Giving a ray of hope to many, an Indian transgender couple who both underwent sex re-assignment have tied the knot in a traditional Bengali ceremony, in what is believed to be the state’s first ‘rainbow wedding’. Surrounded by family and friends, the bride, Tista Das, 38, and groom, Dipan Chakravarthy, 40, took part in rituals in Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal state.
Tisha Das said told media that she battled for a long time to “achieve her identity as a woman, as a human being”. She said, “I was not even considered as a human being in this brutal society”.
This wedding of its own kind has become a benchmark and has given a ray of hope to the community inspiring them for leading a normal life and acceptance in society.
Gender Autonomy, Still Lacking in India
Official estimates for India’s transgender population are not known but they are said to number several million. They often live on the fringes of Indian society, with many forced into prostitution, begging or menial jobs.
Over the centuries transgender people have assumed different roles in society, from royal courtesans to participants in birth ceremonies and other auspicious occasions. They have waged a lengthy battle to protect their rights and end discrimination.
But the community, as well as human rights activists, have raised concerns that the bill’s language is unclear over whether it allows transgender people to self-identify.
Right of An Individual to Live As a Transgender
In 2018, the Kerala High Court refused to allow a habeas corpus petition filed by the mother of a transgender, asserting that the transgender had “the right to associate with like-minded people and cannot be compelled to stay at his parental home.” The court said that freedom of speech and expression guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India includes the right of a person to live as a transgender.
Honorable Supreme Court Says:
- On Tuesday, India’s lower house passed a transgender bill to enshrine the rights of transgender people in law. The bill is being discussed in the upper house.
- The Supreme Court in September 2018 in a landmark judgment legalized gay sex by holding that sex between two consenting adults is not a crime. A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court headed by CJI Dipak Misra began hearing a bunch of petitions in July this year, the final verdict was pronounced today. Section 377 of the IPC criminalizes unnatural sex between two individuals. The offence is punishable with imprisonment up to life.
- Also, the Honorable Supreme Court has issued a historic ruling in 2017 confirming the right of the country’s LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) people to express their sexuality without discrimination saying, sexual orientation is an essential attribute of privacy. Discrimination against an individual on the basis of sexual orientation is deeply offensive to the dignity and self-worth of the individual.”
- In 2014 India’s Transgender received recognition as the third gender from the Supreme Court. But still waiting to get equal access to sanitation. Days after the center allowed to use public toilets of their choice in April, Mysore introduced a special toilet for them in the city’s bus terminal. Now, Bhopal has introduced a toilet for the exclusive use of transgender people in the Mangalura area.
- The CBDT (central board of direct tax) has introduced a new column for transgender in PAN application form and the center has extended the deadline for citizens to link Aadhaar no. with the PAN to JUNE 30, 2018.
No matter how many major bills have been passed and judgments have been delivered, it cannot bring change when we won’t accept them. Acceptance is the key to development. In India, as LGBTQs have started accepting themselves as different, the public also have to accept them. We have to understand, its completely okay to be different, to feel different, these different people also deserve equality and no discrimination. In the series of numerous kinds of development, India is working on, the status of LGBTQ should also be on top. We hope to see India, with no LGBTQs being ashamed of being themselves.
