Assam CM Grants OBC Status To Transgender Community

Himanta Biswa Sarma, chief minister of Assam, announced OBC status for transgenders in the state. Original Id issued to Assam inhabitants. This historical move towards social inclusion which was made at one of the recent cabinet meetings, has been further heralded as a grand move towards social justice and empowerment of one of the most marginalised sub-sectors in the state.

CM Himanta Biswa Sarma’s Statement

Announcing the decision, Chief Minister Sarma said, “Today, the Assam cabinet has approved to provide social and backwards classes status to the transgender community. We will provide identity cards only to those people in the transgender community who are the original inhabitants of Assam.” He further said, “This is a historic step for Assam. The state will now recognize transgender persons under the SEBC category, in compliance with the Supreme Court's directive. This recognition aims to help integrate them into the mainstream of development and public welfare.”

OBC Status For Transgenger is For Only Assam Residents

The given benefits are only applicable to permanent residents of Assam. In Assam, Transgender people will not be given the OBC status even though coming in from another state to work or study or any other motives. Eligible persons will be issued with official identity cards that will enable delivery of benefits to the targets.

The 2011 Census reported 11,374 trans people living in Assam, but the activists note that this figure is far less than the actual one since there is underreporting and stigmatization. These gaps were realized in the Assam Policy for Transgenders, 2020, which sought better data collection and specific welfare programs. The reclassification into OBC is projected to benefit directly thousands of transgender individuals in the state that gain access to reserved seats in schools and colleges, employment in the state government, and various welfare schemes.

What does the OBC status mean to the Transgender community of Assam?

By awarding OBC status to transgenders, the Assam government is allowing these individuals a wide array of opportunities such as:

• Educational and government reservation
• Entitlement to welfare programs and scholarships
• Formal identity cards and legal identification Legal acknowledgment and official identity cards

This step places Assam in the same line as a group of modern Indian states such as TamilNadu, Kerala and Karnataka among others, that have already enacted such a progressive affirmative action program on the trans-gender community.

The context of the Legal and Social Situation

It is an ambitious policy step triggered by the 2014 landmark NALSA vs Union of India verdict of the Supreme Court which instructed the central and state governments to consider transgender people a third gender and extend the welfare policies to them. The decision by Assam is one step of bringing the vision on the ground, which has been just a paper in many states in this country.  

How did People React to The Announcement? 

Netizens are appreciating this move by posting comments like, “Good decision…on humanitarian grounds…welcoming decision.” There are some questions as well that are being put up like “why not general status?” “Why in OBC and not in other category?” 

As always there are mixed reactions that are being shared through comments. Some are concerned with the discrimination of the transgender individuals migrating to the state. According to government clarification only original settlers of Assam have to be eligible and the many who have migrated to Assam as a worker or student will be left out.

Nevertheless, in the most part there is a positive attitude, as many believe this is an urgent initial step. The issue now, as both members of the community and the authorities point out, is to make sure that the policy bears concrete results in the everyday life of the transgender population of Assam.

Why Is This Move Significant?

As was the case in Assam, and most of India, generations of socio-exclusion, discrimination and inability to receive basic amenities such as education and employment, have been faced by transgender people. Even the policy documents prepared by the Assam government emphasize the severe necessity to solve these problems and establish the environment where each person can live with dignity and equality. Inclusivity became a necessity because of normalisation of transgender exclusion in Assam as well as across India.  

The announcement of giving OBC status to Transgender in Assam is not merely a legal necessity but it is a formidable statement of acceptance and inclusion. This action is supposed to:

• Decline social stigma and discrimination
• Enhance the reach to education and employment
• Free socioeconomic mobility and economic independence
• Promote humanity over exclusivity 

What makes Assam special? 

• Targeted Inclusion: The policy of Assam is special as it tends to target the original inhabitants in such a way that the benefits are extended to the most marginalised members of the state.
• Administrative Support: Official identity cards will facilitate entry to government programs and avert errors or omission.
• Broader Social Implication: OBC status is not the only reinforcing step that the government has taken. Coupled with this ruling, the Assam cabinet has made a promise of 50% reservation of Anganwadi workers as supervisor, indicating the government has no intention of abandoning the idea of grassroots empowerment and social justice.

In short, the state taking into account transgender people as OBCs is a light of hope to many and it could be emulated by other states as well. This, as Chief Minister Sarma stated, is serving to “integrate them into the mainstream of development and public welfare’. The issue is now how to successfully implement the policy and make sure that all deserving people can obtain the pledged help.