"People with privilege, only upper class and upper caste, savarna people can occupy that mainstream, larger level space and we are completely erased from the histories," said Grace Banu, the founding director of the Trans Rights Now Collective.
There are innumerable sections that have faced prejudice and discrimination persistently but the most downward plunge of the lowest section of our society is Trans Dalits. The Trans Dalits have been perpetually facing discrimination over the centuries and have been incessantly ignored by the state as neither does the state bothers to provide adequate representation to Trans Dalit in the great walls of parliament and nor does it take the trails and tribulations of the Trans Dalits under the purview of their policies.
Equality is the fundamental right of every citizen but some strong voices from Dalit Trans community shacks the world whenever they unapologetically tells their experienced narratives of the entrenched discrimination and stigma faced by their community on daily basis. The Dalit Trans faces trajectory from education to employment and unawareness about their miserable existence creates no havoc at the numerous councils created for the rehabilitation of such depressed sections. They are at the intersection of caste and gender where they are left with fewer avenues for social support. Dalit Transgender people are often subjected to brute discrimination by the upper caste transgender people with no rescue.
The Dalit trans have to find a method to escape the vicious discrimination on the basis of Transphobia, Patrarichy, and Casteism which accentuates their lack of choice and opportunities. They attack the state for their entrenched "occupational fixity" as sex workers and beggars where they are violently questioned by the Brahmins who views sex work and begging as taboo rather than labour as such occupations digress from their perceived notion of purity and pollution.
The Trans Dalits are not only born as victims of social evils but they have also put forward their strong resent towards it. One such social evil is Brahmanical Patriarchy which practiced overlapping discrimination on the basis of gender and caste where, in both respects, they belong to most downtrodden section of society. Under Brahmanical Patriarchal Society, Dalit Trans have suffered economic vulnerability, extortion of human rights and humiliation. But they continued to protest against the binaries imposed by the Cis-Brahmins who often asserts their power position with an oft-quoted credulous justification of maintenance of social heirarchy, an ingredient of anicent Indian society.
Even the age-old documented history of discrimination and prejudice have been maligned and given a new face in favour of Sarvarna. (Savarna is a Brahmin gotra that comprises Kanyakubja Brahmins who are the descendants of sage Savarna Muni. The origins of Savarna gotra can be traced back to the origins of Kanyakubja Brahmins in Kannauj, Uttar Pradesh.)
The tradition of erasure of Trans histories is a recurring phenomenon where the oppressors posit reinforcement of phobias and stigmas. It gradually took a sky high- increase when the Sarvana Trans were given a place in "THE NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR TRANS PERSON'' which made it exponentially easy to keep a history of their glory. Dalit transgender people, who find themselves at the intersection of their caste identities and their diverse notions of gender are always the last people who make it into the annals of history. Stories of the resistance of Trans dalits and their evolution are labelled as background noise , rather than an act of revolution by the humans which sort to ensure freedom from caste hierarchy and cis-brahmical patriarchy.
After perpetual collective efforts, some allowances are sanctioned to the Trans community but they are often hegemonized by Sarvarna Trans depriving the whole trans community of an equal access. The invisibility of caste fractures caste resistance and has kept resources away from caste oppressed Trans folks. Such brute casteism amongst the Dalit Trans paved way to NALSA judgement of 2014, where the court took the revolutionary step of acknowledging the Trans community under "Other Background Category" and hence, providing them the benefits of reservation. During proceedings, the hegemony of the Sarvarna Trans was overlooked as well as mischaracterization of Trans women and ignoring other marginalized groups under the umbrella took place. Note even a cursory glance was given to casteism among Trans folks. The reservation was indeed a applaudable step but such a step paved the way for Sarvarna trans to deny caste and benefit from it legally. Dalit queer people are not even acknowledged by the Judiciary, leave alone state and society which has an unfamiliar terrain ridden with taboos.
It is said that a person volunteering to do social work should be guided to NGOs. But India is in more darkness than it seems as Indian NGOs are often reportedly sanctioned as casteist spaces where even the recruitment is on the pretext of caste. As they say " Sun sets with the reminder to rise", one such victorious moment was in 2019, when Madras High Court issued notice to the Tamil Nadu government to follow through the recreational rights for Trans folks and recognize separate reservations for Dalits and Adivasi Trans folks.
Earlier, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Karunanidhi created history by becoming the first leader in country to announce law by government for providing services and helping transgender people by establishing a TRANSGENDER WELFARE BOARD. This board works towards the assured availability of resources such as affordable houses, surgical facilities and safe access to healthcare, etc. A month ago, the Delhi Government did a commendable job by establishing separate toilets for Trans people in Delhi area.
"Nothing lasts forever", the same way the oppression towards the Dalit Trans community will not last. As they say "Journey begins with small steps", our journey of achieving equality has begun with such small steps where the amendments in the constitution and state policies has not taken place in vaccum but is the fruit of collective efforts of Transgender community who fought for their equal rights tirelessly. The triumphs of the Dalit Trans community are a ray of hope for all Indian who are hoping and working to build a progressive and equitable society in the near future.