In a step towards inclusivity, the daughter of former West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, Suchetana Bhattacharya has declared herself as a "transman", adding that she would shortly undergo sex reassignment surgery (SRS).

Attending an LGBTQIA+ workshop in the city recently, a matter first which surfaced on social media in a post by LGBTQ activist Suprava Roy, who uploaded a picture of Suchetana addressing a symposium on the livelihood of the people of the community.

Bhattacharya came out as a trans man at the Symposium and revealed she was midway through a sex-reassignment surgery (SRS). The hysterectomy process is already over and she will consult psychiatrists before beginning mastectomy.

Talking to TOI, Bhattacharjee said she would prefer to continue with the feminine pronoun till legal procedures were over. "I am in the middle of a medical transition. The legal process will begin shortly. But my voter ID, Aadhaar card and PAN card still have 'female' as my gender. I should be addressed as Suchetan Bhattacharjee alias Suchetana Bhattacharjee," she said.

Suchetan feels, she's 41 and needs to breathe easy.

Bhattacharjee, a freelancer in the audio-visual medium, expects to start the legal process of changing her gender soon. "Medically, the transition should be over by next year. I constantly worry about what people will tell my family. But it is my life after all and I have to live the way I want to," she said.

At home, father Buddhadeb understood his daughter's gender identity. "He has been quite frank and has accepted my choice. I notice a subtle sense of denial in my mother. However, I don't want my parents to be dragged into all this. I am 41 and going for SRS is my choice. My parents have no say in this," Bhattacharjee said.

She also appealed to the people not to mix up her family identity with her personal identity.