Caste Atrocity Complaint in UP | 09 Jan 2025

Why in News? 

Recently, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) has acknowledged an atrocity complaint filed against a member of Uttar Pradesh’s Transgender Welfare Board. 

• The movement for horizontal reservation for transgender individuals in government jobs and education is gaining momentum in northern India, inspired by activists in southern States.  

 Key Points 

• Horizontal and Vertical Reservations: 
  • Vertical Reservations create a separate quota category under which all transgender individuals qualify, regardless of their socio-economic background. 
  • Horizontal Reservations allocate a percentage of seats for transgender individuals within each socio-economic category, addressing the layered discrimination faced by marginalized caste trans people. 
  • Trans activists nationwide advocate for horizontal reservations, highlighting vertical quotas' failure to address caste-based discrimination within the transgender community. 
• NCSC Action on Complaint: 
  • NCSC issued notices to the Saharanpur district administration and police, based on a complaint by a Dalit trans woman activist. 
    • She alleged that a member of Uttar Pradesh’s Transgender Welfare Board, harassed activists supporting horizontal reservations. 
    • She submitted a recording where the member allegedly used casteist and transphobic slurs, including deliberate misgendering. 
  • The member denied the allegations, claiming the voice in the recording was not hers and questioning the legality of recording calls. 
    • She accused the complainant of misusing constitutional provisions and plans to file complaints with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and NCSC. 
• Debate on Reservation Policy: 
  • The 2014 Supreme Court judgment directed reservations for transgender individuals as “Socially and educationally backward classes (SEBC),” sparking differing interpretations. 
    • In Madhya Pradesh, transgender individuals were added to the State OBC list in April 2023. 
    • High Courts, including Karnataka, Madras, and Calcutta, have ruled in favor of horizontal reservations. 
• Diverging Opinions on Reservation: 
  • One perspective supports vertical reservations, asserting that discrimination against transgender individuals stems from gender, not caste.  
    • It challenges the idea that transgender individuals retain their caste identity after transitioning, referencing the 2014 Supreme Court judgment. 
  • The opposing view critiques this interpretation as overlooking the caste diversity within the transgender community, emphasizing that horizontal reservations address the layered discrimination faced by marginalized caste transgender individuals. 
• Broader Implications: 
  • The Supreme Court refused to clarify the ambiguity in the 2014 judgment in March 2023. 
  • The debate underscores the need for nuanced policies to ensure equitable representation for transgender individuals across socio-economic categories.