Bengaluru: A survey of transgenders across Karnataka is being done to help the government implement Karnataka State Policy on Transgenders, formulated in 2017, said Mahesh Babu, Managing Director of the Karnataka State Women’s Development Corporation (KSWDC) on Saturday.

According to Babu, the survey aims to gather information about the community’s demographics, socio-economic conditions, and needs to help the government allocate resources for their welfare.

He was speaking at an event, Rainbow Habba 2025, organised by Sangama, an LGBTQ rights group based in Bengaluru, to observe the Stonewall Riots Day, which falls on June 28.

Stonewall Riots is a series of spontaneous riots and demonstrations that took place on June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn, in the Greenwich Village neighbourhood of New York City. Stonewall riots marked a new beginning for the gay rights movement in the United States and around the world.

“Once we get the data of transgender community from across Karnataka, we will do what it takes to tackle the larger issues that the community faces, so that the development is not served in piecemeal,” said Babu, while delivering his keynote address, emphasising the importance of developing public policies for the holistic development of gender and sexual minorities.

The survey was piloted in Vijayapura and Mysuru districts between March 10 and April 24, he added.

According to him, it will cover all categories of transgenders, including Jogappas, Jogtas, Hijras, Kothis, Shivshakthis, and Aravanis, as well as intersex people, and those transitioning from female to male or male to female.

Manohar Elavarthi, founder and executive director of Sangama, said, “At a time when our communities in the United States, the birthplace of the Stonewall Riots, are losing hard-won rights, we must stay vigilant. We must continue to fight for our rights both in the streets and in the courts.” Around 200 people, including gender and sexual minority community members and their supporters, celebrated with music and dance, marking the 56th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots.

The event was held at the Students’ Christian Movement of India (SCMI) auditorium here.

Sonu Niranjan, a transgender man who attended the event, said, “Society and politicians are slowly beginning to acknowledge transgender women, but transgender men are still not receiving the freedom and opportunities they deserve. If this needs to change, the government must recognise and understand our community.” The day also saw felicitation of mothers who accepted their transgender children or adopted them.

Accepting the award, Asha Imam Saab Naik Wadi, mother of Aina Sheikh (a gender minority woman) from Belgaum district, said: “Aina, a gender minority woman, has been living in Pune for many years and is now doing farming in our house in Belgaum and helping other gender minority communities.” A gender minority woman, Elavarthi told PTI, is a woman whose gender identity or expression differs from the societal expectations associated with the sex she was assigned at birth.

Lakshmi, mother of Paru, another gender minority woman from Bengaluru, said: “My beloved youngest son Paru used to act like a girl from a young age and even now Paru is the one who runs our house.” Siddappa Hukkeri (in the Justice Department) from Belgaum, who has got a government job under the 1 per cent reservation, was also felicitated.