaign selects the office holders from ninth, 10th, 11th and 12th grades ā€” its president or vice president typically comes from the older classes, while any interested students can join it. The Breaking Barriers team at the school is turning the campaign into a movement and taking sessions in other schools as well.

“We go to other schools and take up sensitive issues with them,” said Randhawa. “At the workshop, we show a presentation in other schools, and explain terminology related to Breaking Barriers, we share the stories of transgenders and we try to touch on emotional aspects also.” 

“These workshops are meant for high school students only. We also do workshops for educators for sensitization,” added Randhawa. “We have also collaborated with NGOs like Naz Foundation, they train our students and sensitize on LGBTQ community.”

Priyanka said the campaign encourages other schools to start their own Breaking Barriers groups.

Jiya Chawla, a student at the Tagore International School and member of Breaking Barriers, told the Blade in New Delhi that she, along with Vaanya, joined the campaign four years ago.

“We have been to multiple schools. At least 20 schools offline and online we have been to more than 40 schools,” said Jiya. “We faced questions that were a homophobic point of view or a transphobic point of view. But we never said no you are wrong. We always take our time and try to understand where they are coming from. We try to break that stigma. We know that one session is not enough to break down generational prejudices, so we do face a lot of backlash sometimes, but social media has really come to our aid now. Because everybody is already aware of what this community is all about. So now, we don’t have to explain what the community is, but why equality is important.”

On the question of changing behavior outside the Breaking Barriers, Sohini told the Blade she expected the backlash and when she was going around campaigning for the LGBTQ community at Tagore International School in New Delhi. Her parents curiously asked her to do a presentation for them.

“It is a taboo topic, people don’t want to engage with you. But I was personally surprised by how curious people around me were,” said Siddhi with a big smile on her face. “My parents, once were like oh you are going around, doing this presentation, so why don’t you do it for us? I think that was one of the toughest initial presentations for me because you sit down with your parents and you go through talking about sex and sexuality.” 

“It was really surprising in the beginning, even when we started doing presentations for teachers, I think teachers had a lot more questions than students in the beginning,” she added. “My friends were more willing to engage and then family, of course there are people who do not want to engage at all as well.”

A 15-year-old student at Delhi Public School in 2022 died by suicide after being bullied for his sexuality at school. The administration did not take any action, even though his mother filed a complaint. 

Vaanya said it is important to create a safe space for students at school in order to adequately respond to these concerns. She said administrators and teachers were very supportive.

“Ensuring kids that it’s okay to feel different, it’s okay for you to have a different sexuality or act differently is very important. We have created a safe space, people understand that you do not have to bully others for it and they do not have to hate others for it,” said Vaanya. “Nobody is hating someone for this or actively bullying someone for this. We have a very strict anti-bullying policy as well, so we have managed to create a safe space for everybody.”

Ankush Kumar is a reporter who has covered many stories for Washington and Los Angeles Blades from Iran, India and Singapore. He recently reported for the Daily Beast. He can be reached at [email protected]. He is on Twitter at @mohitkopinion. 

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India’s Jharkhand state to create welfare board for LGBTQ community

Top official unveiled plans on Jan. 16

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(Image by Bigstock)

India’s mineral-rich Jharkhand state is ready to set up a welfare board for the LGBTQ community. 

Kripanand Jha, secretary of the state’s Women, Child Development and Social Security Department, on Jan. 16 told local reporters that work has begun to create the welfare board for the LGBTQ community in Jharkhand.Ā 

State government officials says the board will exclusively work toward the welfare of the community.Ā Jha said the board will soon be set up and activated under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary at the state level.

“At district level, respective deputy commissioners will head the board,” he said. “A delegation of LGBTQ (people) in the past met us with this demand to work on issues concerning their welfare in a focused manner. Government has decided to work in that direction.”

Unlike otherĀ statesĀ in India that include Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Tripura and Mizoram, Jharkhand does not have a transgender-specific welfare board. The unavailability of trans welfare boards in the state has created serious problems for trans people who lack access to social security, education, housing, employment, health care and skills training programs.

Jharkhand’s government, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, the party that Chief MinisterĀ Hemant SorenĀ chairs, is in a coalition with the Indian National Congress, the national party that opposedĀ marriage equalityĀ in the Supreme Court.

Jharkhand has been the land of tribals, forests and minerals for centuries, yet the state is facing development issues. 

In some indigenous tribes of the state, such as the Ho tribe, homosexuality has been acceptable for years. 

Homosexual men are called “Kothi Panthis,” and there is no stigma attached to it. A 2001 report notes the Ho tribe’s population is approximately 700,000 and it is the fourth most numerous tribe in the state, but Jharkhand still has no welfare board to implement policies for the LGBTQ community. 

The state’s LGBTQ community has “Other Backward Caste II” or OBC II status. 

The Indian government uses OBC as the collective term to classify castes that are educationally and socially excluded from society and offers policies ā€” quotas in government jobs and education ā€” to bolster their position in society. Jha told the local media that Soren’s government is preparing an integrated plan from which the community will benefit.

“If the government is trying to set up an LGBTQ welfare board, I think is fantastic,” said Souvik Saha, an LGBTQ activist and founder ofĀ People for Change,Ā one of the premier organizations in Jharkhand. “It is a fabulous step if the government is serious about considering the community. In terms of understanding the problems of the community and looking beyond the understanding of transgender people.”Ā 

“Till now, the entire understanding of the community was limited to ‘T,’ the transgender people, and there was not much idea about what others stood for, even under the trans community, there was not much idea about intersectionality and how they impact,” added Saha. “So, if the government has said that it is a positive step and it is a welcoming step.”

While congratulating the Jharkhand government, Saha suggested the government should have consulted LGBTQ organizations in the decision-making process because they better understand the community’s situation. 

Saha told the Blade that if the government is working with the LGBTQ community, the upcoming board should work on issues that include awareness and education about the community in all government departments, schools, police, legal departments.

“They are not aware of the community as of now,” said Saha. “For them the entire understanding stops at transgender people because of the Transgender Protection Act, there is no separate act for LGBTQ people.” 

“The first investment the government should make is to make people aware of the entire spectrum of the community,” added Saha. “The challenges that the LGBTQ community faces in Jharkhand are multifold.”

Ankush Kumar is a reporter who has covered many stories for Washington and Los Angeles Blades from Iran, India and Singapore. He recently reported for the Daily Beast. He can be reached at [email protected]. He is on Twitter at @mohitkopinion. 

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