{"id":5520,"date":"2016-08-12T08:58:19","date_gmt":"2016-08-12T03:13:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pahichan.com\/?p=5520"},"modified":"2016-08-12T09:01:03","modified_gmt":"2016-08-12T03:16:03","slug":"progressive-modi-the-pm-speaks-on-transgenders-dalits-and-kashmir","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/progressive-modi-the-pm-speaks-on-transgenders-dalits-and-kashmir\/","title":{"rendered":"Progressive Modi? The PM speaks on transgenders, Dalits and Kashmir"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Dhrubo Jyoti\/New Delhi (Pahichan) August 12 –\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

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Many transgender rights activists fear that the prime minister\u2019s outreach might not translate into real change on the ground. (Raj K Raj\/Hindustan Times)<\/div>\n
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\u00a0After cows, Dalits and Kashmiris came the turn of transgender people.<\/div>\n
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi told his party MPs on Tuesday to reach out to the transgender community<\/a> <\/b>in their respective constituencies, setting them a target of meeting 500,000 people from one of India\u2019s most marginalised sections.<\/p>\n

This is possibly the first time that the BJP leader has reached out to the transgender community, often ostracised by society and shut out from jobs and education opportunities.<\/p>\n

\u201cHumanity is not confined to male or female. Go and meet them. Have meetings and rallies,\u201d Modi told his party members, hailing a bill conferring rights to transgender people as a \u201cgreat step for social reforms\u201d.<\/p>\n

Modi\u2019s comments aren\u2019t surprising though he leads a party that has been in the news for its deeply conservative views. It is in line with the views of new progressive Modi \u2013 a 2.0 of the Hindu Hriday Samrat if you will \u2013 who lashes out at once-patronised cow protection vigilantes, asks people to attack him instead of Dalits and loves Kashmir.<\/p>\n

For the past four days, the prime minister has sprung a surprise–indicating to the world that he is alert to mounting international criticism of his administration as a tech-savvy but culturally intolerant regime that is hostile to minorities and dissent.<\/p>\n

His paean to Dalits<\/a> <\/b>came shortly after the United States expressed concern over rising atrocities against the vulnerable community. He spoke on the spiraling violence in Kashmir<\/a> <\/b>more than a month after the first clashes and it came after his image as a pan-India leader was questioned in national and international media because of his silence.<\/p>\n

Every single of these messages appeared carefully tailored for an international audience and aimed at giving out the message that India is ruled by a global leader with progressive views.<\/p>\n

This is a sea change from the prime minister\u2019s earlier responses, when he chose to be silent and bulldoze through a torrent of criticism following Hindu hardline ghar wapsi conversion programmes, vitriol against alleged cases of \u201clove jihad\u201d and especially the mob lynching of Mohammad Ikhlaq over rumours that he slaughtered a cow.<\/p>\n

Even this January when India was rocked by protests over the death of PhD student Rohith Vemula in Hyderabad after alleged casteist hounding by university authorities, Modi chose to keep silent \u2013 making a short statement that further infuriated anti-caste activists and opposition parties.<\/p>\n

Most commentators attribute this change-of-heart to upcoming polls in a clutch of states where the desertion of the Dalit vote can sink the BJP. But apart from poll compulsions \u2013 after all transgender people aren\u2019t a significant vote bank — the statements hide a leader who has begun to realise that vitriol by constituents might give election dividends but doesn\u2019t play well in high diplomacy.<\/p>\n

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Transgender rights activists say that the new bill may curtail government benefits for them. (Praful Gangurde\/ HT file photo)<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n
\u00a0Of course, this comes at a cost \u2013 the undying love of hardline Hindu elements, who are already grumbling<\/a> <\/b>that the new \u201csecular\u201d Modi isn\u2019t the leader they voted for. The BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh have had a troubled relationship with oppressed communities of all hues \u2013 be it religious minorities, backward castes or the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community.<\/div>\n

Hindu hardliners have attacked couples out on Valentine\u2019s Day, have been accused of peddling violence and patriarchal norms that shackle women, and have called homosexuality an abomination \u2013 India\u2019s home minister Rajnath Singh called it a mental illness last year. Modi\u2019s overtures might further rupture his relationship with his core constituency.<\/p>\n

But a more pressing concern is whether the statements will inspire any real change. Dalit activists have already said they\u2019d prefer stricter implementation of anti-atrocity laws to impassioned appeals. Kashmiris have unequivocally rejected the prime minister\u2019s professed love for the Valley and his offer of development, saying they\u2019d rather see some real political change on the ground.<\/p>\n

The same questions abound over the issue of transgender empowerment. Some members from the community have welcomed the new transgender rights bill.<\/p>\n