How Ramgarh Is Changing The Story Of Transgender Communities In Jharkhand

At 24, Himanshi is pursuing an MBA through distance learning, and quietly redefining what it means to be seen. She counts herself among what she calls the “0.001 per cent” of people whose families have accepted and supported them as transgender. Today, however, her identity reaches far beyond that label. She is also a government employee, and she says so with unmistakable pride.

Since January, Himanshi has been working as an office attendant at the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Ramgarh district, around 50 kilometres from Ranchi. For her, the role represents more than employment; it is recognition long denied to many like her.

It wasn’t the same for 23-year-old Samira, also known as Bodra. A graduate, but her family did not accept her transgender identity. She was rejected both at home and in society. Yet today, she too is a government employee. As a ward in-charge at the Ramgarh Municipal Corporation, Samira lives in a relatively normal environment—one where her transgender identity does not invite discrimination.

Then there is Alia, 28, whose childhood was marked by trauma. Also a graduate, she says her struggles began within the walls of her own home. At just 11, she was sexually abused by a cousin. By the time she reached Class 10, her family had thrown her out. Today, Alia serves as support staff at Ramgarh Sadar Hospital — another transgender woman who has carved a space for herself.

All three come from West Singhbhum and East Singhbhum districts of Jharkhand, regions known to have a significant transgender population. Each carry their own story of pain and social stigma.

Himanshi reflects on the contradictions. “My family never rejected my identity, but I have endured society’s rejection and hostility all my life. I realised early in school that I had feminine traits. As I began expressing myself openly, the bullying, both in school and outside, became severe. People called me names. I was scared to even tell my family or teachers why this was happening to me. I was inappropriately touched and sexually abused several times, both in school and in society.”

For her, societal change must begin with children. Schools, she believes, must sensitise and educate students about transgender identities and teach them to treat transgender individuals with dignity. According to her, society’s mindset remains deeply toxic and urgently needs transformation.

Samira has been away from her home for five years. Her mother was happy to hear about her job, but Samira cannot return home to share that happiness.

She says, “I was tortured at home. My father passed away early, and my mother didn’t want me to leave, but my brother and relatives harassed me constantly because of my identity. I tried many times to live like a boy, but I couldn’t. Gradually, my family stopped talking to me altogether. I was rejected everywhere—at home and outside. No one tried to understand our emotions. It’s not like we choose to become this way. Why is it so hard for people to accept that we are also part of this society?”

Alia’s experience echoes a similar pattern of violence and rejection. She recounts, “When I was 11, the first person who noticed my feminine traits—my cousin—was the one who abused me. He told me not to tell anyone. I didn’t even understand what had happened. At home, everyone blamed me. My mother supported me, but after she passed away, the pressure from society forced my father to ask me to leave. Ironically, when my father fell ill later, none of those relatives helped him. I did whatever I could. If my parents were alive today, they would have been proud of my job.”

These three women were employed through outsourcing in government offices only a few months ago. Alongside their day jobs, they also run a café called Trans Café.

In recent years, Ramgarh has emerged as a district making meaningful strides towards transgender inclusion. After Ranchi, it is the second district in Jharkhand to build transgender-friendly toilets, with four such facilities across the city. It may also be the first district in India to establish a dedicated OPD for transgender people at the Sadar Hospital.

This progress was driven by the efforts of former Deputy Commissioner of Ramgarh, Faiz Aq Ahmed Mumtaz, who took a personal interest in understanding and addressing the community’s challenges.

According to the three women, the facilities introduced in Ramgarh under his leadership are unmatched anywhere else in Jharkhand. They hope this “Ramgarh model” is replicated across the state.

Mumtaz explains: “A group of transgender people came to me asking for identity cards. But their problems went far beyond that. Many had no ration cards or pension cards. There were no toilets for them, and doctors often refused to examine them. Our first step was to secure their identity cards and link them to government schemes. At Sadar Hospital, we started a dedicated OPD for transgender people every Saturday afternoon so doctors could examine them properly. We also built separate toilets so they would not face difficulties in public places.”

He says the efforts to connect community with employment and help them start a café were meant to strengthen their independence so that they would not have to depend on begging, singing, or giving ceremonial blessings for survival. It was to help them enter regular workplaces, interact with people, and become part of everyday social life.

Now, there is growing demand to replicate the Ramgarh model across Jharkhand. Utthaan, an organisation working on transgender rights, says that the transgender population in Jharkhand is close to 30,000, yet very few facilities exist for them. Although the Jharkhand Transgender Welfare Board was formed last year, the organisation says it has remained largely ineffective in practice.

Amarjeet Nand Giri, who is associated with Utthaan and belongs to the transgender community, says: “A toilet is a basic necessity. But apart from Ranchi and Ramgarh, no district has toilets for transgender people. We have been demanding this for years. Most transgender people still do not have identity cards. Because of that, they are denied government benefits when they apply for schemes.

“After a long struggle and a PIL in court, the welfare board was formed last year, but it has made no real difference. Hemant Soren announced a two per cent reservation for transgender people, but it has not been implemented anywhere. In the private sector too, no one is willing to give us jobs. So what should we do? To survive, many in our community are forced into sex work.”

Amarjeet says the state government should at least implement the Ramgarh model in every district and ensure that two per cent of positions in government offices are filled by transgender persons through outsourcing arrangements.

While initiatives like Trans Café exist in other states, Utthaan claims that a dedicated OPD for transgender individuals at a district hospital, like in Ramgarh, is possibly unique in the country.

In the recent years, the Jharkhand government has taken some steps for the welfare of the transgender community, but these are still not considered sufficient. In September 2025, the state government formally constituted the Transgender Welfare Board along with a dedicated support unit so that members of the community could directly access government schemes.

According to the 2011 Census, Jharkhand’s transgender population was estimated at around 12,000. To bring this growing community into the mainstream, the government has introduced several measures. These include appointing Ameer Mahto as the state’s first transgender Community Health Officer (CHO), placing the community in the OBC (Schedule-1) category, and providing for two per cent reservation in government jobs. Eligible individuals have also been granted a monthly pension of Rs1,000.

However, significant challenges remain if these measures are to be effective in practice, particularly the need to speed up the issuing of identity cards and make public infrastructure more inclusive.