• India
  • Jul 06

CAPF may recruit transgender officers

In a first-of-its-kind move, the ministry of home affairs (MHA) recently asked for “comments” on the issue from the five paramilitary or Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) so that the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) can be intimated whether or not to include the ‘transgender category’ in the soon-to-be published notification for this year’s CAPFs’ Assistant Commandants (ACs) exams.

What is CAPF?

Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) refers to the common nomenclature of seven security forces. It is under administrative control of the home ministry. The CAPF consists of Border Security Force (BSF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), Assam Rifles (AR) and National Security Guard (NSG).

The CAPF plays a vital role in guarding borders and assisting central / state governments in maintenance of internal security and in curbing other illegal / unlawful activities.

As on January 1, 2018, the CAPF had an actual strength of 9,29,289 personnel, according to the latest report of the NRCB.

The Assistant Commandant is the entry-level officer rank in the five CAPFs — CRPF, BSF, CISF, ITBP and SSB.

The transgender persons protection Act

The Centre had notified the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act in December last year and the home ministry feels that it is essential to give a “level-playing field” to transgenders in all avenues and services, including combat policing.

The legislation provides that no establishment shall discriminate against transgender persons in matters of employment, recruitment, promotion and other related issues.

The personnel ministry, early this year, had also asked all ministries and departments to modify the relevant examination rules to include “transgender” as a separate category of gender for central government jobs.

How the forces responded to the proposal?

BSF, ITBP, SSB and CRPF have sent their comments to the ministry, stating that they are ready to take transgenders as officers as they follow the principle of “gender neutrality”.

These forces have also asked their training establishments to obtain their own copies of a recently-enacted legislation for transgenders and the related DoPT guidelines for a better understanding of the new law, the officials said.

The CRPF has said it will make their induction “compatible”. “We fully value the spirit of the order of the honourable Supreme Court on this subject. The CRPF already has a gender neutral work environment. In view of impending policy guidelines of MHA, we shall make it further compatible as per the need,” the 3.25 lakh personnel-strong force has said.

The CISF, the paramilitary force that guards over 60 airports in the country and the Delhi Metro, has said it requires more time to submit its response to the home ministry as it wants to “discuss the issue in detail” within the organisation, especially with its field commanders.

“Seeking more time for discussion, however, does not mean that the CISF is against the move. The force is committed to providing equal opportunities to everyone, irrespective of their gender,” an official said.

What if CISF says no to the proposal?

The 1.62 lakh personnel-strong force has over 350 armed security units across the country.

The main charter of the force entails large public interaction by way of body frisking and pat-down search of an individual (in certain cases) at its duty locations such as airports, Delhi Metro, government and private establishments and installations in the nuclear, aerospace and power domains, among others.

The CISF controls the entry and exit of people and goods at facilities where its armed personnel are deployed as part of its charter to provide counter-terror and anti-sabotage cover.

A senior home ministry official said if they find that the CISF has strong and valid reservations against the move, an arrangement can be made in the UPSC exams, where transgenders can apply for officers’ posts in all the CAPFs except the CISF.

“There is a precedent of such arrangement as for many years, female candidates were not able to opt for the BSF and ITBP in the UPSC exams for recruiting CAPF officers. The BSF and the ITBP got combat women officers much later,” he said.

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