In one of the April fortnightly editions of Down to Earth, a magazine focusing on the theme of the politics of environment and development, an article by Richard Mahapatra talks about the reinstatement of a state of mass poverty in India.
For most of us, the slogan of “Garibi Hatao“, popularized in the 1970s by the then prime minister Indira Gandhi, was specific to that time. When we think of “mass poverty” we imagine an immediate post-Independence scenario of ruin and tarnish; of droughts and famines, of hunger and starvation. In the Discovery of India, Nehru wrote –
“There was lack of food, of clothing, of housing and of every other essential requirement of human existence. To remove this lack and ensure an irreducible minimum standard for everybody the national income had to be greatly increased, and in addition to this increased production, there had to be a more equitable distribution of wealth”. (Nehru, 1946).
From this prophecy, how far have we been able to come in terms of realizing the vision of a poverty-free India?

The COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdowns imposed because of it have pushed already vulnerable Indians further towards the periphery. A research study carried out by the Centre for Sustainable Employment, Azim Premji University to analyze the effect of the pandemic on marginalized groups revealed that around 230 million Indians were pushed below the poverty line in 2020. Around 100 million jobs were lost nationwide (Azim Premji University, 2021). People started to move to wage work and informal sector jobs, and all this continued to negatively impact income and quality of life.
The report revealed that women and the youth were most negatively hit in terms of employment and income. Few women returned to work after the loss of employment, and a direct increase in the burden of domestic work was observed (Azim Premji University, 2021). At the same time, the riskiest jobs during a pandemic – that of nurses, ASHA workers, and Anganwadi workers – are held by women (Deshpande, 2020). Gender was thus a significant factor influencing work and inequality during the global pandemic.

In all such research studies and surveys, even those that adopt gender as a lens of analysis, the experiences of transgender persons are often sidelined. The transgender persons we work with and who are associated with us hail from the lower or middle class, often employed in the informal sector. Most are employed on a contract basis and enjoy no security of employment. Many are forced to present themselves as the gender assigned to them at birth out of fear of losing the job. Before the pandemic hit, these transgender persons were managing to sustain themselves through negotiation and cooperation. One transmasculine person shared with us his thoughts on adjustment which deserve a mention here:
“આપણે શું કરી શકીએ છે? જ્યારે હું જાણું છું કે મારે ભણવું છે ત્યારે મારે એ સ્વીકારવું પડશે કે મારે છોકરીઓનો યુનિફોર્મ પહેરવો પડશે.”
(“What can we do? When I know I have to study, I will have to negotiate with the fact that I have to wear girls’ uniform.”)
Many trans persons continue to make such adjustments in every sphere as they grow up – family, education, employment, livelihood, society. The pandemic directly impinged on this already vulnerable state of being. As the lockdown progressed, we suddenly started to hear instances of trans persons losing their jobs. One of our community members who worked as a delivery partner with a leading food-delivery service was laid off his job since the strict lockdown guidelines disallowed any mobility. He had no choice but to travel back to his village, where he had to again adjust with non-acceptance within his family.
Many other trans persons were shocked to find that their salaries had been cut in half. There were many transgender persons who alone were sustaining their households, whether with their partners or with their families. This monumental decrease in their income meant a direct effect on the quality of their and their family’s life. One trans man in our network is responsible for maintaining 3 households – his own, his sister’s, and his brother’s homes. When his salary was drastically reduced, he had nowhere to go.
Perhaps the biggest testimony to the fact that transgender persons were very hard-hit by the pandemic was the numerous interventions that were carried out given state negligence. We were able to identify transgender persons who required immense aid during this period of time. Various organizations, domestic and international, came together to help provide this assistance. Around 600 people – including members of the queer community and sex workers – were identified. Many organizations also offered financial aid.
When the government did initiate the distribution of financial support – the provision of ₹1,500 for transgender persons only twice over a period of one year of the pandemic – it was in a haphazard way. The call for applying for this assistance was made suddenly, and organizationally we had to rush to get Aadhar Cards made for these persons for them to be able to access the state benefit.
The pandemic hasn’t left us yet – issues grow multifold with time and persist. The savings of individuals are on the verge of exhaustion. Regular employment for them is the foremost concern. The lack of data specifically dealing with the monetary implications of the pandemic on the marginalised and already oppressed sections of the society including trans and queer individuals, persons with disability, oppressed castes and women adds to the complexities. Another Covid wave can wash away with it these people on the margins and their access to daily necessities. Laws centred around these vulnerable sections and government schemes providing relief and employment are the need of the hour and should be implemented to prevent long term damage to the population and the economy.
References:
- Nehru, Jawaharlal. The Discovery of India. Oxford University Press, 1994.
- Azim Premji University (2021) State of Working India 2021: One year of Covid-19, Centre for Sustainable Employment, Azim Premji University.
- Deshpande, Ashwini. “Early Effects of Lockdown in India: Gender Gaps in Job Losses and Domestic Work.” The Indian Journal of Labour Economics: 87-90. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s41027-020-00261-2.