Bhubaneswar: As Census enumeration gathers pace, members of the transgender community find themselves in a paradox.The ongoing Census allows individuals to self-identify as ‘transgender’ without the need for documentary proof, marking a step towards more inclusive data collection. However, on the ground, a significant section of the community still lacks official transgender identity cards issued under the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act.Community members said the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Act, 2026, is yet to be implemented. They added that its provision mandating a medical certificate for identification will not impact the ongoing enumeration, which is based on self-declaration.“Even if many members of our community are willing to declare their gender identity to enumerators now, the absence of formal ID cards continues to restrict access to welfare schemes, especially medical services like gender-affirming surgeries. We may be counted this time, but without ID cards, our lives won’t change much,” said Sony Sil, a transgender activist.The 2011 Census had counted 20,332 persons in Odisha in the ‘Others’ category, which included transgender persons. It is widely believed to be an undercount. In comparison to this, the number of transgender ID cards issued so far shows a stark mismatch. Under the ministry of social justice and empowerment, an umbrella scheme, Support for Marginalised Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise (SMILE), is implemented, which provides transgender certificates and ID cards to them. Since the launch of SMILE in 2022, only 3,089 transgender certificates and ID cards have been issued following submission of applications for the same.According to the ministry, a total of 5,566 applications for transgender ID cards from across the country have been rejected by it from 2021 till March 2026. Among all the states and Union Territories, the highest number of rejections have been from West Bengal (608), Maharashtra (543), Karnataka (524), Kerala (414) and Odisha (406). The reasons include lack of official documents and mismatch in personal details.
