Kolkata gets country's first transgender OT technician
Kolkata, June 21 : Breaking new ground, Kolkata's Jiya Das has become the first transgender Operation Theatre technician in an Indian hospital, but theatre artists and actors from the community still face discrimination in the culture-loving city, say activists.
Jiya, who once had to dance at gun point in soirees in Uttar Pradesh, is now working in a city-based super-specialty hospital, said Bappaditya Mukherjee, Secretary, Prantakatha, an organisation working for marginalised youth.
"For young people, it is very important to get livelihood. Almost one and half years back, we organised an event called 'Saathrangi'. During that event, a health entrepreneur said that he will take two members of the transgender community and train them as OT technicians.
"Today Jiya Das is the first transgender OT technician in the country," said Mukherjee.
Jiya is treated at par with others in the hospital, he said at a panel discussion titled "South Asian Dialogue on LGBTQI Youth and Livelihood Discrimination" at the American Centre on Wednesday.
However, Ranjita Sinha, member of the West Bengal Transgender Board, said problems of the transgender community are getting confused with female issues.
"I respect all members of LGBTQI community but transgenders are always visible, hence they face discrimination and violence all the time. The census still is not clear on the transgender community and we are mixing our issues with female issues," said Sinha.
"The West Bengal Transgender Board is supported by the women and child development and social welfare board. I have no idea where the movement is heading," added Sinha.
An activist-cum-theatre personality Anurag Maitrayee said that there is politics between the privileged and non-privileged within the LGBTQ community.
To understand the pulse one has to step out and visit the interiors to know what the person actually feels.
"For transgender people, monetary exploitation in the field of art and entertainment is tremendous, which must be addressed. We are made to understand that we are at least getting some work," said Maitrayee.
Samarpan Maiti, who finished second runner-up at the Mr Gay World 2018, shared his ordeal and how he faced discrimination in reputed institutes of Kolkata.
The condition in rural areas is even worse.
"I have seen parents cutting all financial aid for a lesbian girl and not letting them continue their education out of fear that if they are financially independent they will not succumb to the pressures of getting married. They are forcibly married off," said Subhagata Ghosh, one of the founder members of Sappho for Equality, a Kolkata based 19 year old organisation working for lesbians and bisexual and transgender women.
She also mentioned that the condition in the rural and suburban regions is all the more difficult, citing the recent suicide of two girls amid some evidence that they were in love.
"Now in that village parents are trying to restrict all the girls from going to school thinking they would become vulnerable and do something like this," said Ghosh.
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K’taka bypolls: Cong accepts Minority dept chief’s resignation amid claims of ‘internal conspiracy’
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Congress president D K Shivakumar on Sunday accepted the resignation of party Minority Department chairman K Abdul Jabbar and dissolved the committees constituted under him.
Jabbar announced his resignation on Saturday, a day after a group of Muslim leaders accused members of their own party of “conspiring” to defeat the official candidate in Davanagere South.
In his letter to the party, Jabbar said minority voters and office-bearers are the backbone of the Congress and deserve better.
Later, speaking to reporters, he expressed shock at the party office being used by some minority community leaders as a platform to attack senior leaders from the same community.
Jabbar, an MLC, was an aspirant for the Congress ticket from the Davanagere South Assembly segment.
“K Abdul Jabbar has tendered his resignation from the post of chairman, KPCC Minority Department. The resignation has been accepted, and he stands relieved of the post with immediate effect. Further, the KPCC Minority Department committee stands dissolved with immediate effect,” Shivakumar said in a statement.
A rift surfaced within the Karnataka Congress on Friday, a day after bypolls to two Assembly constituencies, as a group of Muslim leaders alleged an “internal conspiracy” by some senior party leaders to defeat the official candidate in Davanagere South, where the minority community has a significant presence.
They said the party had named Samarth Mallikarjun as the candidate after considering all factors and taking Muslim leaders into confidence. Despite this, a campaign—allegedly involving some within the party—projected the Congress as having “betrayed” minorities by denying them the ticket.
Chief Whip in the Legislative Council Saleem Ahmed, MLAs Rizwan Arshad and Yasir Ahmed Khan Pathan, MLC Bilkis Bano and other leaders addressed a joint press conference on Friday, alleging an “internal conspiracy”.
Though the leaders did not name anyone, party sources said their remarks were directed at State Housing Minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan, Jabbar, and MLC and Political Secretary to the Chief Minister Naseer Ahmed.
Khan, who had openly demanded the Davanagere South ticket for a Muslim candidate, initially stayed away from campaigning in the constituency, citing commitments related to the Kerala polls. However, he later addressed a press meet with Samarth’s father and Minister S S Mallikarjun at the request of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
Jabbar, too, had not actively participated in campaigning, despite hailing from Davanagere.
Meanwhile, MLA Arshad said on Sunday that the party leadership was aware of those who allegedly tried to divide Congress votes and help the BJP. “But, thankfully, none of this has had any impact, and the Congress candidate will win,” he said.
He also alleged that Muslims lost the Davanagere South ticket because some senior minority leaders demanded it exclusively for Jabbar, rather than for any other eligible candidate from the community, despite Jabbar not being acceptable to all.
“Some leaders in the Congress think they are the only voice of the minority community and that there is no one else,” said Arshad, who represents the Shivajinagar constituency in Bengaluru.
Bypolls for Davanagere South and Bagalkot were held on Thursday. The elections were necessitated following the deaths of sitting MLAs Shamanur Shivashankarappa and H Y Meti, respectively. Samarth is the grandson of Shivashankarappa.
Muslim disgruntlement appears to be a concern for the Congress in Davanagere South. With 14 of the 25 candidates in the fray belonging to the community, the party fears a split in votes that could benefit the BJP.
Given its significant presence in the constituency, the Muslim community had strongly demanded the Congress ticket. Some party factions had opposed giving it to the Shamanur family.
Although the Congress persuaded rebel candidate Sadiq Pailwan to withdraw, he remained in the fray as the move came after the deadline for withdrawal of nominations.
