Govt. Body to Introduce Puberty Blockers, Hormones in Indian School Curriculum

During November 2021, I was having a conversation with a young mother who shared her fears of bringing up a girl child in India. Her concerns for her daughter centred on the ongoing lack of safety, our unequal society, and merely existing as female in a country that has more than 80 recorded cases of rape per day. I told her about gender identity and puberty blockers as our chat continued through the night. She later confessed she has not had a single night of peaceful sleep since.

Just as my friend was, a significant section of Indian society is unaware of gender ideology. But it is a matter of time before the uninitiated are fed the dogmatic ‘woke’ line, and punished for not acceding to the gender overlords. Preparations for such a dystopian future are well underway. In my first piece for the e-zine, I pointed out the systematic takeover of several outposts – media, law, medicine, politics and academia.

Most of these changes have happened discreetly with no consultation among concerned parties, or have come about via unilateral unquestioning acceptance within the institutions. One such example was when a ‘triggered’ TiM medical student Trinetra Gummaraju lobbied the authorities to revise medical textbooks to exclude supposedly ‘unscientific information about LGBTQIA+’ and succeeded. While it is true that medical textbooks hold archaic, deplorable views about homosexuality, his contention was that it affected a blanket ‘queer identity’. This is a man who travelled to Thailand to put himself through a gamut of surgeries, and consequently every one of his Instagram posts is an overt display of his “female body.” He goes on to say; ‘Imagine being taught amongst fellow medical students that your queer identity is meant to be diagnosed, poked, prodded, fixed with hormones and corrective surgery, until you’re declared healthy and non queer. Disgusting.’ Apparently irony dies a slow death in the gender lala land!

There is no doubt that glorifying obsolete, inhumane practises like lobotomy, calling lesbians perpetrators of crime or “deranged” are beyond contemptible. But it is unclear what the National Medical Commission considers “unscientific” and will thus exclude from textbooks. Is it the fact that women are adult human females (large gamete: ovum) and men are adult human males (small gamete: sperm)? Will they treat any deviation from the norm as proof that a person is ‘in between two sexes?’ Gummaraju (who now has his sex marker changed to ‘F’ on his passport after surgically altering his body) has been the face of British cosmetic brand ‘The Body Shop’ endorsing their menstrual hygiene products. Clearly, there are wads of cash waiting to be made in ‘woke-land’, even if the person endorsing it has no idea what a menstruating woman goes through! It wouldn’t hurt the greedy corporations to expand their market base to include men who are “bleeding for weeks” after a vaginoplasty. Happy to appear novel to the ‘stunning and brave’ gaggle, they shame the women who dare call out such hypocrisy.

After changes in medical colleges curriculum by the NMC, Government advisory organisation NCERT goes after schools

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is an autonomous organisation set up in 1961 by the Government of India to assist and advise the Central and State Governments on policies and programmes for qualitative improvement in school education. A manual, titled ‘Inclusion of Transgender Children in School Education: Concerns and Roadmap’ was published on the NCERT website in 2021. It contained training material for school teachers with mentions of puberty blockers, hormones and surgical interventions as solutions to ‘gender dysphoria.’ The manual, however, had no warnings or reference to the life changing irreversible damages caused by said interventions to the body. While the manual has been taken down after complaints were sent to the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), introduction of gender identity in school curricula and corresponding changes to school infrastructure (such as toilets) on the basis of gender identity would harm the physical, psychological, and emotional well-being of the child.

NCERT textbooks are used by 24,000 schools in India, and 240 schools from more than 20 countries. The Union Public Service Commission Exams with more than 1 million registered students, NEET, a uniform entrance examination in 13 languages for admission to medical courses, with 1.64 million students registered – all use NCERT textbooks.

Apart from faculty members from the NCERT (some of whom have since been removed from the committee), a group of external members were part of the decision making team. Two of whom are trans identifying men. Priya Babu, Managing trustee, Transgender Resource Centre, and  Vikramaditya Sahai, Associate, Centre for Law and Policy Research, Bengaluru, Karnataka

Chief Justice Anand Venkatesh of the Madras High Court was dismayed at NCPCR’s decision to pull the manual. He directed the NCERT to submit its report on the issue before the court calling NCPCR’s decision a ‘knee-jerk reaction.’ Justice Venkatesh is the same legal representative who worked along with Gummaraju in amending medical textbooks. While his intentions appear noble, his actions are suspect- for he has not consulted anyone who is gender critical. I would appreciate his work so much more if he worked with groups trying to legalise gay marriage. Lack of which is one of the cardinal reasons why young homosexual Indians are having to opt for dangerous surgical interventions.

Reach of NCERT textbooks

The role of NCERT is to undertake, promote and coordinate research in areas related to school education; prepare and publish model textbooks, supplementary material, newsletters, journals, and develop educational kits as well as multimedia digital materials. The textbooks prepared by NCERT are used by 24,000 schools in India, and 240 schools from more than 20 countries use the curriculum. The Union Public Service Commission Exams follow it too, and more than 1 million students register to appear for UPSC exams every year. NEET, a uniform entrance examination in 13 languages for admission to medical courses, also refers to the NCERT textbooks. In 2021, 1.64 million students registered to appear for NEET.

The perennial conflation of ‘sex’ and ‘gender’ and misuse of ‘intersex’

The manual is riddled with inconsistencies about biological sex and usage of the term ‘gender’. Gender identity argues that whether a person is a man or a woman is not dependent on their biology but their innate, self-perceived feelings. But biological sex is dimorphic and immutable in humans, and gender is the product of socially constructed roles considered appropriate for the members of each sex- men (masculinity) and women (femininity).

The term ‘assigned at birth’ is only relevant to babies born with DSD (Disorder of Sex Development) conditions and has been co-opted by the ‘woke’. Humans are born either male or female; and DSDs are deployed by gender ideologues to argue that sex is somehow a spectrum. Such terms are loosely used by the NCERT manual to assert a go between sex class. The existence of persons with DSDs, does not negate the utility of sex as a basis for categorisation and non-discrimination. Persons with DSDs (0.02% of the population) are still identifiable as one of the two sexes.

Claire Graham, a leading intersex advocate based in the UK, has written extensively on the subject in her blog. “I think transgender people often feel that if they were intersex (if they did have a DSD) that will explain how they feel. So a lot of trans people think that at some point. And they have this idea about “intersex brains,” so they think that they have the brain of the opposite sex. Because of this misconception of intersex being a “mixture of the two” it must mean that being trans is somehow another form of intersex. It isn’t, because your brain isn’t your reproductive tract,” she opined.

Lack of proof that medical interventions reduce ‘gender dysphoria’

In Chapter 3, ‘Physical and Physiological Aspects of Physical Education and Sports’ of the Health and Physical Education book for Class XI students, NCERT encourages teachers to ‘affirm’ the gender identity of children. It suggests that teachers should convey to students that puberty blockers are ‘available and accessible.’ But this is not true as puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones are expensive, and their effectiveness in reducing feelings of ‘gender dysphoria’ remains unproven. There has been a distinct lack of follow-up studies as to the overall well being of dysphoric individuals post such medical interventions.  Therefore, to say that puberty blockers, hormones or surgeries will categorically ‘help’ individuals suffering from gender dysphoria is misleading and unscientific.

After the backlash, L Ramakrishnan, one of the members who drafted the manual clarified that the content was for teachers, and not students. Yet in a school that has to abide by such a manual, teachers will of course be encouraged to tell a student that there is an option to ‘delay certain development of the body’ by taking blockers. Clearly, this information won’t be just for academic purposes alone, but used to influence the minds of adolescents with what is an ideology, not a proven science. Their ‘teacher training manual’ could inadvertently guide a gullible girl child towards wanting “to be a boy,” especially since her “teacher said it is possible.”

Puberty blockers have routinely been prescribed to children with precocious puberty, to treat endometriosis in women, and to treat prostate cancer in men. A serious and often hidden use of the drug is to chemically castrate sex offenders. Therefore, any mention of medical intervention must highlight the risks to health, especially when such powerful drugs can very well leave an individual (and here we are talking about children) infertile.  It is monumentally irresponsible on the part of the NCERT to not have done so anywhere in the manual.

NCERT’s course curriculum might trans the gay away

Homosexuality is no longer an offence in India since section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 was struck down by the Supreme Court of India in 2018. But the curriculum does not mention this. Nor does it teach that same-sex attraction, whilst socially stigmatised in India, is not an abnormality. Instead, it goes in vapid detail about transgenderism and ‘non-binary’, signposting juveniles towards harmful chemical alterations needed to be transgender. It illustrates, rather implicitly, the only alternative to being heterosexual is to be transgender or ‘non-binary.’

A teenage girl may come to believe that she is a ‘boy’ because she feels attracted to other girls. And gender identity exacerbates this with its insistence on unquestioned and total affirmation of self-identification.

Sexual orientation is an extremely important topic to be taught to adolescents. As it is during these formative years that their bodies go through changes and they start experiencing sexual attraction. Many students are same-sex attracted and deserve to know that homosexuality is not a crime or deviance. Despite it being no longer an offence, India is a homophobic country. There are cases where lesbians have undergone sex change surgeries and identified as men so that they could be with their partners. So a teenage girl may come to believe that she is a ‘boy’ because she feels attracted to other girls. And gender identity exacerbates this with its insistence on unquestioned and total affirmation of self-identification.

It is perfectly okay for her to be a girl who is attracted to members of her own sex; and we need to inculcate in adolescents the knowledge that they do not need to alter their bodies (and claim to be of the opposite sex) if they are same-sex attracted. Instead, the training material emphasises gender identity and puberty blockers. The NCERT should have taken into account the possible consequences of the introduction of gender identity on same-sex attracted adolescents whose homosexuality would be erased by their ‘trans’ identities.

As an organisation that advises government bodies on policies and programmes for qualitative improvement in school education, NCERT’s  training material inadvertently acts as a type of conversion therapy for same-sex attracted children.

The many hues of misogyny in NCERT textbooks

The ‘teacher training manual’ could inadvertently guide a gullible girl child towards wanting “to be a boy,” especially since her “teacher said it is possible.”

For Class VII, Social and Political Life, Chapter 5 “Women Change the World” NCERT suggests that teachers should talk about how trans-identifying males have defied stereotypes. But men who ‘identify’ as women are in fact, men. Many Indian women have, and continue to defy stereotypes and fight against male supremacy in India. Mere identification does not mean that men can now be mentioned under a category that discusses women’s achievements and struggles. So there is no reason why trans-identifying males should be included in a chapter dedicated to women. 

For Class X, Science, Chapter 8 “How do Organisms Reproduce” NCERT suggests the following addition to textbook authors and teachers: “It can be highlighted that reproduction by a transgender person may be possible in cases where certain organs are preserved and eggs/sperms are cryopreserved.”

It is cruel that the NCERT should refer, albeit implicitly, to exploitative practices like surrogacy as an option for trans-identifying men. Surrogacy is a gross violation of the right to physical integrity of women. It should not be treated as an option for anyone.

Chapter 6, “Who I Am?” for Class VI NCERT suggests that teachers should share a story about a boy who likes to wear dresses, go shopping, and read about make-up. He says, “I think I want to become a girl when I grow up.” Since when is it progressive or liberal to define girls and women on the basis of stereotypes?

Real life implications

The following are cases and examples of the impact of gender ideology which the NCERT should have taken note of before suggesting that it be taught in schools:

On January 5, 2021, the Bombay High Court allowed a trans-identified male to contest village panchayat (town council) polls as ‘female’ from a ward reserved for women, saying that such persons have the right to a ‘self perceived gender identity.’ These women-only election slots are allotted on rotational quotas as a form of affirmative action that would benefit the women of a constituency and encourage female participation in politics. These quotas are a temporary shock that will shift normative perceptions (albeit extremely slowly) and might potentially encourage female candidates to compete against men.

Indian girls, some as young as five years-old, are sold and trafficked into the sex trade not because of their gender identity, but because of their sex. Many Indian women are able to exercise their right to free movement because of women-only compartments in public transport like the metro. These women-only coaches, hostels, toilets, changing rooms, and medical wards offer women and girls safety from the ever-present threat of male violence. So allowing children to use toilets not according to their sex but gender identity would put girl children at risk. Sex-segregated bathrooms allow girls to move freely, free from male aggression; so these spaces are a right; not a privilege or a barrier to inclusivity.

This demand for an unquestioning allegiance directly affects only the women and girls of this country. In 2019, a women’s college approached the Kerala High Court seeking to quash the state government’s orders granting reservation to transgenders in academic institutions. While members of the ministry were quick to mock the college in derision, the college held its ground. The government also issued an order directing colleges to reserve two seats to transgender students in each college. The women’s college management contended in court that female students alone are entitled to admission in a women’s college and the state government failed to take note of circumstances like these. The management felt that if transgender students are admitted, the nature of the college will be changed.

In another example, a post-op trans identifying male became the principal of a woman’s college in Kolkata. He claims that it is because he was asked to register as a male lecturer, he decided to undergo a ‘sex change operation.’ No matter what he does to his body, what choices he makes as an adult, a man should not be permitted to take charge of a women only college. India has a huge amount of dropouts among female students due to family pressure, early marriage, pregnancy and religious reasons. Some young women are married off in their first year of college and yet, they turn up for classes, fully pregnant, determined to finish their degrees. Many don’t share such a resolve, or families forcefully keep them at home despite what the women want. In many cases, families ‘allow’ their daughters to attend college because it is women-only. Having a man run a women’s college situated in a rural part of an Indian state is unjust.

Future seems bleak at best

Children who do not conform to sex stereotypes face exclusion and bullying. Those who are struggling to conform to the stereotypes imposed upon their sex class deserve empathy and care from everyone- the state, society, parents, teachers and peers. But brainwashing society to embrace gender identity ideology does not offer any solution.

Gender identity further entrenches this trauma by making the child and everyone around her believe that the only way she can really live, is by fitting into the boxes of gender. Identifying as ‘non-binary, agender or gender fluid’ is antithetical to their own interests because these identities rely upon the existence of a binary which one is trying to identify out of. They leave the constraints of one box to be restrained by another. Instead of trying to abolish damaging gender roles, such identities reaffirm and indoctrinate age old stereotypes upon gullible young minds.

With the rise of Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria (ROGD) cases in India, parents are scrabbling their way around India’s booming affirmative care. Therapists are in the stronghold of West’s ‘woke’ ideology and are racing to signal their virtue whilst making a fast buck. With pronouns on their bio, several enthusiastic professionals offer advice about HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy) and SRS (Sex Reassignment Surgeries). Some offer training on Queer Affirmative Counselling Practice, which focuses on the oppression faced by the “LGBTQI” community. While this may be true, it does not challenge young women who want to be boys, advocate for holistic mental health support, or understand the reason for such distress in the first place. NCERT, and several Indian organisations also engage in rampant and irresponsible fear mongering with unsubstantiated numbers of suicidal ideation.

The majority of trans rights advocacy in India today stems from the vantage points of caste, poverty, and illiteracy- a way of alleviating the members of the marginalised communities from their shackles. But no other “civil rights movements” destroy the hard-fought rights of another community for their gain.

The gullibility of the marginalised communities in India is ceased upon and squeezed dry by the corporations. They get away with being called “intersectional,” wearing a veneer of social conscience, but are only after the money. To raise this as a female sex-based rights issue, one risks being called a savarna (a blanket term for members of the upper caste) bigot who allegedly wants to keep the abhorrent social practice of caste alive.

This is an industry of hate that gaslights girls into turning against themselves and it infuriates me. What my friend who recently learnt about puberty blockers does not know is that I have lost my sleep ever since I entered this battle too. It is not just her daughter I worry about, but an entire generation of kids about to turn around and ask us, “Where were you? Why didn’t you do anything?”

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