No room for one's pride
Compounded discrimination
'Vaanavil' — meaning rainbow — is also used sometimes pejoratively, particularly through social media, as a label of exclusion. This extends to brokers and landlords. As a result, in Chennai, some owners prefer that the members of the LGBTQIA+ community keep their orientation hidden, so as to not 'cause discomfort' to other residents.
Harish S, an arts and culture programme coordinator, shares, 'If you stay closeted, you're a coward. If you're too visible, you're a problem.'
The burden multiplies for queer individuals from marginalised caste. Grace Banu, a trans woman and Dalit trans rights activist, shares that while the tenants' 'saviour complex' may extend to upper caste trans persons, the struggle worsens for Dalit and Adivasi trans persons. 'I have shifted 22 houses in 15 years,' Grace says. For most SC and ST trans people, being part of a group is the only way to obtain a rental home, she adds.
She also points out that some owners survey the permanent address in their ID proofs to figure out which area (and, in turn, caste) they are from.
'Finding someone's caste is very easy in India. It starts with a simple: 'Where is your native place?' Which temple does your family worship in? What is your last name?' says an agitated Grace.
This leaves most trans women with no choice but to reside in unsafe and unsanitary conditions, paying higher rent and deposit than other tenants, notes Jaya, a trans woman, general manager of Sahodaran, a trans welfare organisation. In fact, IRCDUC's (Information and Resource Centre for the Deprived Urban Communities) rapid assessment in 2024 found that 945 elderly persons and 1,430 children were residing in the streets of Chennai, which included 14 trans persons.
There is also a stigma that the community members will 'corrupt the neighbourhood' as SwethaShri says. 'Even showing your office ID is not proof enough that you work in a regular office,' she adds. Jaya says such transphobic ideas place immense burden.
Landlords cite several reasons, of which the most recurring is the stigma around sex work. 'Most of them will be involved in sex work or are escaping from family; we don't want any trouble later,' says a landlord under conditions of anonymity.
Jaya stresses that to find rental spaces to set up an office for the community is equally hard, even for an established trust such as Sahodaran.
Even accessing land under Tamil Nadu's free patta scheme is extremely difficult for many trans people, Grace points out, as it requires an Aadhaar card — something many lack because they've fled abusive households and often have limited access to official identification. Those who have been able to avail the scheme got free pattas in remote areas, making commute a challenge, Grace adds.
Trans couples who wish to live together, also struggle to find a space. In fact, a trans couple confided having to travel 35 kilometres from the outskirts of Chennai every day for work as most landlords refused to rent them houses in the city.
A broker says landlords are worried that the couple will soon break up and vacate the room as they are 'not married and hence, unstable'. Moreover, lack of support from family would mean that the landlord would have to shoulder the responsibility at times of crisis, he added.
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London [UK], June 4 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Ravi Shankar Prasad, who led an all-party delegation to the United Kingdom, called for a unified global stance against terrorism and said that Pakistan must be held accountable for its actions. He said that the world needs to speak as far as terrorism is concerned and noted that no country is free from it. In his opening statement during media interaction in the UK on Tuesday, Prasad stated that terrorism is against democracy, civilised existence and human rights. He even questioned the release of international funding without accountability and mentioned that Pakistan has taken loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) 25 times. He said, 'Our message is very simple. Terrorism is against democracy, civilised existence, human rights, and basic norms of a good human existence. It is high time the world spoke as far as this terrorism is concerned. No country is free, and any country that is presently free cannot be free subsequently. That is the purpose of our visit.' 'A collective effort should be there, Pakistan should be made to pay a cost. Why should so much of international funding is there without accountability. Where is the money going? Is it going to purchase weapons or alleviate poverty? These are relevant questions. Pakistan, I understand, has taken out 25 loans from the IMF. That is the message. I repeat, we have nothing against the people of Pakistan. Our commitment to peace and amity is impeccable. We are equally clear that India, a big sovereign country, has the right to save its citizens from terrorism,' he added. He also drew parallels between India and Pakistan in terms of development and highlighted India's economic and digital sectors growth. He said, 'India and Pakistan were exactly born on the same date, 15th August 1947, India was born and 14th August, Pakistan was born. After 75 years, what is the position? India is the fourth biggest economy of the India's digital profile, including Aadhaar, digital delivery of services, and digital payment, is something the world is talking about. The manufacturing sector, the space sector, and all that you will know. What is happening in our neighbourhood, Pakistan, always the generals control the lever of power, is the hard fact of life.' He called out Pakistan for supporting terrorism and called terrorism an instrument of their state policy. He said, 'We have fought four conventional wars - 1948, 1965, 1971, when Bangladesh was created and then the Kargil attack. India started none of these. Once they knew that they cannot match India in conventional conflict, the doctrine of causing thousands terrorism as an instrument of state policy, something like a strategic asset or a proxy, has been taken by Pakistan in a manner which you all know. I need not elaborate. 40,000 people have been killed and I wish to clarify, we are not against the people of Pakistan and I repeat, we are not against the people of Pakistan. The tragedy is, the people of Pakistan are equally fed up with the generals of Pakistan.' He recalled the efforts made by the Indian government to normalise ties with Pakistan, including those of former Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Lal Bahadur Shastri. He also recalled how Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited then-Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif to his swearing-in ceremony in 2014. He mentioned that PM Modi travelled to Pakistan while returning from Afghanistan at Nawaz Sharif's invitation. Recalling India's efforts to normalise ties with Pakistan, he said, 'The second thing is, all our governments, starting from Jawaharlal Nehru, who instituted the Indus Water Treaty Agreement, where 80% of the water used to go to ... I will explain that also to you. Then, in 1965, Lal Bahadur Shastri went to Tashkent and signed an agreement. The Bangladesh crisis, the Shimla Agreement, and Indira Gandhi's execution. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the Prime Minister, went to Pakistan by Manmohan Singh also, in his own way, tried for normalisation of relationships. What happened? Attack on Indian Parliament, attack in Mumbai, hundreds were killed, including many foreigners, including British, attack in markets.' 'They have attacked in London, on the tube. They attacked on 9/11 in New York. Osama Bin Laden was ultimately captured in Pakistan. Unfortunately, another journalist you all know, a journalist throat was slit in this kind of attack. The one who killed him was killed by India's precise strikes at the terrorist camp. And Mr. Narendra Modi, as the Prime Minister in 2014, I want to make it clear, called Nawaz Sharif in a swearing-in ceremony, to normalise. When he had gone to Kabul to inaugurate the new Parliamentary building, erected with India's assistance, Nawaz Sharif phoned him, you will be flying over my sky, my grandson is getting married, if you attend. He went there and what has he got in return? Uri, Pulwama, Pahalgam,' he added. He said that India targeted terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoK) after terrorists killed 26 people and injured several others in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on April 22. Speaking about Operation Sindoor, he said, 'This time we have said, enough is enough. On the 22nd of April, the deadly Pahalgam attacks happened. On the 7th of May, the attack was made. We only attacked the terrorist camps, Bahawalpur, Muridke, Muzaffarabad and others, and I want to make it very clear, the attack was carried out at 1:30 in the night for 21 minutes, and the common people are not at all affected by it at all. In the morning, Pakistan was communicated, we have attacked your terrorist camps.' 'We don't wish to escalate, it is proportionate. They did not respond, and showered India's skies with a lot of missiles. It is a measure of our defence capability that, right from Madhya Pradesh to Ujjain, there is 3000 km of airspace, and our air forces completely secured it, neutralising and paralysing their missile attacks. Then, India unleashed a very precise strike on their air force facilities. It destroyed about 9 airports in various parts of Pakistan,' he added. He recalled how all the nations, except Turkiye, called and expressed solidarity with India following the Pahalgam terrorist attack. He stressed that Operation Sindoor is paused, not stopped and is subject to the good behaviour of Pakistan. Ravi Shankar Prasad said, 'Operation Sindoor is under paused not stopped subject to the good behaviour of believe in peace, we believe in harmony. But we don't at all permit a situation that our innocent Indians are killed with impunity by is not acceptable because this time Pakistan has been told that they have to pay a cost to terrorists.' 'One thing I would like to clarify at the very outset, and I know you will ask this question, is the Indus Water Treaty. This treaty came into being in 1960. 80 per cent of the water of rivers, seven rivers, goes to Pakistan and 20 per cent to preamble of this treaty clearly says, it is being entered into in a spirit of goodwill and these two terms also forms a clause of that thereafter, we have only put the treaty in abeyance. Sindoor Operation is paused, the treaty is under abeyance,' he added. The delegation led by Ravi Shankar Prasad includes BJP MPs Daggubati Purandeswari and Samik Bhattacharya, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, Congress MPs Ghulam Ali Khatana and Amar Singh, former Union Minister MJ Akbar, and former Ambassador Pankaj Saran. An all-party delegation visited the UK as part of India's global outreach program to convey the country's firm stance against terrorism. This diplomatic outreach comes after Operation Sindoor, launched on May 7. In response to the Pahalgam attack carried out by Pakistan-sponsored terrorists, Indian Armed Forces targeted terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, resulting in the deaths of over 100 terrorists affiliated with groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Hizbul Mujahideen. (ANI)
