अक़्स-ए-ख़ुशबू हूँ

PTI – Mon, Dec 13 1:34 PM IST
..New Delhi, Dec 13 (PTI) Government has accepted the recommendations of the Technical Advisory Committee to include transgenders as a separate ''Others'' category in the Census 2011.

After demands that transgenders be included in a separate category, the Home Ministry had referred the matter to the Committee, which has given nod for providing a third category other than male and female.

The Office of the Registrar General of India (RGI) said in an RTI reply that as recommended by the Technical Advisory Committee "transgenders would be given separate code i.e. ''3'' in the names of others, the ''1'' and ''2'' being meant for male and female respectively during the ensuing Census 2011."

"But it is to be reported only when the respondent wishes to return other than code-1 and code-2 and thus left at the choice of respondents to opt for code-3," the RGI said in an reply to RTI application filed by Bareli-based activist Dr.S.E.Huda.

In the current practise, the community is included in the Census as ''males''. The TAC had proposed that during census, males will be given code one, females two and for transgendered it will be ''code three'' which has been accepted by the Government.

An NGO led by Dr.Huda had petitioned the Prime Minister''s Office, the President''s Secretariat, the Home Ministry and the Registrar General''s Office on inclusion of transgenders as a different category.

It has also filed a petition before the Supreme Court.

The Planning Commission, meanwhile, has also recommended separate category for the transgenders in the Unique Identification Authority of India Project, according to a separate RTI reply from the Commission.
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