Transgender Reservation in India: An Atrocity Complaint

• The National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) has acknowledged an atrocity complaint against Uttar Pradesh’s Transgender Welfare Board member, Devika Devendra S. Manglamukhi, a strong proponent of vertical reservation.

• Manglamukhi, a Dalit trans woman activist, alleges that Manglamukhi routinely harasses and abuses trans activists who support horizontal reservations.

• Manglamukhi has rebutted the allegations, stating that the call recording is not her voice and there are no details of when the call recording is allegedly from.

• Manglamukhi also accused the complainant of “misusing the Constitution, and the transgender identity”, and insisted that the NCSC is “being taken for a ride”.

• The National Commission has asked the Saharanpur district administration and police to submit Action Taken Reports by January 17.

• Manglamukhi has been posting on her profile about her social work to uplift and empower the Valmiki community.

• The demand for quotas for transgender people in government jobs and education has grown since the 2014 Supreme Court’s direction for reservations.

• Devika, a trans woman, believes the community should fight for equality in society and vertical reservations.

• She insists that a person cannot continue with their socio-economic category’s caste identity after identifying as a transgender person.

• High Courts have interpreted the 2014 direction differently, directing the community to be provided horizontal reservations