WHEN COACHES in Beed claimed that training Yogeshwari Phad and Nandini Panchal for the Maharashtra police recruitment physical test "would negatively impact the men and women they were coaching", Yogeshwari made social media her guru, while Nandini started training on her own. Despite the Maharashtra government opening police recruitment applications for third-gender candidates after a December 2022 Bombay High Court order, trans aspirants continue to face such obstacles with determination, a bit of ingenuity and some kindness. From training under the aegis of YouTube videos and running at the crack of dawn to escape prying eyes to helping each other through a WhatsApp group, over a dozen indefatigable trans persons are busy preparing for the upcoming exam. Seventy-three trans persons from across the state have applied for police jobs. Yogeshwari, 19, who belongs to Ambajogai in Beed, told The Indian Express, "Three coaches turned me down, so I started referring to YouTube videos to train on my own. When I would go to the ground, people would laugh at me or pass comments. I ignored them at first but eventually started running early in the morning to avoid them." Nandini, who was turned away by coaches on grounds that they only trained "men and women", said, "Some men practising on the ground helped me. Out of 100 people, 90 will make fun of you but 10 will help you. Even cops from my local police station have helped me." Arya Pujari, who had filed the petition before the Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal (MAT) and the Bombay HC, said she was lucky to have a coach. The Satara resident told The Indian Express, "I have been training for the past three years at the academy for the written and physical exams. We run for speed and also practice shot-put daily. Since the physical criteria for trans persons have not been decided, I am training as per the criteria for both men and women." A panel has sent its recommendations for the physical criteria for trans persons to the Maharashtra government. The criteria are expected to be finalised by the end of February. As per the HC order, the government will not be allowed to conduct written tests for men and women, whose physical tests are already underway, if the physical criteria for trans aspirants are not finalised by the end of the month. "I just hope that we are given the criteria at least 15 days before the test so that we can prepare accordingly," Arya said. Recalling how 15 of them came together to form the WhatsApp group, she said, "Eight of us came in contact with each other while filling the recruitment form or through media reports. The others knew someone who knew someone. All of us are admins of the group so we can add more trans aspirants we come in contact with. We have heard that 24 trans persons applied from Mumbai but we have not been able to get in touch with them so far." She said the members recommend names of books the others can refer to for the test and share news related to their recruitment. However, and most importantly, the members guide each other since just three of them have coaches. While getting coaching academies to train trans persons is a huge obstacle for many, Arpita Bhise, 27, counts herself lucky. The Aurangabad resident said, "I was lucky to be admitted to a coaching academy. When I approached them, they told me to join them the same day. The women who were training here were a bit hesitant for the first two days. However, everyone has been very encouraging." Datta Bangar, who is coaching Arpita, said, "I don’t see why anyone would have a problem with training trans persons. Giving them an opportunity along with the others is the right approach."
