Ambiguous Identity and Uncertain Belonging: Assessing the Lives of Undocumented Brihannalas in the Backdrop of the COVID-19 Pandemic

[Co-author: Swarupa Deb]

This study explores the predicament faced by the undocumented Brihannala community in the north-eastern state of Tripura, India, in the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, foregrounding their gender non-conforming identity and the entangled layers of marginalisation they face. We situate the perils of the undocumented Brihannalas during and in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic imposed lockdown in terms of their sense of belonging, experiences of migration and concerns of livelihood. Furthermore, we examine the everyday precariousness that emerges from their characteristic migration patterns, their experiences of fuzzy spaces at the Indo-Bangladesh border and the absence of documents of legibility. In doing so, we argue that the persistent non-recognition of the undocumented Brihannalas by the state as well as their choice of remaining undocumented—and hence, ambiguous—have co-produced their illegibility and amplified their distress during the pandemic.