Before Sanjana underwent the male-female sex reassignment surgery (SRS) 20 years ago, resistance from the family and society was not the only obstacle before her — arranging the money required for the surgery seemed like an equally insurmountable task.

Fast forward to now, and the 47-year-old is among the many transgenders whose voices were taken into account by the Delhi Commission for Women, which issued notices to the Centre, pressing for government-sponsored SRS.

“Considering the stigma suffered by the community, it is imperative the choice of sex reassignment is available to those who want to exercise it. It is the duty of the state to provide for such basic necessity of a large but marginalised community,” said Maliwal.

Recalling her plight 20 years ago, Sanjana said, “ No one in my family supported me, so I had to arrange all the money by myself. I took several loans. I have so many friends of different ages that want to undergo surgery but are unable to because it costs Rs 2-3 lakh in private hospitals in Delhi,” said Sanjana. She has been regularly attending meetings of the newly formed Transgender Cell of the DCW.

Maliwal said the notice was issued after she, along with DCW member Promila Gupta, interacted with hundreds of transgender people, in addition to members of the newly formed Transgender Cell of the DCW. Among the issues raised by the community are presence of just a handful of hospitals in Delhi to perform SRS. The officials were further told that the hospital that perform SRS are not efficient.

In the notice, the commission has also asked the government to clarify by July 31 whether the surgery is provided free of cost in Delhi hospitals and requested for details on the number of such surgeries undertaken. The government has also been asked to provide the steps taken to expand the provision of SRS in all government hospitals.

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It all started three years ago when Dipan Chakraborty visited SRS Solutions Kolkata at Agarpara that provides medical-legal services to transgender individuals. It was there he met Tista Das.

Das is a transwoman, who is also a consultant and guide at the centre, and both of them immediately connected. It was first a friendship, which later developed into a love story during Dipan’s sex reassignment surgery (SRS).

Sex reassignment surgery is a surgical procedure by which a transgender person’s physical appearance and function of their existing sexual characteristics are altered to resemble the gender they want to change into.

Taking their relationship further, the duo announced their engagement through a social networking site on April 15 (National Transgender Day of Visibility) and are all set to tie the knot on August 5.

Chakraborty who hails from Lumding, Assam, got done with the sex reassignment surgery in February 2019 and is currently waiting for a few official documents.

“For me, the post-surgery period was smooth, thanks to Tista, who took good care of me. As of now we are waiting for my voter ID and changes in the other documents to notify court for a registry marriage,” said the 40-year-old, who works at a pharmaceutical firm as a brand executive.

The preparations for the marriage is in full swing and Das has already designed their wedding card.

Talking about his relationship, Chakraborty told the Times Of India, “Tista is an amazing human being. We used to talk over phone while my SRS process was on and I found a friend in her. Our way of thinking matched and last year I proposed to her to which she said yes.”

Chakraborty was in an unhappy relationship and it was Das, who came to his rescue. “I had come to Kolkata in 2016 for the girl I loved. But I soon realised it was not working. It was Tista who helped me out,” said 40-year-old Chakraborty.

“I liked him the day I met him. He was emotionally dependent on me because of his troubled relationship. His caring nature made me fall in love with him,” 38-year-old Das told TOI.

Like other transgenders, it was not an easy journey for the duo. Chakraborty, was born biologically female and Das was born biologically male.

Dipan’s family has not been able to accept his new identity. “My family never acknowledged or felt that I was a man inside a woman’s body. They would not let me dress up like a boy. I went into depression and wanted to hide myself from the world,” said Chakraborty, who had to shell out Rs 4 lakhs for the surgery.

“First it was difficult to convince my parents and then arranging Rs 2.5 lakh for it was another tough job. To top it all, the doctors in Kolkata too rejected my plea for a surgery,” Das said.

Das’s mom is equally thrilled for her daughter and son-in-law. “Dipan is a nice person. I am happy Tista has chosen someone like him,” said her mother. Das has also worked in an award-winning documentary called I Couldn’t Be Your Son, Mom which was directed by Sohini Dasgupta, who is transgender and animal rights activist.

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