Many transgenders in Kolkata have raised fresh concerns over West Bengal’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process after meeting chief electoral officer Manoj Agarwal on Wednesday.
The community members say the mandate of using Guru Maa’s name in case details of biological parents aren’t available may exclude large sections of transgenders who neither have access to parental identity nor belong to the Hijra gharana system.
The Hijra community met the chief electoral officer to express worry that the guideline, though intended to ease enrolment, may put trans persons at risk and reinforce outdated assumptions about their lives. They said the state should not equate all transgender identities with the Hijra profession and that voting rights must not depend on belonging to a Guru-led household.
Queer trans activist Soham Basu said the new mandate could deepen vulnerabilities instead of addressing them. “People leave their natal families because of violence and discrimination,” Soham said. “But one cannot assume that Hijra Gurus are automatically a safe alternative. The question that often comes to my mind is why citizenship needs to be understood through ancestors or Gurus and why it cannot be given in a personalised manner.”
Soham added that the guideline “pushes the myth that all trans persons are part of the Hijra profession”, when many live independently without any Guru. “If someone does not have a Guru, how does the state expect to understand their voting rights?”
Activist Ari Roy Choudhury from Nadiya Oikyo Trust raised similar fears about the lack of parental identity documents and the consequences of relying on Guru details. “Many transgender people do not know the names of their parents and do not maintain contact,” Ari said. “Many also do not have a Guru. So, where will the name of Guru Maa come from?”
Ari said the rule could also worsen exploitation within Guru–disciple structures. “We have seen atrocities committed by Gurus. If Guru Maa’s introduction becomes everything, then the atrocities will gradually increase. The disciples who have no one to stand by them will become even more vulnerable.” Ari urged the Election Commission of India to “find out a few more facts about the Gurumas” before implementing the guideline, warning that otherwise “the future will become more dangerous for the community”.
The meeting took place amid the Election Commission of India’s rollout of the SIR exercise in Bengal, which includes new measures such as using AI to detect deceased or duplicate voters. Officials have said that district administrations have been instructed to ensure no transgender voter faces harassment.
Trans collectives said they appreciated the outreach but want the commission to create a system that recognises trans people as individuals rather than through family or Guru lineage. They stressed that the right to vote should not depend on community structures that do not apply to everyone.