‘Govt Has No Right to Ask Caste of a Person’: Bihar’s Transgender Leader on Census

The seven-party government in Bihar claims that the caste-based census will help improve the lives of people in the state. State transgender leader Reshma Prasad, however, claimed that questioning a person’s caste is a crime.

“Whenever caste becomes a topic of discussion in the society, they cannot discuss equality. As a result, inequality spreads in the society. I firmly believe that the government has no right to ask the caste of a person. Who is the government to ask someone’s caste. If they are interested in the welfare of the people, they should scrap the Special Marriage Act. Whoever talks about caste and religion is declared communal. The government should clarify the parameters on the basis of which it is conducting caste-based census in Bihar.

“The leaders here do not want Bihar to do away with casteism. However, there are many good leaders in Bihar who have gone ahead to break caste shackles and perform inter-caste and community marriages.

“If caste-based census is happening in Bihar, it is considered a crime. It is not rational to keep casteism alive in Bihar. It is against social equality and socialist values. The leaders of Bihar have been doing politics only on caste for years. When we are saying that we are from transgender community, the government has put us in OBC category which is based on caste.

The main opposition party in Bihar, BJP has already claimed that caste-based census will increase communal tension in Bihar.

Courtesy : Bharat Times

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