A new movement, same old phobia: Can Cockroach Janta Party claim to stand for the voiceless?

No one expects the Cockroach Janta Party CJP to be perfect as a movement Its first offline protest on June 6 at Delhirsquos Jantar Mantar demonstrated that itrsquos a collective of novices Founder Abhijit Dipke allegedly didnrsquot even have a loud speaker to address the over 5000 protestors who turned upAs a generation that came of age at the same time as the Anna Hazareled anticorruption campaign of the 2010s we are no stranger to movements eventually turning into something far removed from its roots We also wtinessed the rise and fall of student politics in Mumbai the Dalit Panther movement and even behemoth political parties The long and short of it is no movement is perfect and neither are its peopleBut can a movement led by Gen Z which has grown up with ldquowokerdquo algorithms and easy access to global conversations about queer rights not understand what it means to be a trans person in the country Can there be any redemption or grace for the spokesperson of such a movement mdash which claims to have sprung from the frustrations of the exploited and marginalised mdash who makes transphobic remarksDahiyarsquos insistence that only genderaffirming surgery can confirm trans identity smacks of the bioessentialist trope This has been widely been rejected by many trans persons who have said they do want to go for surgery or hormone replacement therapy HRT as their sex and gender are very different thingsItrsquos time that we understand gender is not the same as sex that not everyone can afford or even want HRT and genderaffirming surgery Too many trans folk have been traumatised by the neardeath crises their friends have gone through after going under the knife And after all that they might not be able to go back home ever againlsquoCanrsquot compromise because CJP ticks 2 out of 3 boxesrsquoQueer activist Paddy says we cannot excuse transphobia citing lsquothe greater goodrsquoPaddyPaddy a queer activist from Bengaluru feels that we mustnrsquot give chances to those who are transphobic just because they hit the right talking points and tone on other issues ldquoWe all got behind it CJP thinking we were uniting under a common flag In their manifesto theyrsquove said they are fighting for everybodyrsquos rights Their main demands are 50 per cent reservation for women and the resignation of the education minister While I donrsquot condone it I understand why people have chosen to remain silent on Vijeta Dahiyarsquos transphobia because at least they have those two demands in common Studies have also shown that nonviolent protests with two clear demands have a higher possibility of coming to fruition But transphobia cannot be something we brush under the rug in the name of the greater goodrdquolsquoI donrsquot want surgeryrsquoA transwoman explains why not all trans folk undergo genderaffirming surgeryWhen Anita name changed is out and about in the city she is a proud transwoman At home though she dresses like a man because her family wonrsquot accept her any other wayShe holds a transgender ID card which should be enough to affirm her identity she says Undergoing genderaffirming surgery isnrsquot as simple as CJP spokesperson Vijeta Dahiya makes it out to be ldquoFirst of all I donrsquot have the money for it and even if I did the surgery is very riskyrdquo she says rattling off health risks she has seen others battle ldquoA transman I was helping transition had got a hysterectomy After three months his rectum prolapsed Transwomen get Urinary Tract Infections UTIs as well as other infections when they get top and bottom surgeriesrdquoItrsquos a medical branch that still isnrsquot wellregulated and trans folk have little protection from misconduct ldquoIn India there is no protocol for surgery it is done as per the mood of the surgeonrdquo she addsAnita is also a survivor of sexual assault the perpetrator was none other than a doctor who was to examine her while she was considering genderaffirming surgery ldquoNow just going for a checkup triggers merdquo she says ldquoAlso surgery is not the end mdash you have to take hormones and do dilation throughout your liferdquo she saysldquoFor me personally surgery is not an option because my family will not accept it So I put up with the gender dysphoria Falling out with my family or suffering through painful aftercarefollowing the surgery is not something I can afford mentally or physicallyrdquolsquoDemand explanation donrsquot jump to cancellationrsquoFor change to come we must not only question a wrong but also provide the time and space for answers says Anish Gawande the countryrsquos first publicly out gay politicianThe intersection of politics and sexuality is not new to Anish Gawande NCP SP spokesperson and the countryrsquos first publicly out gay politician Perhaps that is why he is among few who have shown CJP grace amid this controversyAnish Gawande NCP SP spokersperson FILE PICldquoIt is absurd to judge the political viability of a party on the basis of a single statement made by one of its spokespersons Thatrsquos like saying the entire Congress should be blamed if one spokesperson makes a homophobic transphobic racist sexist or inappropriate commentrdquo he counters and his point is duly notedHe feels that cancel culture will not benefit anyone ldquoThis is precisely the kind of politics that prevents change from taking place in any institutions We must demand the CJP clarify the partyrsquos stance on trans rights We must ask their spokesperson about why he has not retracted his statements But we must do so with the goal of changing his opinion not cancelling himrdquo he addsHe points out that many of us might have made similar blunders not too long ago ldquoNone of us are perfect We have all come a long way in terms of how we engage with caste class religion gender and sexuality I think this is a learning moment an opportunity for growthrdquoldquoLetrsquos be honest this is a project that was born out of satire and the collective frustration of an entire generation in a country as diverse as India Of course itrsquos going to take time for them to come up with a clear agenda and stance on every single issuerdquo he adds ldquoCan we give them that time I still donrsquot know the BJPrsquos stance on most issues ranging from why Mumbai roads have potholes hours after inauguration or why the economy is seeing international investors exit at a record rate Can we get answers to those questions mdash or at least demand those answers mdash while we wait for answers from CJPrdquolsquoLetrsquos give them timersquoTwo queer youths who attended the June 6 protest at great personal cost say we must stay focused on the fight for students wronged by the education systemYou must have seen the viral videos of Ujjwal Singh and Harshit Singh at CJPrsquos Jantar Mantar protest Ujjwal and Harshit are two queer friends who joined the protest on June 6 to call out irregularities in the countryrsquos education system Instead they were subjected to a relentless insensitive onslaught by the media that has left them traumatisedHarshit Singh was targeted at the Janta Mantar protest by TV media PIC INSTAGRAMharshitisyoursUjjwal 19 was there to protest the cancelled Common University Entrance Test CUET and its impact on his life The queerpresenting teen was instead questioned about clothes ldquoI went there because my future is uncertain I had been studying for CUET with all I have but it got cancelled But they media didnrsquot want to talk about that mdash they were obsessed with my clothes what I was wearing and if I knew the full form of NEETrdquo he recallsHarshit 24 who had attempted suicide in Kota a few years ago when he was studying for entrance exams felt compelled to join the protest ldquoI get what these kids are going through But they media wanted to demonise us I refuse to let our gender and sexuality be used to divert from an issue that is causing kids to end their lives all because the government canrsquot conduct examinations without a leakrdquo he addsUjjwal Singh was harassed for presenting as nonbinary PICINSTAGRAMjalebibaaiontopBoth Harshit and Ujjwal have received death threats and facing extreme homophobia since the protest they tell us ldquoIn fact while I was still at Jantar Mantar I got an angry call from my family who told me that there was no need for me to return homerdquo Ujjwal says with a dry laughThe queer community has always been more patient for people to get around to their point of view feels and wants to give Dahiya that chance ldquoAs queer people we are used to people not understanding us I feel we need to give people like Dahiya a bit of grace Let us try and explain to him letrsquos be patientrdquo says Harshit He does agree that his words were transphobic ldquoOf course it was transphobic but people can change their mind or their beliefs I had voted for Raghav Chadha and look where he has ended up So why canrsquot Dahiya be more open to understandig us and changing his beliefsrdquo ask the selfprofessed empathNothing to smile aboutGet surgery to access welfare schemes says Dahiya But an RTI query has shown that an existing scheme has not benefited anyone since 2021Zerordquo says Adwaith an activist from Delhi when we ask how many trans folk have benefited from the governmentrsquos SMILE scholarship ldquoSince 2021 despite the fund being allocated for scholarships of trans kids not one paisa was spentrdquo the 24yearold tells us over a phone call from Delhi They unearthed this information upon filing an RTI query the reply that came on May 4 was no shock to the communityAdwaithAccording to the RTI reply a total of Rs 3056 crore was allocated between 2021 and 2026 While this RTI application was only about the education grant Adwaith plans ldquoto file RTIs for all the schemes under SMILErdquo ldquoBut I donrsquot know if the reply will come because the fact that no scholarships were given has now gone viral on Instagramrdquo they addWhat Vijeta Dahiya said about trans folk on InstagramldquoComing to gender some people are not happy with the sex assigned at birth and wait to change their sex with hormonal therapy and then sex assignment surgery Like Aryan Bangar became Anaya BangarhellipAnd hence the state has to know their new sex so that all laws facilities can be there for them from womenrsquos reservations in Metro trains to panchayat elections Laadki Behen Yojna laws pertaining to domestic violence marriage dowry alimony sexual harassment male and female sports to restroomsBut some rich folks bored with their purposeless existence want to identify themselves as a man on Monday woman on Tuesday genderfluid and 86 other categories They have become the global spokesperson and made the entire thing a circusrdquo