UGC to fund research projects on transgenders

MOVE IS LIKELY TO BE POLITICALLY INTERPRETED AS THE GOVERNMENT’S ATTEMPTS TO PROJECT A LIBERAL IMAGE

NEW DELHI: The University Grants Commission (UGC) will award major research projects to academics willing to undertake research into the lives of transgenders so as to assist in their inclusion within the society and bust myths around them.

“The UGC wishes to award major research projects to academics who can, in collaboration with community members and experts in the field, undertake ethnographic research on the life and culture of the TG community,” says a letter sent to Vicechancellors of all universities by UGC secretary Jaspal Sandhu.

“Such research, you would agree, will lead not only to a better understanding of the TG subculture but also help dispel several myths pertaining to the community embedded in popular discourse.” The letter invites academics from all universities to undertake this challenging task.

While this is an attempt to help mainstream transgenders, it is also likely to be politically interpreted as the government’s attempt to reach out to half a million transgenders in India and also project a liberal image.

The BJP-led government has faced criticisms in the recent past for the illiberal statements of fringe right wing groups.

The term transgender refers to people whose gender identity, gender expression and behaviour do not conform to those associated with the sex with which they were associated at birth.

The letter urges all universities to take immediate steps to ensure social inclusion of transgenders and safeguard their human rights and expresses the hope that all institutions are moving towards a TG-friendly infrastructure.