Girl’s sex change stumps varsity

Bhopal: Tamali Bhattacharya is locked in her incognito, as she awaits an endorsement by a university in Madhya Pradesh, her alma mater, to a new identity she attained after undergoing sex reassignment surgery — from female to male — a year ago.

Barkatullah University (BU), the premier educational institute at Bhopal, has withheld Tamali’s plea to change her name and gender in her degree certificates, after which she could have got the new identity.

“During a meeting on January 4, the executive council of the university found no provision in the University Act to deal with such a case. Hence, the EC left it to me to explore ways to resolve the vexed issue,” BU registrar U.N. Shukla told this newspaper. “And, I am going to now seek guidance of the MP government.”

The Kolkata-based BU alumni completed the two-year masters of fisheries science (M.Fsc) course in applied aquaculture from the BU’s fisheries department in 2015.

She moved the university in 2016, stating that she underwent sex reassignment surgery to fix a gender-related disorder, and that she wished to change her name and gender in her mark sheets and degree certificates accordingly.

Tamali also attached documents related to her surgery, along with an affidavit signed by her and a magistrate, declaring her sex change — from female to male — in the application. She has at least written over a dozen letters to the BU requesting to heed to her pleas as early as possible, but to no avail.

Puzzled over unprecedented nature of case, the university considered it prudent to seek legal advise to sort out the matter. The university legal cell, however, found it beyond the purview of the University Act.

“The change in name and sex in degree certificate of an applicant can be considered only in two cases — by production of a degree certificate mentioning the changed name and sex or by a court order. In this case, the applicant has none of them,” Mr Shukla said.

The university is now mulling to suggest the state government to make necessary amendments in the University Act to address such cases in future.

“An ordinance amending the University Act to include provisions to deal with such cases can be promulgated by the state government for speedy disposal of the application,” said university authorities. By the time the university disposed of her case, Tamali will have to live with her old identity, at least in her postgraduate degree certificates.