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Anti-caste, equity-focused trans activism and the fight for horizontal reservations in India

Sohini Chatterjee

Community Development Journal2025https://doi.org/10.1093/cdj/bsaf017article
ABDC B
Weight
0.50

Abstract

In this article, I explore how caste-oppressed Dalit and Bahujan trans and gender-variant people in India are organizing for equity and distributive justice by raising the demand for horizontal reservations. Through sustained, equity-centred activism, they are laying legitimate claims on just redistribution by insisting that the Indian state make caste central in imagining and devising affirmative action policies for the most impacted, multiply marginalized, and historically oppressed Dalit, Bahujan, Adivasi, and caste-oppressed Muslim trans and intersex people. Through protests, demonstrations, judicial activism, public statements, press releases, signature campaigns, media appearances – and through organizing efforts centred around redistribution – caste-oppressed trans activists have been demanding that the Indian state implement reservation policies to actively enable the continuation of life, sustenance, and prosperity of not just upper caste trans people belonging to the middle classes but also Dalit, Bahujan, Adivasi, and caste-oppressed Muslim trans and intersex people who are structurally immiserated and are also primarily working class and lack generational wealth. I observe that anti-caste, equity-focused activism and organizing, prominently led by caste-oppressed Dalit and Bahujan trans and gender-variant people, is putting pressure on the Indian state to provide multiply marginalized trans and intersex people with life-sustaining and life-enhancing opportunities. And by doing so, they are also resisting caste-denialism – as well as the tokenization of trans lives – prominent within upper caste and upper and middle class queer and trans activist spaces in India today.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1093/cdj/bsaf017

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@article{sohini2025,
  title        = {{Anti-caste, equity-focused trans activism and the fight for horizontal reservations in India}},
  author       = {Sohini Chatterjee},
  journal      = {Community Development Journal},
  year         = {2025},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1093/cdj/bsaf017},
}

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Anti-caste, equity-focused trans activism and the fight for horizontal reservations in India

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Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.