Reported by Mrinal Banik
Agartala: Members of the transgender community on Tuesday staged a protest outside the office of the Tripura Board of Secondary Education, alleging prolonged delays in correcting educational records to reflect their legally recognised gender identity.
The protesters claimed they had been approaching Board officials for nearly a year, seeking rectification of names and gender details in certificates, but no concrete action had been taken so far.
They questioned why the Board had not adopted a similar process when institutions like Tripura University and various colleges in the state were already updating records based on officially recognised gender identity documents.
Activists of the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) joined the demonstration in support of the demand. The protesters said the denial of corrected certificates was affecting transgender persons in pursuing higher education and employment opportunities.
NSUI leader Amir Hossain said the Board should ensure transgender persons are able to live with dignity and should not delay the process citing “lame excuses”.
Transgender activist Sneha Gupta Roy alleged that repeated meetings with Board officials over the past year had failed to produce any result. According to her, changes in officials and administrative delays have prolonged the issue.
She said transgender persons who obtain legal recognition of their gender identity through government-issued identity cards and gazette notifications should be allowed to update their academic records accordingly.
Roy further alleged that Board officials on Tuesday cited a pending case before the Tripura High Court and asked them to wait for the court’s verdict, a response the protesters described as harassment.