Gopi Shankar resigns from National Council for Transgender Persons

Activist says ‘ceremonial’ position was not serving the needs of the transgender community

Intersex activist Gopi Shankar Madurai has resigned from the post of south regional representative of the National Council for Transgender Persons (NCTP) under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment on Wednesday, citing bureaucratic harassment and insensitivity.

“I am the only intersex representative in the NCTP, and probably the first intersex person to be appointed to public office. This position is on a par with the [post of] Under Secretary to the government. It should not be given as a lip service,” Mr. Gopi Shankar told The Hindu.

The activist claimed official apathy was among the reasons for his decision to quit the NCTP.

“A few months ago, I had arranged to meet some youths who had left home due to gender problems, near my residence [in Mamallapuram]. Some district administration officials and local trans/Hijra ‘jamaat’ members swooped on us as if we were terrorists, on the excuse that we were violating COVID-19 rules. My guests and I were abused verbally and manhandled, but there was no reaction to my formal complaints to the police,” charged Mr. Gopi Shankar.

The Ministry of Social Justice initiated an enquiry only three weeks after the incident. “Would they have reacted like this if someone else had been harassed? I have gone through so much to be here. I left my home at the age of 14. When they appoint a person like me, they need to be very sensitive to my position.”

The NCTP appointment was ceremonial and vested with nominal powers. “I am not given a salary for this job. In fact, the Ministry has yet to reimburse me for my trip to Delhi to attend their meeting in November, which cost me ₹30,000, some of which I had to borrow from friends and well-wishers. We do not have a nodal officer; it takes a long time for grievances to be redressed,” he alleged.

“Though the workforce is opening up to employ transgender people, there has been little progress at the grassroots. You don’t know who we are, but you want to give us rights. Nobody wants to listen to what we really want,” Mr. Gopi Shankar said.