Human Rights of the Third Gender in India: Beyond the Binary 9781138745483, 9780367495572, 9780429243851

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Human Rights of the Third Gender in India

“Lopamudra Sengupta’s book is an important contribution to the contemporary interest on the role of globalization on transgender communities.” – Serena Nanda, author, Neither Man nor Woman: the Hijras of India (2nd edition)

“This is a timely and important book as India finds itself, perhaps rather unwillingly, drawn into discussions of gender and sexuality like never before. This book will doubtless incite discussion and comment towards more engagements with issues of gender and sexual diversity that have now been recognised as crucial to the socio-economic health of a country.” – Niladri R. Chatterjee, professor, Department of English, University of Kalyani

This book engages with the discourses on human rights as they apply to the transgender or the hijra community in India, capturing not only their larger struggle for legal rights and dignity but also their personal hardships. It situates the issues and concerns of the Indian transgender community within a global context to explore the extent of social justice in independent India. By narrating stories of individuals, local movements and activities of groups like the Association of Transgender/Hijra in Bengal (ATHB) and others, the book gives context to the changes that globalisation has brought to the narrative around transgenders in India. This shift has challenged their marginalisation and has led to stories, films and queer individuals like Chapal Bhaduri – the jatra rani – and the iconic filmmaker Rituparno Ghosh to flourish and become relevant. This book brings these literatures and personal stories to the fore, allowing readers to perceive the changes and the challenges that Indian society faces when it comes to ensuring the rights for transgender people. This volume will be of interest to scholars of gender studies, queer studies, literature and social work along with readers who want to engage with the transgender movement and community in India.

Lopamudra Sengupta is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Bangabasi College, University of Calcutta and has combined her academic career with policy advocacy and social activism. She has been engaged with the transgender movement in Kolkata for more than two decades. Her areas of research interest are human rights, gender and development studies in South Asia. She is the recipient of the UGC Travel Grant for International Conference (2018–19) and Shastri Publication Grant from Shastri Indo Canadian Institute (2018–19) for her monograph “Human Rights of the Third Gender in India: Beyond the Binary”. She is the Project Director of a Major Research Project on ‘Cultural Heritage and Sustainable Development’, awarded by the Indian Council of Social Science Research, New Delhi (ICSSR, 2019). She is presently a member of the West Bengal Transgender Persons Development Board.

Human Rights of the Third Gender in India Beyond the Binary Lopamudra Sengupta

First published 2023 by Routledge 4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2023 Lopamudra Sengupta The right of Lopamudra Sengupta to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN: 978-1-138-74548-3 (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-367-49557-2 (pbk) ISBN: 978-0-429-24385-1 (ebk) DOI: 10.4324/9780429243851 Typeset in Sabon by Apex CoVantage, LLC

Dedicated To my parents and To all persons who have shed tears in silence

Contents

Prefaceviii Acknowledgementsxi Some Useful Definitions on Gender and Sexualityxvi Glossaryxviii Introduction

1

1 The Third Gender in India: A Historical Overview

8

2 Human Rights Violations and the Assertion of SelfIdentity: Narratives and Experiences of the Research Participants17 3 Constitutionalisation and Realisation of Human Rights: Looking Back at Some Landmark Judicial Interventions31 4 Civil Society and Human Rights Activism

43

5 Representation of the Third Gender in Indian Cinema and Literature

63

6 Globalisation and the New Age of Rights

87

7 Interrogating the Major Paradigms of Human Rights: Implications in the Context of India

108

Conclusion

121

Bibliography128 Index139

Preface

Human Rights of the Third Gender in India: Beyond the Binary emanated from a long-felt urge that is far more deep-rooted than the purpose of research and a career in academia. Its roots lie in understanding human beings amongst various socio-cultural contexts that treat them differently from the others to the extent that they are often systematically debarred from enjoying the basic rights needed for their growth and well-being to live with dignity as a human being in society. Several questions had already been in my mind since childhood. Based on the differential treatment towards the hijra community and transgender individuals (a term which is a more recent coinage) in particular by other members of the society, the very questions that occupied my mind were, how are they different from us? What do they do for a living? Why do they leave their homes? How do they survive outside their homes and families? But the task of doing research on this issue was very difficult. Apart from some outstanding fictions there were few significant research works on the lives of the hijras and transgenders in India in early 1990s. Sex is considered taboo in India; therefore, there was an age-long ‘silence’ about these individuals and their groups in society. The issue was considered as belonging to the private realm of sexuality. It did not occupy the centre stage of mainstream academic discourse related to politics, international relations or other branches of social thought. Furthermore, the individuals (who have for so long been termed hijras in this country) have guarded a secrecy and mystery around them which is difficult to unfold. They live in ghettos and prefer to communicate among themselves in a language of their own. In addition, it is only since the last two decades the issue has gained prominence. Before this period, there was a complete absence of official data and statistics on the actual born hijras in India or the whereabouts of the families they are born into. Social interaction occurs when they come out in the streets dressed mostly as women with eyebrows drawn on and the pallu of the sari noticeably under the body to attract men for money. They clap loudly and utter a

Preface ix language which at once disgusts common men who get ready to pay them and get rid of them quickly. In 2001, I had the chance to meet and talk to various individuals from this community when I was conducting my field study on gender discrimination in South Asia. Some important observations on them made me decide an entire book on them. But I was not aware that problems for me had just begun. I was soon bombarded with questions of all sorts. People started asking me whether I myself share any weakness or have other ‘personal reasons’ for taking up research on a marginalised community as that of the hijras in our society. One evening as I  was coming out from a sambardhana sabha which awarded me first place for writing a prabandha (a short literary essay) on the Brihannalas (a term which denotes hijras in Bengali) in a literary magazine, I was confronted by a highly reputable Bengali scholar who enquired about my purpose for doing research on this particular issue, which was largely overlooked for various reasons in society. He was curious about my position on this issue and enquired as to whether I have ‘any personal attachment’ to it or whether my own relatives belong to this category. His concern was genuine and my uneasiness that was roused due to his question was equally genuine. I realised it has become an accepted norm not to think about a contentious issue unless you are personally suffering from it or might have seen someone suffering from it. Studying an area which has been left unattended for years cannot be the only objective for serious research. My position became increasingly difficult. On the one hand, I  was genuinely eager to build a theoretical understanding of human rights discourse. On the other hand, I needed to know more from them about their own experiences. I started working with them closely, but as an ‘Other’. I was fortunate to be received by all individuals and members of the community in a friendly manner. They shared their experiences of discrimination to a great extent. The nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) and community-based organisations (CBOs) provided me with necessary informations and data related to my research work. The questions that I faced from the seminar halls during my research came from eminent academicians, scholars, journalists, active political workers and of course my own students. The questions came from ages ranging from seventeen to seventy. I felt that in spite of the transphobia, there exists a strange curiosity to know more about these people. But unfortunately, the void that has been created between this marginalised community and society is difficult to surmount. Moreover, for an academic researcher, it is an imperative to refer to the various socio-historical contexts in which these social groups are to be studied. Why they are ‘queer’ and why they are a marginalised community

x  Preface even today are questions whose answers can be obtained only when the socio-historical contexts of a particular region are analysed. Therefore, Human Rights of the Third Gender in India: Beyond the Binary traces the socio-cultural traditions of gender identity in India and seeks to locate the problem within the broader theoretical understanding of human rights that has its origin in the natural rights of man. The book addresses the challenges faced by the community in this country and seeks to analyse the status and position of human rights from their voices of sufferings and lay down various mechanisms in protecting and promoting human rights in India. This book explores how a section of the community which has remained isolated for so long in our society battles to survive with or without dignity. The book also focuses on individual transgender persons who have remained largely within the confines of their homes and do not solely belong to a community. The book traces this complex journey from socio-cultural history to present position. The objective is to find out whether marginalisation has affected these persons who consider themselves as ‘non binary’, and belonging outside the heteronormative paradigm. I am conscious that there are many gaps in this book. I  strongly feel that I  could touch only the tip of the iceberg. Many areas remain to be covered. I sincerely hope that those who have suffered and those who have witnessed their suffering will feel inspired to voice their opinions. Only then the purpose of my research to promote consciousness on this subject will be successful. It is also possible that the facts I have stated might provoke controversy. If they do, then my aim to promote debate on the subject will have been fulfilled. I am convinced that it is only through these writings, debates and discussions that we can raise consciousness about these issues that have remained forbidden for so long. But what is crucially important is the fact that we are discussing the human rights issues of those persons who have long remained silent in society. Therefore, we need to approach the issues with sensitivity, keeping in mind the sentiments of all those whose human rights we discuss. Although this is an academic endeavour, it should be noted that the purpose of this research is not to keep it restricted only within theoretical understanding and academic debates but also to provide an essential link between human rights discourse on one hand and the real, lived situations of human rights violations on the other. The thrust of the book is therefore to build connections between common occurrences related to human experiences on the one hand and debates of national and international issues and laws on the other hand. Thus, the need to study human rights will be fulfilled if we can apply the knowledge of human rights to our daily lives and seek to make the world a better place.

Acknowledgements

This book has been through a long journey, beginning when it was treated in part as a case study during my PhD on gender discrimination in South Asia at Jadavpur University, Kolkata. I am immensely grateful to my supervisor, Professor Sumita Sen in the Department of International Relations at Jadavpur University, for her bold acceptance of this research proposal way back in 1999, when gender theory and queer politics were treated as unconventional areas of thought in the mainstream studies of international relations and diplomatic studies in India. After the publication of my doctoral dissertation, Gender and Human Rights in South Asia: Interrogating Contemporary Social Cultural Practices of India and Bangladesh, I felt that I could not do justice to the challenges that are faced by the transgender community in India and therefore decided to write an entire book on them based on their narratives. It has been particularly difficult and challenging for me to work with a community in which I  am an ‘Other’. In this, I  really consider myself fortunate to have received extensive cooperation and support from the members of the community. I am incredibly grateful to them for their trust in me and their patience through all these years. I am indebted to Ranjita Sinha, Founder Executive and Advisor of the Association of Transgender/Hijra in Bengal, who constantly inspired me to work extensively on this issue by providing data, arranging for interviews for my case studies and helping me to get important information about the community. Without her knowledge and experience, it would have been impossible to write this book. I am also grateful to Tista Das, Founder member of SRS Solutions in Kolkata, who has been my constant support from the inception of this research work. Her cheerful nature always motivated me. Her talents as an actress and her ability to speak fluently in English always reminded me of the objective with which I initiated this book. Her free and frank conversations about her personal life and experiences enriched my work. I am also deeply thankful to Anindya Hazra, Director of Pratyay Gender Trust, for guiding me with valuable information and links to resources. I have particularly benefitted from the lectures he organised to commemorate

xii  Acknowledgements the birth of famous filmmaker and creative personality Rituparno Ghosh, as they provided additional insight into gender and related issues. I am grateful to Bappaditya Mukherjee, Founder Director at Prantakatha – Promoting Active Citizenship, for his constant support and encouragement. His relentless endeavour to work towards the betterment of the youth (which includes trans youth) as well has been truly inspiring. I am deeply indebted to the non-governmental organisations and community-based organisations with whom I  worked, and all those who have been associated with these organisations over the years. A  special thanks to Pawan Dhall, Founding Trustee of Varta Trust – Gender, Sexuality, Intimacy, Publishing, for giving me the opportunity to attend seminars on queer studies that have helped me to broaden my understanding of sexuality and gender studies. The Webzine ‘Varta’, has been especially helpful in understanding the dilemmas and challenges faced by the queer community. I am also thankful to Sanjoy Gayen, activist and journalist for the blog Abakaashe, which has meticulously narrated the everyday realities and lived experiences of the trans persons in urban Kolkata. This blog has helped me to remain updated on all the incidents that have taken place in Kolkata during the last several years. I have been privileged to receive help from distinguished human rights lawyer Kaushik Gupta, who warmly extended his assistance and shared his knowledge despite his busy schedule. I am also happy to have received support from my friend Pratulananda Das, professor at Jadavpur University, who shared his views about gender and sexuality with me. I am thankful to Aparna Banerjee, managing trustee of Amitie Trust, for her support and cooperation. I am thankful to Aparajita Ganguly for giving me the opportunity to speak on human rights and trans issues in various programmes. I am also thankful to Ankan Biswas, and Aindreela Chakraborty for enlightening me on various legal matters. I am extremely grateful to Sumi Das, Founder Member of Moitri Sanjog Society, Coochbehar, for sharing her experiences with me and responding to my questionnaire even from abroad. I am immensely grateful to my research participants in Kolkata and adjacent places. I am thankful to Atri Kar, who came all the way from Tribeni to share her views with me, Anurag Maitreyee who inspired me with her thought-provoking arguments, Anuprabha for sharing her experiences with us, Madhuja Nandy, Debojyoti Baghci, Joe, Vaishali, Raina Roy, Sudipa, Debdatta Biswas, Suprakash Ghosh, Shreya Karmakar, Tania, Shivangsh, Shrabon, and Amit for enlightening me with their experiences. Without their active support and eagerness to share their experiences, this book would have no special significance. I  am also grateful to Laila Sanyal for sharing her views about capacity building of the Trans persons in Kolkata and to Moon Saha, for always encouraging me and supporting the cause.

Acknowledgements xiii I would like to thank my academic fraternity as well as the colleagues and teachers who have been a part of this journey, commenting on drafts, providing reading materials and inspiring me to complete my book. I  am deeply indebted to Dr Manabí Majumdar, Faculty at the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Kolkata, for providing me with important insights and comments that helped me to organise my manuscript into a book. She has been a great inspiration, and without her help, this book would not have been possible. I consider myself fortunate to receive her guidance and support. I am greatly indebted to Professor Lipi Ghosh in the Department of South and South East Asian studies at University of Calcutta for her constant support and encouragement. I am also thankful for Professor Amites Mukhopadhyay at Jadavpur University for his critical comments and important suggestions on the draft. I am grateful to Dr  Debi Chatterjee, Retired Professor, Department of International Relations, and Jadavpur University for her constant support and encouragement. I am also thankful to Dr. Shibashis Chatterjee, Faculty in the Department of International Relations, Jadavpur University for providing extensive academic help whenever needed. I am indebted to Professor Dr  Subrata Sankar Bagchi, ex Principal at Bangabasi College, for extending all cooperation and assistance needed to promote education and research. I am also indebted to Dr Himadri Bhattacharyya Chakraborty, Principal, Bangabasi College for encouraging me to organise seminars, pursue higher research and participate in all national and international academic endeavours. I am grateful to my friends and well-wishers who generously provided me with books and reading materials for completing this book. I am thankful for the encouragement and support of Dr Suman Bhattacharyya of Bangabasi College, who generously handed me his treasured clippings on the films of the late Rituparno Ghosh; Trina Mukhopadhyay, for providing me with important materials and CDs on films; and Dr Lily Biswas for her constant moral support and encouragement. I  am grateful to Nilanjan Majumder for providing me photographs of various occasions associated with queer movement in Kolkata. I am especially thankful to veteran film critic Shoma A. Chatterji for providing important links to books and films that enriched my book. Her book Reading Rituparno has been especially useful. I consider myself fortunate to receive blessings from veteran actor Chapal Bhaduri for my work on the marginalised community. I  am indebted to him for providing necessary insights about the complexities of this issue. My exclusive interview with him at the Tapan Theatre, here in Kolkata, has been a lifetime experience for me. I also consider fortunate to receive encouragement and support from veteran classical dancer and social activist Alokananada Roy for doing this work.

xiv  Acknowledgements My earnest gratitude goes to Professor Serena Nanda, American anthropologist and author of the book ‘Neither Man nor Woman: The Hijras of India’, for readily accepting my request to write for the blurb. Her pathbreaking book along with her comments and insights has been especially helpful in writing this book. I am grateful to Professor Niladri R. Chatterjee, Faculty, Department of English, University of Kalyani, for writing the blurb that has wonderfully set the tone as a prelude to my book. I am grateful to the American Centre Library (USIS, Kolkata) for providing invaluable assistance during my research. I am also fortunate to have received updated books and information from Ramakrishna Mission Library, Golpark, and Centre for Studies in Social Sciences and National Library, Kolkata. I am grateful to the West Bengal Transgender Persons Development Board for extending to me their support and cooperation. I  am grateful to the chairperson, Honourable Minister Dr Shashi Panja, for always being supportive towards the cause. I am also obliged to Dr Manobi Bandyopadhyay, Vice chairperson of the Transgender Persons Development Board, for the help she provided; her publications, especially Abamanab, a Bengali magazine, have been especially thought provoking. I am also grateful to the West Bengal Human Rights Commission, Bhabani Bhavan, Alipore, which provided me with access to important documents and information during the first phase of my research. I am particularly grateful to Professor Chittabrata Palit for constantly encouraging me to complete my book. I am thankful for the opportunity he gave me to deliver the prestigious Pushpalata Endowment Lecture on the third gender in India at Jadavpur University, Kolkata, in 2016. I am also grateful to the Management Development Research Foundation, New Delhi, for recognising my work and felicitating me for the best paper award on the third gender in India, presented at the Second National Conference on Politics and Governance, held at India International Centre, New Delhi, in 2014. I am immensely grateful to the three anonymous peer reviewers for their critical observations of and detailed suggestions on the manuscript. Without their critical comments, it would not have been possible for me to look more meaningfully at the manuscript and revise it. I am very grateful to Shoma Choudhury and the entire team at Routledge for their constant support and patience in bearing with me despite my repeated failure to meet deadlines. I am indebted to my parents, who had immense faith in me and always stood by me in all decisions of my life. I offer them shraddhanjali (showering respect) and dedicate this book to them. Though my father is no longer with us, I am sure he would have loved to see the publication and outcome of this research.

Acknowledgements xv I am indebted to my husband, Abhik, who is more of an academic by passion as well as an engineer by profession. He never complained about my inability to join him in Africa during his long stays away from home. His constant support and reminders kept me going. I am also grateful to my son, Arjyadeb, who continued to study on his own and allowed me the space and time to complete my book. I am honoured that my monograph on Human Rights of the Third Gender in India: Beyond the Binary received the prestigious Shastri Publication Grant (2019) from Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute (SICI) which has inspired me to work better. I am indebted to the Institute for their financial support and cooperation and grateful to them for recognising my work and promoting it.

Some Useful Definitions on Gender and Sexuality

transgender: a person whose gender identity is inconsistent with the gender they were ascribed at birth transsexual: the medical term for a person who has changed the physical attributes of their sex to be consistent with the gender with which they identify transvestite: a cross dresser, usually a person who draws pleasure from dressing in clothes of the opposite sex eunuch/hijra: a man who has been castrated, (usually) as a boy, which results in hormonal changes While eunuchs fall under the umbrella community of transgenders, they can identify as male, female or third gender. asexual: a person who does not feel sexual attraction towards or desire for any group of people homosexual: a person who feels romantic and sexual attraction towards a member of the same sex bisexual: a person who feels romantic and sexual attraction towards both males and females pansexual: a person who feels romantic and sexual attraction towards people of any sex or gender identity homophobia: to feel fear and hate towards homosexuals biphobia: to discriminate against bisexual people transphobia: to hate transsexual or transgender people cisgender: a term that applies to the majority of people in which the sex they were assigned at birth is the gender they choose to identify with queer: a term used for sexual minorities who are not heterosexual or cisgender androgyne: a person who does not identify with any gender or present themselves as either man or woman bi-gender: a person who identifies as both man and woman gender-fluid: a person whose gender identity is not confined to either male or female and whose understanding of gender is, as indicated, fluid and capable of shifting to fulfil the person’s mood depending on what feels right on a given day

Some Useful Definitions on Gender and Sexuality xvii gender non-confirming: a person who does not look or behave like or subscribe to the typical characteristics of their gender gender questioning: a person who questions their gender and is seeking new ways to experience, express and present their gender gender variant: the term for a person who does not have a cisgender identity (including people who fall under the trans- umbrella), which can be used interchangeably with gender-diverse and gender non-confirming gender queer: a person who identifies outside the myopic two-gender system and even challenges it gender dysphoria: a medical diagnosis that identifies the unhappiness people experience when their gender does not align with their mental and emotional state gender identity: a person’s psychological and emotional sense of having a gender, feeling like a man, woman, both or neither agender: the term for a person who does not ascribe to any gender, which can be used interchangeably with gender-neutral and gender-less pan gender: a person who challenges the binary nature of gender non-binary: a person who challenges or does not ascribe to the binary idea of gender as man and woman neither: a person who does not put a label on their gender other: a person who chooses not to put a socially recognised and acceptable label on one’s gender

Glossary

Ardhanarishvara  literally, half-man/half-woman; one of the most popular forms of the Hindu deity Shiva Arjuna  hero of the Hindu epic Mahabharata who disguises himself as a eunuch badhai  the payment made to hijras for their performance at weddings and the birth of a (male) child badhai hijra  a person who is engaged and earns money from the ritualistic tradition of singing and dancing by playing the dholak Bahuchara (Bahucharaji) Mata  the goddess worshipped by the hijras; one of the many forms of the Indian mother goddess basti  neighbourhood beti  daughter bisexual  a person who is sexually attracted to both males and females chela  literally, disciple; refers here to the junior members of the hijra community coming out  the process by which a gay/lesbian/bisexual person acknowledges his or her sexual identity to himself or herself and a transgendered person acknowledges his or her gender identity to himself or herself and then proceeds to tell others about it. Coming out has many levels, starting with coming out to oneself and then coming out to family, friends, colleagues and the wider society. cross-dressing  the wearing of clothing characteristic of a different gender; a person who cross-dresses is sometime referred to as being in drag dhanda  work; often used by the hijras to refer to prostitution discourse  a term used by the French philosopher Michel Foucault to describe how statements function according to a set of rules to produce a notion of ‘truth’; for example, the idea of the homosexual as a deviant is a ‘truth’ produced by the discourse of modern law drag king  a woman who dresses as a man and performs masculinity drag queen  a man (usually gay) who dresses as a woman and performs femininity eunuch  a castrated male

Glossary xix gender  learned behaviours and attitudes that are supposed to correspond with biological sex gender dysphoria  another name for gender identity disorder gender identity disorder  a clinical psychological diagnosis marking a person who is strongly with the ‘other’ sex guru  teacher or spiritual guide; hijra senior hegemony  influence of a dominant and normalised group over other groups heteronormative  a heterosexist framework or discourse that determines the norms by which people are expected to live in society (usually biased against queer people) heterosexism  the heterosexually dominated ideology that naturalises male-female sexual relationships as the only permissible relationships in society; this ideology becomes institutionalised as a structural bias against sexual minorities in the law, state and wider society and is most often fully internalised and subconscious and often difficult to detect and reverse heterosexual  a person whose sexual/romantic/emotional feelings are for the opposite sex/gender hijra  a transgender person who is biologically male and takes on the gender role of a female; hijras in India have their own form of social organisation and form a parallel society homophobia  prejudice against or fear/hatred of homosexuals/homo sexuality homosexual  a person whose sexual/romantic/emotional feelings are towards those of their own sex/gender intersex  born with genitalia that cannot be definitively classified as male or female; hermaphrodite inversion  a term used by late nineteenth-century sexologists to describe performance of gender behaviour or sexual desire thought to be appropriate only for the ‘other’ sex izzat  respect or honour LGBT  an initialism for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender which is typically used as an umbrella term for queer people nirvana  literally, ‘spiritual rebirth’; used among hijras to connote the physical excision of male genitalia puja  ritual of worship in Hinduism queer  a term which arose in the context of a dissatisfaction with lesbian and gay politics and a need to embrace the diverse ways in which heterosexism was contested; queer also implied a solidarity with the concerns of other movements be they anti-racism, anti-sexism or struggles for a better public health system. The term ‘queer’ was initially a derogatory term use for sexual minorities but has now been reclaimed by all those who are contesting a heterosexist social order. In the Indian

xx  Glossary context it would include kothis, hijras, lesbians, bisexuals, transsexuals and gay men. sodomy  oral or anal sexual intercourse sodomy laws  laws criminalising non-procreative sexual acts, especially between members of the same sex tali  clap transgender  having a gender identity that does not align with physical sex; a willingness to challenge dominant gender norms in one’s behaviour or presentation transman  a person who was born female but identifies as male transsexual  having a gender identity that does not align with physical sex; changing one’s self-presentation or body in order to arrive at a more satisfactory gender expression transvestite  an obsolete term for a cross-dresser; a person who derives erotic gratification from dressing in clothing presumed by the dominant culture to be that of the opposite sex

Introduction

Beyond the Binary: The Changing Contours of Lives of the Third-Gender Persons in Contemporary India The summer of 2014 was a season of great euphoria for the third-gender community in India. The Honourable Supreme Court announced its remarkable verdict (popularly known as the NALSA judgement) which legally affirmed the rights and dignity of transgender persons based on the petition filed by the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) of India. The streets were flooded with members of the transgender community celebrating the historic judgement that allowed them the freedom to self-identify and to express their gender identity. The inclusion of nonbinary genders under the umbrella category ‘third gender’ immediately recognised their fundamental rights as citizens with equal access to opportunities for growth and better living. The Supreme Court directed the state and central government to formulate policies for better educational, employment and skill development opportunities for the third gender as well. The verdict was received with great joy by dominant sections of the society. However, it was not above criticism, and a significant section of the general population was skeptical about the intention of the state in declaring the verdict just before the sixteenth Lok Sabha elections. So, amidst some doubts and suspicions, the verdict was celebrated, as it lent a sympathetic and humane hand to the most unrecognised section of the society. For many trans person activists and individuals, this day is special, as it ushered in the promise of independence and a better future for the entire community. In this book Human Rights of the Third Gender in India: Beyond the Binary, I have tried to portray both the pain and the suffering of the thirdgender community in India, who have been fighting to get recognition for decades. The thrust of the book not only captures the humiliation and trauma of the marginalised community but also portrays the trajectory of the resistance that culminated as an outcome in the NALSA judgement in 2014. DOI: 10.4324/9780429243851-1

2  Introduction This book focuses on the ways in which third-gender persons continue to struggle in seeking access to various institutions and becoming engaged in governance and democratic politics in India. The primary objective therefore is not to examine the political developments around gender politics and sexuality or to focus on debates between citizenship and the human rights discourse even though these are matters of great importance. Instead, I  have focused predominantly on the ways through which members of the third-gender community in India became important ‘agencies’ in their own right. Despite their marginalised status, they made themselves visible and claimed legal and social recognition as equal citizens based on equality and dignity. Though the Constitution of India guarantees equality to all its citizens (defined in the Constitution as one of the core principles of democratic politics), this right remained merely formal in nature, as third-gender persons were not recognised as equal members – which is a ‘prerequisite to a claim on any configuration of rights and duties’ (Engel 2016: 8).1 In this book, I  have tried to show how the third gender in India has fought against ‘non-recognition or misrecognition’ (Taylor 1994) to be equal members within the state and society. The community along with other social agencies has played a vital role in making the government act to ensure their entitlements to full citizenship with rights and dignity are met. Though the book is situated in the socio-cultural context of India, my fieldwork specifically focuses on the developments that had been taking place in urban Kolkata, West Bengal, where I  have had the privilege to witness the development of this movement as a participant-observer. In India, all non-binary people were stereotyped and labelled as hijras. The word hijra is associated with the ritual or practice of giving blessings to newborn children and showering blessings on auspicious occasions – a profession prevalent in South Asian culture and society. The practice is known as badhai.2 Transgender persons who are often abandoned by their families and society due to stigma attached to gender identity turn towards the hijra community, who provides economic assistance, psychological security and the feeling of camaraderie and family. During my field studies I conducted face-to-face interviews with persons in the hijra profession who were living in my locality. For a long time, a section of the community members strongly felt that they were suffering and were born as hijras due to bad karma (deeds) from their previous life. With the onset of globalisation and liberalisation in the late 1990s, things began to change. As a result of the growth and proliferation of information technology in this neo-liberal period, trans persons started to interact and gain new scientific knowledge about their bodies and minds. Through the use of social networking sites such as Facebook, Whatsapp and Twitter and other online resources such as Wikipedia and important websites, they could realise that their opinion about themselves is not correct and started to gain more knowledge about themselves from these sites.

Introduction 3 Various community-based organisations (CBOs) slowly started to work on these issues and gradually knowledge and awareness about gender and sexuality spread amongst the mainstream population. With access to scientific information, the transgender community started to believe that they were ‘normal’ and therefore should not be burdened with the feeling of guilt and lack of dignity that had been imposed on them by patriarchal societies. The prevalence of gender hierarchies in patriarchal societies considers the worth of an individual as essentially and inextricably linked with procreation and forming new families. For the first time in history, the third gender community started gaining confidence about their own selves. Slowly, many of them dissociated themselves from the hijra identity and groups who were forced (due to strong social stigma) to live in a community where they would remain separated and marginalised from the mainstream. In this book, I have used the term ‘third gender’ (as is officially recognised by the Supreme Court in the NALSA judgement in 2014)3 to occasionally refer to the transgender community (which includes trans persons who feel they are different from their assigned sex at birth irrespective of other intersectional identities). Though the word ‘transgender’ is used as an “umbrella” term and insists on representing ‘anyone whose identity or behaviour falls outside of stereotypical gender norms’, its ability to truly represent a range of local and regional gender identities in the global South is often questioned (Study on Human Rights of Transgender as a Third Gender 2017: 11). The experiences narrated in this book include insights of the lives of trans individuals both as an individual as well as a member of the community. In India, third gender community have occasionally taken collective action in raising their voice against violent social exclusions and discrimination. The role of the community is significant, as it organises collaborative support and action against atrocities and plays a key role in defending transgender persons’ political, legal, economic, cultural and social rights. In this chapter, I have drawn attention to the fact that despite regional variations and intersectional differences, the plight of third-gender persons and their marginalisation have remained more or less the same across the country. The focus of my work is related to the experiences of third-gender persons within the urban space: their quality of life as well as their access to education, employment and health and the challenges they face as a marginalised gender category. Keeping this social exclusionism in mind I  have tried to map the local issues within a larger global human rights discourse. However, an important point that needs to be addressed here is related to the assertion that the transgender movement is a part of the global LGBTQI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex) movement. Though it cannot be denied that the transgender movement has largely drawn inspiration and strength from the global LGBTQI movement, in India they have always wanted to

4  Introduction be recognised as a separate category. In my interaction with my participants from the trans community, most of them admitted that their hypervisibility has often triggered discrimination. This has pushed them into a far more embarrassing situation which cannot be compared with sexual minorities. Their bodies bear the marks of biological differences which has placed them into a far more uncomfortable and disadvantaged position. Furthermore, in terms of entitlements they distinctly wanted to be considered as a separate category and be recognised as a community who have been marginalised for decades in India. The book is based on a qualitative study which included long-term fieldwork, face-to-face interactions, focus group discussion and case studies. Apart from narrations and experiences, secondary sources have also been referred to extensively to understand foundational texts and dominant human rights theories and perspectives. I did my PhD research in urban Kolkata and conducted my fieldwork with almost twenty trans persons from 1999 to 2004. Later, I expanded the horizon of my study and started collecting data through semi-structured interviews with trans persons, not restricting my study to any particular categorisation such as transwomen, transmen or intersex, hijras and others but treating them as part of the continuum of the non-binary category. I was happy that though the social environment to talk of gender sexuality was not congenial at that time in Kolkata, I got the full support of the CBOs and the trans persons whom I had met. They were very eager to share the stories of their lives with me and wanted me to write in detail about their pain and the atrocities they endure in their lives. I took special interest in the CBOs based in Kolkata who are engaged in addressing the concerns of the community and the well-being of thirdgender persons. I  am grateful to these organisations who also arranged for me in-person meetings with transgender individuals who have faced innumerable challenges. Due to their support, it was easier to gain trust and have people confide in me and share their stories and experiences. Hence, my analysis is based on almost fifty free flowing interviews conducted during my fieldwork. One reason why I  needed to keep my study specifically related to Kolkata is because I  received the support of the working groups here. Moreover, my participants could easily express their feelings in their mother tongue which is Bengali. This helped me to communicate with them better and gain their confidence. In this book, I have also explored the realm of popular culture, including films, fiction, autobiographies and jatras, to study and understand popular perceptions about transgender people that are prevalent in society. I strongly feel that understanding and analysing cultural constructs around the issue can serve as an important point of reference in understanding local human rights issues and discrepancies. Popular narratives and autobiographies of affected groups reflect the ‘real social-historical condition’ and collectively produce a ‘culture of rights’ (Nayar 2012: 2–3). Though the value of these

Introduction 5 cultural texts might not have tremendous legal value, their impact on larger civil society can never be ignored. Not only do they play a vital role in creating awareness, but ‘alerts’ the civil society to the lack or absence of human rights (Nayar 2012: 5). With this aim in mind, this study traces the various ways through which the transgender community has mobilised itself. The book examines the role of governments and of the civil society in bringing these issues to the forefront. A  comparative analysis of the status and position of the thirdgender community in other South Asian countries is also discussed in the final chapter with the purpose of exemplifying how far international human rights law has an impact on domestic policies and governance.

Overview of Chapters Chapter  1 ‘The Third Gender in India: A  Historical Overview’ traces the historical position of third gender in India. This chapter focuses on the fact that South Asian culture has a certain distinctiveness and in order to understand issues of gender complexities we need to study the indigenous socio-cultural particularities. This chapter discusses the unique identity of the community in ancient India. From ancient literature, mythology this chapter refers to the trajectories which reveal that third-gender identity is not something new today. It existed in our society from ancient times and held a special position during the medieval period. This chapter also draws attention to the fact that the indigenous hijra identity went through a major shift during the colonial period, which continued to have a major impact in the Indian society even after independence. Chapter 2 ‘Human Rights Violations and the Assertion of Self-Identity: Narratives and Experiences of Research Participants’ tries to capture the challenges that trans persons face in their daily lives. Based on interviews and narratives, this chapter portrays the pain and suffering of the individuals from their narrations and experiences. Chapter  3 ‘Constitutionalisation and Realisation of Human Rights: Looking Back at Some Landmark Judicial Interventions’ explains how, inspite of incorporation of fundamental rights in the Indian Constitution, the State failed to guarantee gender equality for the third gender community. This chapter examines how inequalities have existed within the various layers of society that have seriously threatened the basic guarantee of rights and dignity. It draws attention to the fact that, in spite of a formal guarantee of equality by the Constitution of India, the third gender has been legally, socially and politically excluded and marginalised. The major areas of discrimination and systematic denial of rights are with regard to their families, genderbased violence at home and in society, educational institutions, access to healthcare, employment, harassment and lack of legal protection in

6  Introduction the workplace and harassment due to stigma. This chapter analyses how their lives and well-being have been drastically affected. This chapter addresses the impact of identity politics on the third-gender movement. It draws attention to the increased role of the state in making policies more inclusive and refers to the proactive role played by the judiciary. By referring to the recent changes in policies, the chapter examines the remarkable legal changes that took place during the last two decades. Chapter  4 ‘Civil Society and Human Rights Activism’ examines the ways civil society organisations have provided a platform to the disadvantaged and vulnerable section for raising their voices about discrimination and injustice against both the state and society. The chapter examines how public opinion was channellised through these programmes to build more effective policies that are more inclusive in nature. Television and print media along with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and private institutions have revealed the shortcomings of government policies that refused to see the third gender as full-fledged citizens having their own rights. The NGOs and CBOs had been vocal about discriminatory laws and clauses like Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code that continued to exist even after independence. The NGOs and CBOs had undertaken programmes to create awareness of and sensitise the mainstream to the cause of thirdgender persons who remained non-recognised for decades. Chapter  5 ‘Representation of the Third Gender in Indian Cinema and Literature’ examines how popular culture mediums like films, plays, dramas, memoirs, literature and documentaries have provided a major platform in exposing the suffering of the transgender community in India. Through its wide reach to the masses popular culture has enabled greater visibility about the problems and suffering of the transgender community. It has raised questions about the gross humiliation and discrimination that these persons face as a result of negative stereotypes by the mainstream. The chapter examines how by transcending political and ideological spaces these cultural domains have acted as important agencies to break through mainstream consciousness. Chapter  6 ‘Globalisation and the New Age of Rights’ examines the impact of globalisation in changing the prevalent mindsets of thirdgender persons. Previously they had been excluded from and denied access to basic areas of life because of their gender identity. Due to globalisation and open access to knowledge through popular social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, they have gained knowledge about their bodies and their difficulties and are able to share their feelings with others across borders. This new knowledge has helped them to break old taboos and exchange new ideas with those around the world.

Introduction 7 Through a global civil society, third-gender persons could become a part of many global organisations and sites which address these issues and directly engage with their programmes. This chapter examines how international knowledge and thought helped transform long-forbidden ideas and helped third-gender persons to mobilise themselves as new individuals and global citizens, enabling them to not only question and address the issues of discrimination but also foster the growth of identity movement and its importance at both the state and societal levels. The chapter also addresses the international standards of human rights by referring to the United Nations and policies and programmes especially related to the Sustainable Development Goals and examines their impact at the state and local levels. Chapter  7 ‘Interrogating the Major Paradigms of Human Rights: Implications in the Context of India’ examines the position of the third gender in India within competing paradigms of the human rights discourse. It analyses the changes that have been taking place since the NALSA judgement in 2014 and tries to assess the contemporary position of the third gender in India vis-à-vis the present policies related to gender equality and recognition of equal citizenship. The chapter explores how far the states have been able to establish policies protecting third-gender persons in the family, workplace and elsewhere and whether there is a need for bringing a shift in policies and in execution of programmes. The book summarises its findings in a short conclusion titled ‘COVID19 Pandemic: Some Afterthoughts and the Tasks Ahead of Us’ which draws attention to a couple of developments that took place during the COVID-19 pandemic and the pandemic’s effects on marginalised and vulnerable communities like the third-gender community in Kolkata, West Bengal, and in the larger context of India. It discusses the activities that had been taking place during this time and refers to the agenda that needs to be addressed in the near future. It also draws attention to the major developmental tasks that needs to be strengthened in order to usher substantive changes in the lives of thirdgender persons in India.

Notes 1 Stephen M. Engel referred to the argument advanced by queer theorist Shane Phelan in the book Sexual Strangers: Gays, Lesbians, and Dilemmas of Citizenship (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2001), 8. 2 Badhai is an ethnic profession practised by hijras in India which means blessing people on auspicious occasions such as births, weddings and festivals and seeking alms by dancing and singing. 3 For a detailed report on the NALSA judgement refer to http://translaw.clpr.org. in (accessed on 10 November 2020), an initiative by the Centre for Law & Policy Research. For detailed discussion on the State Legal Services Authority and other legal aids refer to http://nalsa.gov.in (accessed on 10 November 2020).

1 The Third Gender in India A Historical Overview

The third-gender community has a rich history and culture in South Asia. All South Asian countries have their own distinctive practices and mythologies, yet the overall communitarian life of third-gender persons is seen in almost all South Asian countries. In order to understand their challenges, it is important to take note of the historical context present in India. It is difficult to understand the complexities of their lives from purely Western theories of rights which represent views from the global North. This chapter therefore provides a short historical trajectory that will focus on the social and cultural peculiarities that have shaped the minds and attitudes of the people, state and society about the third gender in the context of India. On this issue, I am more agreeable to post-colonial arguments that point out how history and culture have an impact on all aspects of life such as ‘behaviour, relationships, identities, responses and epistemologies’ which influence the minds of people and their relationships with each other in a myriad of ways (Jain 2011: 1). In his book The Location of Culture, Homi Bhabha draws our attention to the fact that culture is never static but is instead an ‘endless process of engagement and exchange’ (Bhabha 1994; Hogan 2015: 143–144). Agreeing with this argument, I assert the need to examine the changing facets of culture and society and their relationship with equity, equality and social justice. In order to understand the true human rights situation we need to destroy “narrative monopolies” as insisted by Lyotard and focus more on the narrative that is derived from the ‘struggle against illegitimate power formations and the politics of cruelty’ (Benjamin 1989:153; Baxi 2011: 74). Baxi argues that the soul of human rights lies not in a presupposed notion of humanity but in a process of ‘continual re-definition’ (Baxi 2011: 64). In other words, the local and not the global needs to be emphasised again and again and this ‘remains the crucial site of struggle for the enunciation, implementation, enjoyment, and exercise of human rights’ (Baxi 2011: 74). The post-colonial perspective emphasises the need to look into lives and lived experiences. This is possible only when we try to locate the issues within the narrative and stories voiced by the victims. Drawing from the post-colonialist perspective, the chapter argues that the universal doctrine of DOI: 10.4324/9780429243851-2

The Third Gender in India 9 human rights has proved to be inadequate in explaining the various gender rights issues in the context of India.

Position of Non-Procreative Sex and Non-Heteronormative Individuals in Ancient India The presence of the third gender in India can be traced back to the days of the Vedas (1500–500 bc) when individuals were categorised based on their prakriti or nature. Some of the renowned ancient texts and literature, for example Vatsyayana’s Kamasutra, Kautilya’s Arthashastra and Hindu mythologies and epics such as the Mahabharata, refer to the existence of third gender as a separate category in ancient India. In Kamasutra, Vatsyayana makes specific reference to the third gender as the “tritiya prakriti” (i.e. the nature that lies outside heteronormative binary identities). Vatsyayana further categorises the third group of persons into two categories based on the way they dress. He points out that when people ‘take the form of women or dress as women’ (Vanita 2002: 172) they are referred to as strirupini and when they ‘take the form of men or dress as men’ they are called purushrupini. (Vanita 2002: 172) Various other texts such as Patanjali’s work written in the second century bc makes reference to the third gender as ‘kliba, pandaka and napunsaka’. (Vanita 2002: 174) However, suppression of one’s gender category was considered an offence. The Mahabharata has several powerful stories that talk about the perceptions, implications and consequences of gender transformations and cross-dressing at both societal and individual levels. Discussion of two such examples follow, with the story of Shikhandi and Brihannala holding special attention. Though the incidents narrated about them are brief, the major implications of these two stories are significant as far as the attitude and position of trans persons in the society are concerned. In the Mahabharata, Shikhandi is the daughter of Dhrupad, king of Panchala, who prays to Lord Shiva for a son. Lord Shiva blesses him but foretells that he will have a child who will first be a daughter but who will then turn into a son. Dhrupad undergoes intense tapasya to Lord Shiva only for the desire to have a male child. However, Shiva points out that it is his destiny to have a female child born to him who will later become a son and will be the cause of Bhishma’s death. A girl is eventually born to Dhrupad who is named Shikhandini. Dhrupad however raises Shikhandini as a prince and names him Shikhandi (Bhattacharya 2011: 326). Dhrupad decides to marry his daughter Shikhandini to another princess. Later when the ‘newly married bride’ comes to know about the ‘real generic identity’ of her husband she feels betrayed and her parents decide to attack Panchal. These circumstances make Shikhandini attempt suicide in order to avoid shame and embarrassment. However, in the forest Shikhandini meets Sthunakarna, a yakshya who helps her change her sex (Datta 2016: 65–66).

10  The Third Gender in India This shows that an excess of pungvav (masculinity) within napungsattwer (impotency) has often helped to keep the passive gender hidden under the cloak of the dominant one (Bhaduri 2012). In another story in the Mahabharata we find exemplification of crossdressing where Arjuna, the hero of the Mahabharata, cross-dresses for one year while in exile so that no one can recognise him. During this period, Arjuna dresses up as a woman and utilises his skills as a dancer. He is called Brihannala and has the status of a kliba, who was neither a man nor a woman (Pande 2004). The mythological reason behind this story is that Indra (the lord of thunder in Hindu mythology) had advised Arjuna to learn Gandharva Vidya, the art of pleasure and entertainment, from apsara Urvashi. However, when Arjuna refused to be entrapped by Urvashi’s charms she cursed him to lead the life of a hijra, a eunuch (Bhattacharya 2011). This curse proved to be a boon for Arjuna as he could keep himself disguised during his exile period the Agyatabaas as Brihannala, the dance guru of Uttara, the daughter of King Virat. These narratives offer a powerful insight into cases where non-procreative people were not treated with equality and dignity. Literature reveals the general acceptance of heterosexual vaginal sex, while forcible seduction or rape of a minor was seen as a great offence, often accompanied with severe penalties such as heavy fines, cutting off the offender’s hand, or even the death penalty, in the event of the victim’s death (Vanita 2002: 173). These instances highlight the importance of women’s virginity in the ancient period and how the loss of virginity was considered sacrilegious, as it adversely affected their chance of marriage. This raises the question about the treatment of non-heterosexual people in this period. Texts from ancient writings reveal that it is wrong to assume that there was no tolerance towards non-procreative sex. Sex, if not procreative, was considered as ‘unfortunate’ and ‘degrading’ but was not treated as unforgivable, ‘unnatural’, ‘abnormal’ or ‘evil’ (Vanita 2002: 175–176). The notion of the androgyne is not new in India, with some of the oldest texts documenting records of the presence of both man and woman in the same body. The concept of androgyny was popular in Hinduism and the concept of Ardhanarishvara (ardha nara and ardha nari, meaning half man and half woman) which is sought to be the source of all creations depicts the form of a deity where both sexes are reflected. The right side of the deity is manifested by Lord Shiva and the other half by Goddess Parvati. This concept was not only popular in Hinduism but also found appeal and acceptance by theologists, psychologists and psychoanalysts. The concept gave primacy to the idea that every man has a woman inside and that it is difficult to identify the true self. Wendy Doniger in her book Splitting the Difference upholded that it is difficult for a person to identify the stronger self from the many selves that coexist within a body. Is it the sex with which one is born, the one imposed by society, or the desire that lurks in one own mind? It might also

The Third Gender in India 11 be the ‘sexless, genderless, desireless spirit within us waiting to be discovered?’ (Pande 2004: 40). Hindu mythology has several stories of men taking the form of a woman to be in disguise. The story of Lord Vishnu who fulfils his role as Lord Krishna in the Mahabharata transforms himself into a beautiful maiden named Mohini and marries Aravan. The day after marriage Aravan lays down his life in the battlefield as a matter of supreme sacrifice (Pande 2004: 56). These mythologies still have great significance in India. Each year this occasion of Aravan’s wedding to Mohini is celebrated with full vigour in Tamil Nadu. During this festival, which generally takes place for eighteen days and reaches its peak in the last two days on a full moon night, the hijras joyously get married to God Kuthandavar (at a place called Koovagam) and enjoy sexual life as newly married wives with other hijras. Just like in the story of Aravan, the mood here changes as well and according to the legend, Kuthandavar dies and leaves all his wives as widows (Pande 2004: 56–60). Widowhood is then marked by breaking off of bangles and removing sindoor. References to various similar mythological stories are also mentioned in other epics such as the Ramayana. In it, transgender people were not considered as either man or woman but a third gender called napunsaka. It is mentioned that when King Rama sets off for his exile to the forest, the people of Ayodhya follow him to bid goodbye to their dearest king. King Rama asks that men and women go back to Ayodhya. On his return after fourteen years he finds them on the river bank. The eunuchs tell him that Rama had asked the men and women to go back and since they were neither, they waited. Rama then blesses them. The belief that eunuchs have divine power and can bestow blessings on a newborn child or in auspicious ceremonies seems to have been derived from the Ramayana. Medieval Period and Patronisation of Royal Dynasties Medieval European travellers and social historians have pointed out that the eunuchs had enjoyed an extremely prestigious position in the imperial courts and holi cities. As Shaun Tougher notes in his essay ‘In or Out? Origins of Court Eunuchs, In Eunuchs in Antiquity and Beyond’ that it is probably due to the physical nature of the eunuchs that they earned trust and loyalty from the imperial kings. Eunuchs gained positions of trusted guardians in the harems, the innermost circles of women. They also enjoyed enormous power as political advisors and powerful administrators (Tougher 2002: 144; Reddy 2006: 22–23). One the major reasons for such eminence, notes Kathryn Ringrose in her book Living in the Shadows: Eunuchs and Gender in Byzantium, is that eunuchs were ‘gender-neutral’, ‘non-testiculated’ individuals and as such were ‘incapable of impregnating women’ while being capable of offering ‘manly’ protection (Ringrose 1994; Reddy 2006: 23).

12  The Third Gender in India William Dalrymple in his book City of Djinns: A  Year in Delhi details the plight of eunuchs during the Mughal rule. He points out that India Mughals allowed eunuchs to serve as harem guards and even rise to power as ‘chamberlains’, ‘governors’ and ‘generals’. Dalrymple discusses the life of Zakir, a jeweller whose family had served the Delhi sultans and the Mughal emperors. After the eviction of the Mughal emperor from the Red Fort in 1857 by the British, some of the court eunuchs started living nearby, as a community, just a few minutes away from the Turkman Gate (Dalrymple 2004: 170–171). As a community, the hijras in India have practised a pluralistic form of religion by combining the beliefs of all religions, including Hinduism, Islam and Jain, that evolved over time (Reddy 2006: 110). Drawing on instances from the writings of several travellers and scholars, including British civil servants Charles Elliot and Joseph Bampfylde Fuller, Gayatri Reddy in her celebrated book With Respect to Sex: Negotiating Hijra Identity in South India draws our attention to the diverse religious practices which the hijra community performs. Reddy refers to certain instances like when Muslim persons, in order to be associated with their Hindu counterparts, often wore dhotis and chanted ‘Ram Ram’, a sacred utterance usually made by Hindus to pay respect to the legendary King Rama in Ramayana who is looked at like God (Elliot 1892: 28; Reddy 2006: 110). Similarly, Bampfylde Fuller in his book Studies of Indian Life and Sentiment notes how members of the hijra community were influenced by each others systems and culture which often tended to “overlap’’ with Hindus and Muslims attending each others festivals and singing each others songs (Fuller 1910; Reddy 2006: 111). Criminalisation of Non-Procreative and Non-Marital Sex in the Colonial Period Both ancient and medieval history reflects an indigenous pattern of acceptance of the third gender in society. They enjoyed a special position and were considered auspicious for marriage ceremonies and births, often sought out for such events. However, the British rule acted as a watershed moment in the history of the third-gender community in India. The enunciation of the Criminal Tribes Act in 1871, with the subtitle ‘An Act for the Registration of Criminal Tribes and Eunuchs’, dealt a great blow to the morale of the thirdgender community in India (Narrain 2004: 59). The colonial government was against any ‘carnal intercourse’ which was considered ‘against the order of nature’ (Narrain 2004: 48). The colonial government considered eunuchs as incapable of ‘acting as guardian, making a gift, drawing up a will, or adopting a son’ (Narrain 2004: 59). In the language of colonial governance they were simply considered as ‘the scum, the flotsam and the jetsam of Indian life’, with ‘no more regard than the beasts of the field’ (Narrain 2004: 59).

The Third Gender in India 13 This attitude might have been the result of what Michael Foucault largely describes as the Victorian morality that restricted sex to the confinement of one’s own bedroom. In his celebrated book The Will to Knowledge: The History of Sexuality, Volume 1, Foucault explains how an environment of ‘silence’ was maintained. Sex was treated strictly as a private matter only for the pious cause of ‘reproduction’ and hence apart from ‘conjugal family’. Nobody has enough reason to discuss it in public (Foucault 1998: 3). This attitude changed the perceptions of the masses about the eunuchs, and they started despising them due to their inability to procreate, form families and lead a ‘decent’ or ‘normal’ life. Eunuchs were often rumored to be and labelled as criminals, kidnappers and baby snatchers. This changed perception resulted in years of systematic abuse, discrimination and often violent social exclusion of the transgender community from society. While India embarked on a new journey to grow after gaining independence in 1947, religion and caste took centre stage during the partition and gender discrimination fell behind on the long list of agendas. Though gender equality was incorporated in the Constitution of India as a liberal democratic principle, the newly formed Constitution retained many of the derogatory and discriminatory laws from colonial India. Sovereign India carried forward and incorporated Section  377 of the Indian Penal Code in the Constitution which criminalised gay sex. This resulted in misuse and abuse of the transgender rights and the rights of the LGBTQI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex) community in the state and society even after independence. Existence as a Separate Community with Stigma and Hatred The violence and social exclusion towards the third gender that were prevalent during the colonial rule continued in the post-independence period. This caused the third-gender community to be the recipient of systemic bias and denial of access to basic human rights, leading to their eventual marginalisation. They were mentally and sexually harassed, bullied and shunned by their families and society, which prompted them to build and live in communities, practising a communitarian way of life. In an interview conducted in Kolkata, Rupa hijra (name changed on request) informed me that at a young age she was forced to leave her family due to societal pressures. Her family never understood the complexities of her mind and body. After years of suffering mental and physical abuse at the hands of her family, she contacted a local hijra group and joined the community. Pamela shared a similar story with me. She was handed over to the hijras by her parents. Though she was born into an economically stable family her parents felt strongly that Pamela’s presence would hamper the chances of her sisters getting married.

14  The Third Gender in India Shabnam, another trans person residing in South Kolkata, spoke to me candidly about her life and journey. After years of struggle she is economically independent and chooses to live her life on her terms. However, this independence did not come easy, as she had to leave her family who would not allow her to be a woman since she was born a man. One of the common notes that echoes from these stories is that thirdgender people have been forced to leave their families, peers, societies and join communities, to live a life that gave them more freedom to pursue their own gender identity. Scarcity of resources has forced and continued to force these individuals to join communities that practise the hijra pratha commonly known as the badhai, which refers to the hijras giving their blessings to newborn babies and other auspicious occasions. This is a traditional role that hijras play in their communities and it commands a great deal of izzat from the mainstream community. However, it is difficult to ascertain whether this was a part of gender politics in which an unwritten norm separates the unwanted individuals from the mainstream. Patriarchy does underscore the importance of child-bearing and it is important for patriarchal societies to silently exclude them from the mainstream. The community of the hijras live like family and look after each other. Organised as a commune, the hijra community provides support and sustenance – economic, social and psychological – to protect young trans people who join the commune from violence and blatant discrimination. Based on the cardinal philosophy of the guru-chela relationship, the younger members of the community are asked to pay absolute obedience and allegiance to the guru and elders of the commune. In the path-breaking book Neither Man Nor Woman: The Hijras of India, anthropologist Serena Nanda notes that the Indian tradition of the hijras is divided into seven houses named as Laskarwallah, Chaklawallah, Llanwallah, Bendi Bazaar, Poonwallah, Ballakwallah and Adipur (Nanda 1999: 39). These divisions according to Nanda vary slightly in different regions. She describes the lives of hijras from different religious communities – Hinduism, Islam and Christianity – all living under the same roof or household (Nanda 1999: 41). Another practice which takes place in the hijra community is the initiation of a hijra through the method of castration. This process, albeit emasculating, is an important step towards countering anxiety stemming from ambiguous genitalia and initiates and ushers them into finally belonging to a group that understands them. Nanda in her book has cited some vivid descriptions about how an individual in the hijra community (the term hijra, which is of Urdu origin, refers to an emasculated male and is often used interchangeably with ‘eunuch’) is prepared physically and mentally to go through this crude and primitive procedure of castration. One thing common to both the hijras and the eunuchs (the emasculated male) and the hermaphrodites (intersexed,

The Third Gender in India 15 whose genitals are ambiguously male at birth) is that both are devoid of the potency for copulation and have an ‘irregularity in (the) male genitalia’ (Nanda 1999: 13–14). Disturbing descriptions of castration are also presented in the pathbreaking stories narrated by Zia Jaffrey in her pioneer book The Invisibles. In the book Jaffrey cites incidents reported by SN Ranade for his work with the Ministry of Social Welfare. In this report, Ranade shows how out of hundreds of people interviewed, seventy-six were castrated, thirteen were hermaphrodites or pseudo hermaphrodites and eleven were transvestites or zenanas. These reports claim that most hermaphrodite children were handed over to the hijra community who in turn made them eunuchs. The report also cites that most of these children came from the poor families (Jaffrey 1998: 59). Through these descriptions, Jaffrey draws attention to the fact that these children need protection and rehabilitation (Jaffrey 1998: 61). These narratives and stories reveal the vulnerability of intersex people from low socio-economic status. Joining the hijra community is often their only option. After joining, some engage in the tradition of badhai, while others are reduced to begging and sometimes prostitution, though this has never been considered as part of the traditional hijra ritual. An interesting observation made by Ajoy Majumder and Niloy Basu in their pioneer book Bharater Hijre Samaj is that hijras often are pushed or forced into the life of petty crime. As hijras can easily be dressed up as women they are often utilised and exploited by some groups to dress as women and enter into households. They can easily win the trust and hoodwink family members. In this way, the authors point out that they often played the treacherous role as informers (Mazumder and Basu 2011). It is not unusual to see hijras begging at traffic signals. Local citizens see them as an inconvenience or a public nuisance and believe they should remain engaged in some meaningful work and earn their livelihood through decency and hard work. These persons have been named ‘lal batti mangna’ (red light beggars), as they step out to beg once the cars stop at the traffic signal when it turns red (Goel and Nayar 2013: 20). In an interview conducted at a traffic signal in Moulali, a place near Sealdah, Kolkata, I  enquired whether the hijra community was ready to engage in jobs outside of begging. One of the respondents, Pinki, a middleage third-gender person, stated openly that she has no special skill with which she can look for a job in the market. In another interview conducted at traffic signals in South Kolkata near Jadavpur Police Station, Ruksana pointed out that they are forced to do this for a living since they are doubtful whether the mainstream will allow them to work inside their homes. These stereotypes and stigmas have constantly demeaned and lowered the status of the third gender in society. These examples highlight two significant problem areas related to questions around the right to privacy and dignity. Discriminatory laws like

16  The Third Gender in India Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code have deeply affected the lives of thirdgender persons. The threat of criminalisation has been a source of constant fear and humiliation, making many lives unbearable. In the article ‘Decriminalization as Deregulation? Logics of Sodomy Law and the State’, published in Sexuality Studies edited by Sanjay Srivastava, Jyoti Puri draws our attention to the fact that Section 377 was one of the most humiliating laws ever drafted. It argues that in most cases, the violence meted out to the transgender community extended beyond the scope of Section 377, often with additional laws like vagrancy, allegations of theft or disturbing the peace being slapped on them. Citing the example of Section 268 of the Indian Penal Code, she draws our attention to the fact that this law, which is against public nuisance, had been indiscriminately used on this community. They are often declared ‘public nuisances’, ‘imminent criminals’ or ‘thieves’ (Puri 2013: 155). The underlying objective, as Puri points out, was to stop the hijras from committing crimes through preventive force. Thus, the colonising legacy of criminalising the hijras has continued long past independence and has left an ugly mark on the hijra community in post-colonial India. In addition to the systemic injustice embedded in our criminal justice system, the other most distressing problem plaguing the third gender is the innate disrespect for them as human beings. Those who were treated as criminals could hardly lead a dignified life. Dignity is intrinsically connected with both autonomy and privacy. As a result, systematic exclusion from access to education, healthcare, family life, livelihood options and others have perpetuated the problem for thirdgender persons who are mostly viewed in the society as aliens, unnaturals, abnormals and undesirables. The chapters in this book will highlight the lives of like third-gender persons and how they have been treated in post-independent India. It will discuss in detail their challenges and their responses to mobilise and fight for visibility, dignity and happiness.

2 Human Rights Violations and the Assertion of Self-Identity Narratives and Experiences of the Research Participants

‘Contemporary’ notions of human rights have placed great emphasis on taking ‘human suffering seriously’ (Baxi 2008: 49) and urges to take necessary steps to redress it. Discrimination based on culture played an important role in systematically ‘excluding’ certain groups and communities from participating in mainstream activities. Identity movements, which are strongly embedded in roots related to gender, caste and other factors, played an important role in exposing all the practices that have denied human dignity in the process of denying their basic identities. Through the assertion of identity movements, we realised the deep significance of one’s identity, which is so closely attached to one’s self. Hence, a denial to respect one’s identity leads not only to serious human rights violations but also to the loss of one’s essential human dignity. In this chapter, I have focused on the various forms of exclusion faced by individuals of third-gender communities from their narratives. Of late, a study based on first-hand narratives has essentially been one of the most authentic methods of doing research in social sciences. Professor Dipankar Sinha in his book Development Narratives: Walking the Field in Rural West Bengal, observes that narrative inquiry has ‘attracted the attention of social scientists’, as it ‘facilitates the understanding of experience as lived, negotiated and told’ (Sinha 2014: 3–4). The reason to focus on narratives and experiences in my study is simply to substantiate human rights theories through local and contextual happenings. Most of the theories on human rights have a Western ideological tint. Hence, research on human rights in the context of India becomes more relevant if we can relate it to local happenings and events. This will definitely ‘make us aware of the political, ethical and moral dimensions of ordinary people’s everyday struggles on the ground’ (Sinha 2014: 4).

Narratives of Human Rights Violations: Untold Miseries Hijras and Their Right to Vote/Inclusion as ‘Other’ in Passport/Census Elections are the cornerstone of a successful democracy and voting rights are the most fundamental political rights for all citizens. Though the right DOI: 10.4324/9780429243851-3

18  Human Rights Violations and the Assertion of Self-Identity to vote is one of the most basic and fundamental rights of Indian citizens, hijras and transgenders were denied this right until 1994 due to the electoral roll having only binary gender categories. However, in 2009, the Election Commission formally introduced and allowed ‘Other’ as a separate category for gender identification. As Ranjita Sinha, activist with the Association of Transgender/Hijra in Bengal (ATHB), pointed out to me during our conversations on the matter, ‘We were allowed to vote only as male and female which did not reflect our true identity’.1 It was a major development in the third-gender movement in India when Shabnam Mausi was sworn in as a member of the Madhya Pradesh State Legislative Assembly (1998–2003), marking the entry of the first eunuch into the house. Shabnam won from Sohagpur constituency of tribal-dominated Shahdol district as an independent candidate in the parliamentary elections of April and May 1996. The social movement and campaign for hijras and transgenders have paved the way for recognition of the third gender on Indian passport application forms. In 2005, the passport application forms were updated with three gender options: M, F, E (i.e. male, female, and eunuch respectively).2 It is also significant to note that it was in 2011 that transgenders were added to the census process in the category of ‘Other’. This has been hailed by its community members as a great achievement and a much-needed step that would provide visibility to the numerous previously unrecognised individuals. As Laxmi Narayan Tripathi, a transgender activist, proclaimed, ‘It is a great leap forward’. Education and Employment The transgender community irrespective of their class, caste, religion or socioeconomic status had to face innumerable challenges in enrolling themselves in schools and universities that followed the set binary gender categories. Both an institutional and a social failure, this caused education to be off-limits for many trans individuals. Many who did get enrolled were forced to drop out due to embarrassment and humiliation after having their gender identities disclosed. In recent years however we have witnessed many schools and universities adding a separate category ‘Other’ or ‘T’ to application forms. In most cases, my interviewees complained that they had to drop out of school, despite their desire and ambition to gain an education, due to a hostile environment marred by constant remarks about their gender and identity. Many had to drop out early and have been unable to complete their education in schools and colleges. Sumitra As Sumitra (pseudonym) of Baruipur told me, this led to a deep-rooted identity crisis in her. She admitted that Sumit (male) was born as a male but

Human Rights Violations and the Assertion of Self-Identity 19 that she always longed to be a woman, dress like a girl and exhibit all traits of womanliness. This not only severely affected her psyche but also led to a deepening crisis. She could no longer mingle with her peer group. She felt humiliated and thoroughly devastated. Eventually, she left her studies when she was in the seventh standard.3 Kolkata, 11 January 2007

Deepa In another instance, Deepa (name changed on request) confessed that the taunts and ridicule were so harsh that she had to leave her studies. She received no moral support from her family and eventually joined the hijra group where she could finally vent her feelings and emotions. Deepa felt that employment opportunities hardly knock on the door of transgender persons. Those who come from a middle-class or upper-middle-class background remain in their homes and can pursue their education to some extent. Nandan, Kolkata, 14 May 2007 Atri Kar Atri Kar of Tribeni, Hooghly, West Bengal, recounted the obstacles she faced as a young child which then continued to affect her as an adult. Her story is of significance in the context of education, as she had to constantly fight for the rights that should already have been available to her. Sitting at the Coffee House situated on College Street, an old part of Kolkata also popularly known in Bengali as the boi-para (where you get all kinds of books), Atri describes one of her earliest feelings as a child as that of feeling trapped inside the wrong body. Born and raised as a boy, she knew that she couldn’t be feeling effeminate just from being around girls as she only had brothers. While Atri enjoyed sports, she would often just watch the boys play instead of joining them for the fear of being bullied. The students in her school would often call her by objectionable names like ‘half-lady’, implying that she was not fully a man. To avoid humiliation, she would purposefully stay on the sidelines and avoid participating in sports. She did however receive support and protection from teachers at her school, as she was good at academics. While Atri successfully graduated with English honours, she could not pursue her master’s degree at the university. Lack of opportunities and support combined with repeated verbal assaults deterred her from pursuing higher education. However, she found solace in pursuing her passion for English by becoming a school teacher. While Atri wanted to immerse herself into the mainstream and give back to the community by teaching, the mainstream public was still not ready to accept her. She recounted

20  Human Rights Violations and the Assertion of Self-Identity horrifying workplace experiences in which she was humiliated and made to feel unwelcome, like she did not belong there since she was different from them. In one instance, she was asked to give reasons for taking a casual leave when they never did the same thing with other teachers. She was constantly left out of conversations and activities by the other teachers. One such instance that made her cry inside was when a fellow teacher shared food packets with every teacher present in the common room except for her. She points out that it is far easier to accept general indifference towards the third gender than deliberate first-hand experiences of humiliation and taunts from fellow colleagues at the workplace. Atri remembers the sneers of her colleagues at her previous workplace. Once as she was about to eat rice in the canteen, given free as a part of the midday meal by the government, a teacher pointed out that Atri should be grateful that she got a meal. This implied that had she not been a teacher at the school, she wouldn’t be able to feed herself. Atri describes having a flurry of emotions at this public humiliation that she managed to keep under control but was unable to understand how teachers could be so insensitive. It was this moment that spurred Atri to fight back in life. Rights when infringed should be contested and Atri realised that she had to fight for her rights. When she found that there was no category for transgender in the entrance exam for government jobs she filed a case in the courts. She was later allowed by the court to appear as transgender in her exam. Atri does not mind being labelled third gender. She believes that having recognition on paper by the state is progress. She does not mind utilising reservations to move further in life. She believes that the Constitution of India is based on equity and not just equality and reservations for transgenders are necessary for them to be on par with the mainstream. However, in order for real change, we need more educated transgender people in this country and they need to work with the government and justice system. It is important to note that transgender people who live the lives and experience the difficulties of the third gender and are confronted with challenges on an everyday basis understand the pain first-hand and are best suited to change the current narrative to make a difference in this society. Atri is undertaking medical therapy prior to changing her sexual identity. She firmly believes that a physical or surgical change in the body does not guarantee acceptance. This must come from within the society. Atri is now working at a government school, a position she is proud to have attained through competition and not through reservation. However, she emphasises that her journey feels lonely and sad when it should not be. She concluded our interview by saying, ‘Lopa di, nobody can accept the phase of “transition”. Either you are accepted as a male or as a female. The life in between is very lonely and the journey to be a part of the mainstream, to be recognised just as other fellow beings is sad and very lonely.’4 Coffee House, Kolkata, 18 May 2018

Human Rights Violations and the Assertion of Self-Identity 21 Debojit Bagchi Debojit Bagchi (Deboshree) also highlighted the difficulty in obtaining an education in urban areas like Jalpaiguri, West Bengal. He has been a trans activist and founder and president of Jalpaiguri Uttarayan for the last twelve years. Jalpaiguri Uttarayan works with trans individuals and hijra to uplift their current positions. Debojit, an active social worker, has worked on two big projects: one was Pehchan, AllianceIndia, under a global fund, and the other was a West Bengal government project in Alipurduar and Coochbehar. The West Bengal government project was under the health department and targeted the intervention and prevention of AIDS. This project dealt with female sex workers, men who have sex with men and trans people. Debojit is a highly qualified individual with a post-graduate degree who has an interest in the French language, which he teaches at a college in Islampur. Online, 2 June 2018 Debdatta Biswas Debdatta Biswas, resident of Budge Budge, in the vicinity of Kolkata, despite her struggles completed post-graduation in Bengali. A versatile singer and elocutionist, Debdatta dreams of pursuing higher education. However, as luck would have it, she was given an opportunity to be trained in one of the most eminent private nursing schools in a posh area of urban Kolkata and is the first transgender occupational therapy technician. Debdatta is happy to be a part of the medical world. However, due to her love for Bengali literature and songs, she wants to pursue a different career and wants to get recognition based on her talent. Online, Kolkata, 1 June 2018 Sumi Das In an article in Anandabazar Patrika, a leading Bengali newspaper, we get the story of Sumi Das and her dreams. Born in Coochbehar, a district in West Bengal, Sumi overcame mental and physical trauma associated with the third gender to start a non-governmental organisation (NGO), be recognised as a judge of a Lok Adalat in Coochbehar and even receive an invitation from an NGO in the USA to give a talk on the condition of the third gender in India. Sumi is still skeptical about the position of the third gender but acknowledges the progress that has been made. She points out that while people previously used to taunt the third gender directly, now they sneered in the back. She states, ‘We have a long way to go . . . we need to win over these struggles also.’5 Over an online conversation, Sumi talked about her life’s upheavals. Born into an affluent family in Dinhata, Coochbehar, Sumi had to leave her home

22  Human Rights Violations and the Assertion of Self-Identity at the age of fourteen to live a life of her own. It was hard for people to accept that a person born as a boy could behave like a girl. She struggled to sustain herself with the Rs 1500 she would earn. Soon after she came back to Coochbehar, as she felt the need to help her marginalised community. She founded an organisation named Moitri Sanjog Society, Coochbehar, with the goal of bringing all marginalised individuals together under one umbrella. Thereafter, she started a newspaper called Moitri Barta, which was the first of its kind in North Bengal. Sumi is grateful for the constant support of Dipayan Babu, Shila Ghatak, Madhabi Das and Niladri, among many others, who have helped her in the vision of Moitri Sanjog Society to help the third gender.6 Sumi Das is actively engaged in doing humanitarian work for trans persons and children. She has organised and mobilised funds in her own capacity for promoting the cause of the marginalised and the suffering. At the time of this interview, Sumi was in the USA for two months. She was there to speak on trans rights issues at conferences in Portland, Oregon, Seattle, Washington, New York, and Washington DC. Sumi’s primary goal is the upliftment of trans people in rural areas. She is hopeful of a future with no gender divides. Sumi strives to create job opportunities and livelihoods with an emphasis on beautician courses and handicrafts like sital pati. She also wants to build a place which can be like a support base for third-gender people forced to leave their homes. She is hopeful that her dreams will be realised if everyone joins her in this movement to usher in equity and equality.7 Employment remains an elusive and distant dream for the third-gender community in India. As education and employment are intricately related, the absence of a formal education drastically limits the chances of gainful employment. Even if third-gender people get a job, workplaces are often marred by constant humiliation and bullying. In an in-person conversation, Ritam (name changed on request), who calls himself a transman, disclosed the mental torture he underwent on a constant basis in his office. He was not only overburdened with work but also subjected to incessant harassment from his colleagues and superiors. With no human resources safeguards in place, Ritam found himself alone and ridiculed, although he continued to work for financial reasons. He was eventually forced to leave and would have found himself in deep financial trouble had he not found another job (Based on a personal interview with the author in Kolkata 2019). In recent years, we have seen NGOs and community-based organisations (CBOs) aid third-gender people in finding jobs or helping them to work at NGOs and CBOs. These organisations have designed specific programmes aimed at empowering them by enhancing their skills and knowledge. Cultural and Entertainment Sector In recent years, we have seen a rise in showcasing transgender creativity and talent across a variety of platforms. However, before the transgender

Human Rights Violations and the Assertion of Self-Identity 23 movement of the 1990s, the hijra system prevented society from recognising and appreciating the talents of third-gender persons as creative individuals. In addition, non-heteronormative persons were categorised only as hijras, resulting in the entire community’s contribution essentially being nonexistent. The gender and identity movements helped the third gender assert their individuality by showcasing their creativity and talents to find some measure of acceptance in society. The early forays of the third gender into the entertainment and the creative arts industries were small, mostly confined to reading texts, reciting poems or enacting a role as a hijra or non-binary person on the stage. Gradually, transgender people started to appear on important public channels, on TV and in films. These roles and appearances, albeit limited in capacity, not only helped increase awareness about transgender issues but also gave transgender people a voice and platform to share their stories. Even with the current progress made by transgender artists, we have a long way to go before seeing equal representation and sensitive portrayals of transgender issues in entertainment or the arts. The following section includes narratives of transgender artists who have shared their hopes and aspirations while highlighting the challenges needed to overcome societal, familial and personal biases. It captures society’s perception of transgender individuals and contrasts it with how they would like to be perceived. Tista Das Tista Das, an actress and an activist in the transgender community, spoke candidly about her life, education and work. Born into a low-middle-class family at Agarpara, a municipal area near Kolkata, Tista went to Subhash Vidya Mandir (primary education) and Agarpara Mahajati Vidyapith (up to the twelfth standard). After the successful completion of her higher secondary education, she enrolled in an esteemed college in North Calcutta under the name of Susanta Das (Tista’s name prior to her sex-change operation in 2004) to pursue philosophy. At the university and in her classrooms, Tista largely felt alienated from her mainstream peers. Tista’s gender dysphoria contributed to her alienation from faculty, staff and peers who were unable to understand or relate to her trauma. Her peers were unaware of her gender identity and would mock her for her effeminate behaviour and liking, which affected her academic standing. In addition, Tista received no support from her family as they failed to understand her. (They felt that dressing like a woman or taking interest in feminine activities was not only weird but also embarrassing for a man.) Unable to bear this harassment, Tista abandoned her dreams and dropped out of college. However, at this critical point in her life she was supported by her childhood friend in Agarpara who helped Tista enroll in Bethune College’s open school. Her previous college experience had scarred her enough to prevent her from enrolling in regular courses.

24  Human Rights Violations and the Assertion of Self-Identity After graduation, Tista’s struggle continued through her employment. The disparity in her physical and behavioural patterns would serve as an amusement for her peers and supervisors and she was constantly subjected to humiliation and ridicule. In one instance, she was repeatedly harassed by male colleagues for sexual amusement. Tista could not apply for any government jobs, as there was no distinctive category for transgenders. Tista has since moved on in life and is a successful actress. She is a self-made person who lives life on her own terms. After her sex change in 2004, she completely devoted herself to an acting career. A transsexual by sex change, Tista feels more like a woman now, at ease with herself and her body. However, her battle to be perceived as a woman is still waging. She is perceived as a transformed woman and to prospective grooms, she is a bright, lovable woman appropriate as a friend but not a bride (though this is something never acknowledged explicitly and publicly), as she cannot give birth. Upon asking if she is happy, Tista broods over the fact that she is offered only transwoman roles for work. She is struggling to get into mainstream cinema,8 and while she is not satisfied with her current recognition as an actress, she is hoping for a better future. Anurag Maitreyee A similar story is also echoed by Anurag Maitreyee, who shared snippets of her life with me here in Kolkata. Anurag felt caged as a child. She feels strongly that no matter what a cage is made of – iron, silver or gold – it still is a cage. She summed up the reality of her life as sacrificing her desires and adopting the choices she never desired. Growing up she deeply felt the differences between the gender she felt and that she was born with. She loved the dresses of the opposite gender. Anurag’s eyes became tearful when she told me that the pain and hurt were intense during the festivals like Durga Puja, the biggest religious festival of the Bengalis. She loved the dresses, frocks and skirts of the girls, but was unable to share these wishes and desires. During adolescence, she came out to her mother and shared her inner turmoil. She remembers her mother being tolerant and advising her to read stories like Hansuli Banker Upokatha, which narrated the character of a hijra. Anurag identifies as a transwoman with no desire to go through a sex change. She fondly explains the meaning of her name to me by emphasising the symbolism of the word ‘Anurag’ which means ‘emotion’. Much like emotion is gender-less, she also feels that her existence should be free from any gendered identity. She does not deny her identity. On the other hand, she celebrates it. Anurag now works in a call centre and is the first openly transgender person in India to be employed in one. She told me that she obtained this position after great effort.

Human Rights Violations and the Assertion of Self-Identity 25 Anurag is vocal about the exploitation she faces every day. She emphasises physical, mental and sexual exploitation in the workplace. It begins with the job search and continues throughout employment. She points out that people often pretend to empathise with her in order to appear progressive. In addition, she believes that while the trans community is active in solving societal issues not limited to trans issues, the mainstream community hardly reciprocates. This highlights the role society can play in bridging this gender divide to uplift marginalised communities. Anurag believes gender sensitisation from early childhood can help societies evolve to be more accepting of the third gender. The process can include an orientation conducted with parents, guardians, teachers and peers. In addition, emphasis should be placed on using appropriate language. For example, instead of addressing students as ‘chhatra’ and ‘chhatri’ (Bengali terms for male and female students respectively), we should refer to them as ‘poruwa’, a non-gendered Bengali term for students. Third-gender bias is deeply rooted in our culture and society. As pointed out by Anurag, we find evidence of this in even children’s rhymes, for instance, ‘Khoka Gache Mach Dhorte’, which translates to assigned gendered roles for males and females with males responsible for outside work and females acting as service providers. Anurag is hopeful that she should be able to express her opinion in society not as a trans individual but as a human being. She feels particularly connected with the vulnerable and marginalised communities and demands equal recognition for all their works. While she is disappointed with the amount of change in the entertainment and broadcasting industry with regard to opportunities for the third gender, especially after the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) verdict, she believes in the future.9 Jadavpur, Kolkata, 19 May 2018 Shreya Karmakar Shreya Karmakar from Kolkata considers having led a much-privileged life. Being a talented dancer, she took up dancing in a restaurant in an old part of Kolkata for her livelihood. While interacting with me over the phone and several times during other programmes, Shreya relayed that she is happy with her job and gets respect and protection from her employers. She is more protected than her other women colleagues who dance with her in the same restaurant. Online, Kolkata, 31 May 2018 Health and Security Access to health services is one of the most important agenda in the transgender movement in India. By virtue of being a welfare state, India should adequately place importance on health and well being of its citizens. By

26  Human Rights Violations and the Assertion of Self-Identity being a signatory to the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the responsibility of the Indian state towards maintaining the ‘right to health’ has increased and is now being treated more as an extended part of the fundamental ‘right to life’ which is guaranteed in article 21 of the Constitution. All these measures are undertaken to provide basic health facilities to all (Sahu 2015: 20). However, while it intends to provide equitable healthcare, vulnerable communities, especially the transgender community, often fall through the cracks. This gap can be attributed to inefficient programme design which highlights the state’s inability to comprehend the problems of this community and the shortage of doctors and support staff trained to handle transgender health issues. In my interaction with research participants, they pointed out that during their visits to clinics and hospitals they found that most medical staff were not keen on treating transgender people. Some of them were distinctly not aware of the specific problems the individuals of this community faced. With the onset of the HIV/AIDS epidemic the government of India for the first time became vigilant about the healthcare of the third gender persons. This is mainly because the hijras were susceptible to this disease as a section amongst them are often actively engaged with sex trade. This forced the government to take active measures and prevent the disease from spreading. In the following section, I  discuss the status of health management available for the transgender community in Kolkata, the challenges they have faced and the improvements that are now being added in the health sector to give relief to the individuals of this community. Bini Bini, an HIV-positive survivor, recounts: ‘I went to get admission in a stateowned hospital in Kolkata. But due to my gender identity disorder, I was not admitted to any of the wards. I felt great humiliation, suffered immensely, and felt extremely lonely. Only a CBO (community-based organisation) stood beside me. I am grateful to Ranjita Sinha of ATHB who took up my cause and addressed my case’.10 There are several such cases in Kolkata where transgenders and hijras face unbearable and inhumane discrimination. The emergence of the global HIV/ AIDS epidemic led to this community coming under the lens. Given that a large number of people from this community are engaged in sex work, the Indian government has taken an active role in creating programmes for the purpose of HIV prevention. To this end, all government hospitals are supposed to have an integrated counselling and testing centre. However, these centres are un-operational in many areas. The 2016 report of the National AIDS Control Organisation stated the existence of 20,756 operational integrated counselling and testing centres that offer HIV testing and medical counselling.11

Human Rights Violations and the Assertion of Self-Identity 27 Sex Reassignment Surgery and Transgenders Sex reassignment surgery (SRS), an offshoot of globalisation, has become popular with the transgender community in India. This medical innovation has been embraced for two reasons: addressing personal and societal needs. Non-binary people are constantly ridiculed, humiliated and considered a social stigma by society. This incessant harassment causes intense psychological and physical trauma, and third-gender people often opt for SRS to be able to categorise themselves into a binary gender and avoid everyday confrontation. In an interview conducted in Kolkata, several transgender people acknowledged undergoing SRS due to societal pressure. They were comfortable with their gender-fluid selves and would not have undergone SRS but to avoid harassment. Furthermore, a change in the body often puts third-gender individuals at ease with their psychological orientation. They feel more at ease in their bodies to love and be loved. While SRS is popular with the third gender, it is still largely inaccessible to the community due to high cost, shortage of highly trained medical professionals and unavailability of therapy both pre-surgery and postsurgery. The following personal narratives highlight the issues around SRS and the urgency required in addressing them. Tista Das When asked about the need for this change, Tista quickly replies, ‘I was constantly ridiculed and did not feel comfortable in the body I  was born with’. Once at a college social, Tista recited poems written by Rabindranath Tagore and Joy Goswami, for which she was ‘ridiculed, laughed at and was mocked by others’. She added, ‘Though some were curious to know how a boy could recite a poem so beautifully, most of them thought it was a big joke.’ Tista always felt that life had played a cruel joke on her having left her to be an ‘incomplete woman’. Once she changed her sex from a man to a woman, she felt complete in mind and body (20 May 2017). When asked how difficult the process was, Tista replies that it was financially very hard on her and her family, stating, ‘I had to sell my utensils for the operation. I  received no help as the government had no health insurance scheme or policies for sex reassignment surgery at that time.’12 Joe Similarly, Joe (who considers herself a transman) is desperately considering a sex change. Joe lives in Kolkata and has no living family. Supported by the transgender community, Joe has embraced them as her family.13

28  Human Rights Violations and the Assertion of Self-Identity Samiran In his interview, Samiran (name changed on request) said that even in 2017 he has been constantly ridiculed by his peers for being transgender. Born in Tripura, Samiran is pursuing his engineering degree in Kolkata. He was shocked to find that he had to go through the same humiliation as he used to in school. He is now in his third year at college and would love to undergo the surgery as soon as possible He believes the surgery will help him in becoming a ‘true woman’.14 Violence in the Lives of Trans Persons Sadly, violence is a part of the lives of transgender persons from the day they are born. Families are often hostile and resort to violent measures with the intention of bringing them back to normalcy (as their behavioural pattern seems unnatural to them). Most of the families in India are not sensitized towards this issue and hence suffers from confusion. Moreover, pressure from various social groups create an additional burden of guilt. Instead of protecting their children they mostly resort to violence and often throw them out of their house. In case of the government, measures towards protecting the third gender persons have been vastly inadequate. Referring to major reports such as Human Rights Violations Against Sexual Minorities in India: A  PUCL-K Fact-Finding Report About Bangalore and Human Rights Violations Against the Transgender Community: A  Study of Kothi and Hijra Sex Workers in Bangalore, India Arvind Narrain in his book Queer: Despised Sexuality Law and Social Change pointed out that there have been innumerable instances of violence inflicted on the ‘queer’ community. The worst forms of violence have gone unnoticed and there has been an ‘invisibility’ and ‘silence’ around these issues.15 (Narrain 2004: 93) When members of the third gender are raped, they find no support from law enforcement and the criminal justice system. As the People’s Union for Civil Liberties-Karnataka (PUCL-K) notes, ‘It is time that these sufferings be taken seriously and mainstream human rights communities in India address these issues with urgency.’ (Narrain 2013: 19) The reports have drawn our attention to the fact of how legally and socially the trans community have suffered humiliation at all levels.16 Gender Discrimination in Sports: Violation of Human Dignity The genre of sports has often been categorised on the basis of biological distinction and stereotyped on the binary distinction. For example, while football has essentially been perceived as a man’s sport in India, kabaddi and tennis have long been associated with women. In the case of thirdgender persons, the rigid categorisation of males and females puts them at

Human Rights Violations and the Assertion of Self-Identity 29 a disadvantage. While participating in a competition the third gender may face unpleasant circumstances, as often their gender does not match their biological sex. This often leads to violent social exclusions causing public humiliation and loss. In India, to be a successful sportsperson, one may often have to undergo tremendous mental agony and humiliation just for the sake of his or her gender variance. We can look at the case of Pinki Pramanik, a medalwinning athlete who was accused of competing as a woman while being a man and jailed on charges of rape. A highly accomplished track and field athlete, Pinki won a silver medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, a gold at the 2006 Asian Games, and three gold medals in the 2006 South Asian games. However, Pinki underwent all kinds of humiliation and mental degradation even before her guilt was proved. She was manhandled by strangers who forced her to undergo tests in a nursing home, following which a multimedia messaging service clip of her unguarded physical state was leaked and went viral. As a citizen, Pinki should be tried by the court of law for the offence charged against her. However, what was disturbing was the fact that her gender identity was being questioned and tried by so-called vigilantes. Despite representing India on a global level and winning medals, Pinki was harassed and deprived of any dignity. All her achievements were suddenly of no importance and her guilt of the charges was summed by her being a third gender. People often derive primitive and barbaric amusement from topics involving sexuality with an absolute disregard for the person being scrutinised. While Pinki was only one of several such victims of human rights violations, this instance makes us wonder whether Pinki Pramanik and all those victims will ever be able to regain their self-confidence, dignity and respect.17 The aforementioned narrations are quite an eye opener for all of us. Despite the provisions for gender equality guaranteed by the Constitution of India, and transgender movements advocating equal rights, the third gender continues to face harassment and humiliation.

Notes 1 Based on a personal interview in Kolkata at her residence at Gokhale Road on 15 April 2016. 2 For details refer to Hariharan Kumar, ‘Case Studies, Statistics and Survey on Hijras – Academike’, Lawctopus, 13 February  2015. www.lawctopus.com/ academike/case-studies-statistics-survey-hijras/ (accessed on 22 December 2017). 3 The names have been changed in these cases to protect the identity of the persons. 4 This is a personal interview from 18 May  2018 at Coffee House on College Street, Kolkata. 5 Namitesh Ghosh, ‘cooch behar theke America swapner uran rupantor kami nariSumir’, 27 May  2018. www.anandabazar.com (accessed on 14 November 2019). 6 Ibid.

30  Human Rights Violations and the Assertion of Self-Identity 7 Based on an online conversation and write up from the USA on 13 June 2018. 8 Based on a personal interview with the author conducted online in Kolkata on 20 May 2014. 9 Based on a personal interview conducted at Indian Coffee House, Jadavpur, on 19 May 2018. 10 Based on a personal interview, on Transgender Day 30 April 2013, near Jatin Das Park Metro Station in Kolkata. 11 For more case studies please refer to www.dreamnews.in. 12 The interview with Tista was conducted at multiple stages – August 2002 and 20 May 2017 in Kolkata. She was my first case study when I enrolled as a PhD degree student and started taking interviews face to face. I  had then gone to talk to her in person in Baruipur, South Kolkata, for Human Rights Violations Against Sexuality Minorities in India. I was helped by an NGO called Ritwik. The interview cited here was conducted at various phases, but only two interviews have been cited. 13 Based on a personal interview conducted online on 19 May 2017 in Kolkata. 14 Based on a personal interview in 2017 in Kolkata. 15 For details refer to Human Rights Violations Against Sexual Minorities in India: A PUCL-K Fact-Finding Report About Bangalore. 16 For a detailed report please refer to Human Rights Violations Against Sexual Minorities in India: A  PUCL-K Fact-Finding Report About Bangalore, http:// www.pucl.org/sites/default/files/reports/Human_Rights_Violations_against_ the_Transgender_Community.pdf (accessed on 17 July 2017). 17 For a detailed report please refer to ‘Rape Charge Slapped on Pinki’, The Telegraph, Metro, 13 November and ‘Tests Hint at Third Gender’, The Telegraph, Metro, 11 July 2012. Certain words mentioned in the paper which describe the victim’s body in a crude fashion are changed here to prevent sensationalism and protect the dignity of the person concerned.

3 Constitutionalisation and Realisation of Human Rights Looking Back at Some Landmark Judicial Interventions

The Third Gender: A Marginalised Section of Society The Constitution of India incorporated a liberal-democratic framework and included three basic principles of social justice – liberty, equality and fraternity – in the Preamble. It provides basic guarantees like the Fundamental Rights (articles 14, 15, 16, 19(1) and 21), according to which the state cannot deny any person the right to equality before the law or equal protection within the territory of India (Article 14); cannot discriminate against any citizen on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth (Article 15); cannot decline equality of opportunity in public employment (Article 16); cannot refuse protection of certain rights regarding freedom of speech and expression; cannot disallow any individual to assemble peaceably without arms, form associations or unions, move freely throughout India to reside in any part of the territory of India (Article 19) and provide protection of life and personal liberty (Article 21). It is ironic to note that although the Constitution of India provides provisions for social justice it took almost six decades to decriminalise Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which violates articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution that guarantee the rights to equality, non-discrimination, privacy, bodily autonomy and health, continued and both state and non-state actors have been used to persecute and harass LGBTQI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex) people in India. Several other laws have also been used to criminalise or harass this community, including nuisance laws, state police acts, laws that criminalise begging and/or laws that regulate sex work. The urgency to address the gaps between social ideals, democracy and social transformation cannot be overlooked. Aniruddha Dutta offers some insights into providing effective inclusion strategies for all transgender persons. In his article, ‘Legible Identities and Legitimate Citizens: The Globalization of Transgender and Subjects of HIV-AIDS Prevention in Eastern India’, Dutta points out that globalisation has provided a platform for DOI: 10.4324/9780429243851-4

32  Constitutionalisation and Realisation of Human Rights greater inclusion. By not acknowledging certain ‘gender variant persons’, the government is depriving them of their legitimate constitutional rights, which in turn is leaving them vulnerable to deadly diseases like HIV/AIDS (Dutta 2013: 494–514).1 With the growth of movements centred on identity politics, the thirdgender community has been fighting for their rights. The media too appears to have become an ally of trans movements. However, the onus for protecting the rights of people falls upon the judiciary. But the function of judiciary is limited due to separation of powers. Moreover, the general idea about third-gender persons in Indian society was restricted to the notion of hijras only, and hence new situations and challenges that were brought by other trans persons such as transmen and transwomen were not clearly understood and realised. This posed major problems for many third-gender persons who have been facing different sets of problems in their daily lives. Slowly, movements of resistance towards already existing stereotypical notions of identity were built up in the society. Therefore, presumably, it took a much longer time for the judiciary to deliver path-breaking verdicts that had a major impact on the lives of transgender persons in India. The judiciary and its role in safeguarding and protecting the human rights of individuals took a sharp turn with the increased importance of social justice that remained underrepresented even after four decades of independence. The Supreme Court essentially became a voice of the oppressed and unheard. It not only protected individuals’ rights but also helped to keep alive democratic ideals and traditions. Through judicial activism, the Supreme Court played a proactive role in safeguarding citizens’ rights. In the book Politics in India: Structure, Process and Policy, Professor Subrata K Mitra notes that the Supreme Court of India has recently become active with regards to policymaking. In areas such as public interest litigation, an ‘aggrieved party, (including judges of the court themselves), can file a case in public interest and have it heard on a priority basis’. This process has helped parties to avoid unnecessary procedures connected with litigations and get direct access to judicial interventions (Mitra 2014: 118). As far as transgender rights are concerned the Supreme Court has played a historic role in identifying discrimination and restoring the dignity of individuals from the queer community. Delhi High Court Judgement, 2009 On 2 July 2009, the Delhi High Court in Naz Foundation v. Union of India ruled that Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code violated the country’s Constitution guaranteeing dignity, equality and freedom (articles 21, 14, 15) to its citizens. The judges read down Section 377 decriminalising consensual sex between adults of the same sex in private. Professor Rohit Dasgupta

Constitutionalisation and Realisation of Human Rights 33 rightly observed that this was a landmark judgement, as it ‘finally overturned a 150-year-old law that had denied queer citizens the right to be open about their sexuality’ (Dasgupta 2017: 11). The judgement in 2009 was a result of decades worth of work by LGBTQI activists. One of the earliest landmark protests was organised in 1993 by AIDS Bhedbhav Virodhi Andolan to demand the repeal of Section  377, followed by a legal challenge in 1994. Supreme Court Judgement, 2013 The euphoria and excitement of the 2009 judgement did not last long. In December  2013, the Supreme Court of India overturned the Delhi High Court case Naz Foundation v. Government of NCT of Delhi. As eminent lawyers Danish Sheikh and Siddharth Narrain point out, after four years of the Delhi High Court granting the third gender ‘equal moral citizenship’, the Supreme Court had effectively recriminalised the existence of millions of lesbians, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals across the country (Sheikh and Narrain 2013). In its defence, the Supreme Court has made thirty amendments to the statute including amendment of rape and sexual assault law in 2013 and the category of offences under Section 377 since the adoption in 1950. The Court did not want to intervene when the legislative branch had chosen to keep the law in order to respect the democratic mandate of the legislature (Sheikh and Narrain 2013: 14–15). This judgement was one of the most infamous decisions delivered by the Supreme Court, generally perceived as an unbiased and liberal institution that serves to protect the rights and dignity of every Indian citizen. The decision sent ‘shockwaves’ throughout the country and the ‘wider world’. A collective global action from activists and the general public declared 15 December, 2013 as the Global Day of Rage to protest this decision (Dasgupta 2017: 139–140).2 NALSA Judgement, 2014 The National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) created under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, provides free legal services to the marginalised communities of the society and organises Lok Adalats for amicable settlement of disputes. Additionally, each Indian state has a State Legal Services Authority to implement the policies and directions of NALSA at the state level. In a historic ruling on 15 April  2014, the apex court of India, in the case of National Legal Services Authority v. Union of India (NALSA 2014) declared that hijras, or eunuchs, apart from the binary gender, are to be treated as ‘third gender’ for the purpose of safeguarding their rights, and these persons have their right to decide their self-identified gender. After the

34  Constitutionalisation and Realisation of Human Rights reversal of the Delhi High Court judgement of 2009 by the Supreme Court in 2013, the NALSA judgement provided some respite to the community. With a legal status now in place, the third gender had access to all the rights guaranteed under the Constitution. The community was granted a separate identity category for election, passport, driving licence and ration card. The Court pointed out that the true growth of a nation is not economic growth but human dignity. The judgement declared not only that transgenders have the right to choose their self-identified gender but also that they could no longer be forced to change their sex. Any insistence for sex reassignment surgery (SRS) was deemed immoral and illegal. The Court also made a number of legal declarations, all of which were aimed at the upliftment of the hitherto neglected community. It directed the central and state governments to re-examine existing legislations on the basis of the recommendations made in the Report of the Expert Committee on the Issues Relating to Transgender Persons constituted by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and implement those within six months of the ruling (Pulickal and Siva 2016). The Rights of Transgender Persons Bill, 2014 The Rights of Transgender Persons Bill, 2014 is a private member’s bill championed by Tiruchi Siva, member of the Rajya Sabha. The bill laid down provisions for the following (including but not limited to): access to education; skill development and employment; social security and healthcare provision of reasonable accommodation; legal aid; financial aid; prevention of abuse, violence or exploitation; rehabilitation; social inclusion and acceptance. The Rights of Transgender Persons Bill, 2014 was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on 10 December  2014 followed by enthusiastic discussions on 27 February  2015 and 8 March  2015. However, the bill was not discussed in the subsequent monsoon and winter session of 2015 in Lok Sabha, and on 26 December  2015 the website of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment displayed a draft bill titled ‘The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2016’, which according to some members did not rightly uphold all the demands of the transgender community. This Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2016 has not stood up to the expectation of many activists and scholars. As eminent activist Siva has pointed out, the bill might reverse the gains made through the community’s decade-long struggle (Pulickal and Siva 2016). Pulickal and Siva state that the bill incorrectly defines transgender as being part male and female or as an incompletion with binary gender as the reference point and therefore reinforces harmful stereotypes. It is also in contradiction to the definition of transgender provided by Supreme Court’s NALSA judgement. The bill was also criticised on the grounds that it insisted on a ‘screening committee to certify transgender persons which goes against the constitutional

Constitutionalisation and Realisation of Human Rights 35 right to equality’. It violates the NALSA judgement of self-identification, which at its core serves to protect human dignity (Pulickal and Siva 2016).3 In the article ‘Gatekeeping Transgender’, Aniruddha Dutta points out that the Government of India’s proposed Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2016 sets a dangerous precedent by giving a lot of power to the district screening committees to decide who can be considered transgender and receive benefits accordingly. The bill further prevents an intersectional understanding of identity and oppression by constructing divisive frameworks of identity like the LGB versus T divide (Dutta 2016). Decriminalisation of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code by the Honourable Supreme Court in 2018 The legal, political and social changes before 2014 led to the declaration of the remarkable 2018 Supreme Court judgement that decriminalised the derogatory Section of 377 of the Indian Penal Code. This ruling not only relieved the guilt and burden of repression that was imposed on the community since the colonial rule but also restored faith in human dignity. By decriminalising this section, the judgement re-established people’s faith and trust in the judiciary and the Constitution. The LGBTQI community welcomed this ruling but reiterated that this decision should have come sooner after independence. While globalisation has helped create greater awareness for third-gender causes, to change people’s attitude and for governments to create more inclusive policies we are still a long way from true equity and equality. National Council for Transgender Persons A notable development following the Supreme Court ruling to continue the upliftment and protection of transgender persons was the establishment of the National Council for Transgender Persons, a statutory body established in 2020 under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment that seeks to advise the government on all policy matters regarding transgender persons under the provisions of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019. This diverse statutory body comprises five representatives from the transgender community who represent five states – one each from the north, south, east, west and north east. The initiative to include members from diverse communities helps provide fair representation.

Report of the Expert Committee on the Issues Relating to Transgender Persons, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India On 23 August  2013 a meeting was organised by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment to discuss discrimination faced by the transgender

36  Constitutionalisation and Realisation of Human Rights community in society – lack of access to education, public healthcare, employment opportunities, and more. The committee was composed of representatives from state governments, transgender communities and academia. The committee in its report highlighted the problems faced by the community and offered steps to rectify the situation. The report primarily discussed who the transgenders are and outlined their problems. It is important to mention that even today the majority of the mainstream population is not aware of what transgenderism even means let alone aware of their problems. To this end, the committee in Chapter 1 of its report provides the official definition of transgender that would serve as a reference for all, followed by constitutional protection and jurisprudence available to transgenders in Chapter 2. As global practices are important in shaping the movement in India, an enumeration of the status of the third gender in other countries like Canada, the USA, Argentina, Australia, Germany, France and the UK is mentioned in Chapter 3. In Chapters 4 and 5, the committee places important emphasis on utilising important schemes for the benefit of the ‘weaker’ and ‘disadvantaged’ sections of the society. Chapter  6 enumerates the names of different schemes undertaken by various ministries and departments of the Government of India, including the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, National Rural Livelihoods Mission, National Social Assistance Programme, National Urban Livelihoods Mission, and healthcare facilities such as Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana, National Health Mission, National Policy on Skill Development and Indira Awas Yojana. The Expert Committee is of the view that these schemes could be effectively utilised to help benefit eligible transgender people. Chapter  7 addresses issues related to stigma, discrimination and violence faced by transgenders. It focuses on families of the gender non-conforming people; facilities like educational institutions, healthcare, shelters and residences available to transgenders; the means by which transgender adults address stigma, discrimination and violence; and conditions of elderly transgender people. Chapter  8 highlights the importance of access to education and employment opportunities. It stresses the need to include transgenders within the mainstream education system and ensure the fulfilment of obligations under right to education. Emphasising the need to focus our attention to the welfare of transgender youth who are the most vulnerable of the group, the report addresses their issues in Chapter 9. The report is open and receptive to medical advances made in the trans field. Chapter 10 documents services related to healthcare (both physical and mental) and gender transition services including SRS. Chapter  11 contains a guide to building transgender boards which cites the example of the Tamil Nadu Transgender Welfare Board, and Chapter 12 explicitly discusses the role of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. It is important to mention that these reports have played an important role in standardising for the first time in India a definition of the

Constitutionalisation and Realisation of Human Rights 37 word ‘transgender’ and our social role and responsibility towards the community.

West Bengal Transgender Persons Development Board In consonance with the declaration of the Honourable Supreme Court in 2014, which recognised transgenders, hijras and gender-queer people with intersex variations as the ‘third gender’, the West Bengal Government set up the country’s first Transgender Development Board in 2015. The objective of the board has been to uphold the directions of the Supreme Court for federal and state governments to include transgender people in all welfare programmes for the poor, including education, healthcare, and jobs to help them overcome social and economic challenges. At the time of its establishment, the Transgender Development Board consisted of Dr  Shashi Panja, Honourable Minister of State (Independent Charge), Department of Women and Child Development and Social Welfare as the chairperson and Dr Manaobi Bandyopadhyay, (also spelt as Manobi in her autobiography) an eminent professor and Principal of an esteemed college as the vice chairperson. Other members included eminent personalities and celebrities, representatives of the hijra community and other distinguished personalities and scholars. The board conducted regular meetings to discuss issues like organising a state-level workshop, forming district units of the Transgender Development Board and taking up awareness and gender sensitisation programmes. However, there had been strong resentment from a section of the community who felt that the board had not lived up to expectations. They pointed out that adequate steps to conduct a proper census of people from the transgender community had not taken place since the inception of the board. Neither had the board introduced facilities of SRS in state-run medical colleges and hospitals nor introduced private toilets for transgenders. So though the initiation of the board raised great expectations, in reality it could not address the various problems and challenges faced by the transgender community.4 The Transgender Persons Development Board was formed for a second time in December 2020 and composed of a chairperson, Honourable Minister Dr  Shashi Panja, and vice chairperson, Dr  Manabi Bandyopadhyay, along with nine board members and government officials. The representation of the board includes members from different segments of the community such as transmen, transwomen and hijras as well as from different fields such as academia, including distinguished professors with special interest on transgender issues and distinguished scholars, and various non-­ governmental organisations. However, the function of the board has not been above criticism. Many community members in India and abroad have expressed their doubts about the effectiveness of the board. However, amidst the pandemic, the board

38  Constitutionalisation and Realisation of Human Rights continues to work within its limited jurisdiction. It has organised camps for vaccination for transgender persons and tried to provide some relief to the trans persons who have had nothing to fall back on, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. The board has taken active steps to provide transgender persons with identity certificates, to enroll transgender persons in the Electoral Roll by sending letters to the chief electoral officer and to provide reservations of beds for transgender persons in hospitals. Framing of state laws is in process, and the board has been trying to provide relief in all major sectors such as access to healthcare, education, housing, welfare measures and economic support. National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) National human rights institutions (NHRIs) are independent institutions bestowed with the responsibility to protect, monitor and promote human rights in a given country. The growth of such bodies has been encouraged by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), which has provided advisory and support services and has facilitated access for NHRIs. These rights are explicitly provided for in international agreements that countries have signed and written in national constitutions. Generally, NHRIs enquire about human rights violations perpetrated by public servants, such as the police, government employees and public authorities and even private sectors such as employers. Transgender persons who are largely a part of LGBTQI are affected by criminal laws existing in most countries of South Asia, where same-sex sexual conduct gives power to the police to threaten and arrest them ‘for causing public nuisance’. They are subjected to humiliation and discrimination in homes, schools, colleges and workplaces and often denied recognition of their preferred gender identity, which affects their ability to obtain basic identity documents. They are forced to succumb to violation of physical and emotional integrity, physical violence and forced conversions. Organisations publishing on sexual health also face shutdowns. NHRIs can be approached by the victims or through representatives over the phone, in an email or in person at an NHRI office. An organisation can also make a complaint on behalf of the person. NHRIs are empowered to investigate an alleged human rights violation through their own action. It may come to their knowledge even before a complaint is filed. While investigating a complaint, NHRIs are often considered to have the powers of a legal court. As such they have the power to receive evidence and call individuals such as witnesses and ask them to submit reports. In cases of human rights violations, NHRIs can take measures, ask the government to take adequate steps or recommend the payment of compensation to the victim or victim’s family. NHRIs can apply to legal courts, and if the victim is in detention, they can visit the detention facility. Some NHRIs in South

Constitutionalisation and Realisation of Human Rights 39 Asia have supported human rights claims with regard to being given back one’s job after being removed due to sexual orientation and stopping police harassment and violence against transgenders.

Glimpses of Some Developments after the NALSA Judgement in Kolkata, West Bengal Though the NALSA verdict was an important breakthrough, there have been gaps in the process of its implementation. On 29 April 2017, at a conference organised by Association of Transgender/Hijra in Bengal (ATHB) along with other stakeholders like West Bengal State AIDS Prevention & Control Society VHS (Voluntary Health Service) and others from the Academy of Fine Arts, Kolkata, members expressed their dissatisfaction about getting access to jobs, which is extremely difficult for transgenders who have undergone sex change. According to Madhuja Nandi, it is extremely unfortunate that even after changing their names through affidavit it has been very difficult in terms of acceptance as a woman by others in the society and especially in official matters. ‘It is unfortunate that the society is yet to accept us as part of mainstream’, she states.5 She also discussed how trans persons are exposed to discrimination and disregard in their personal and love life as well. There has been a global attempt to fight homophobia, transphobia and biphobia, and 17 May has been declared as the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia. Discrimination is still apparent in the day-to-day lives of transgender persons. There still exists discrimination regarding their accessibility to public places and parks and even in terms of the time when they can use public toilets. In all sectors of their daily lives, they still need to battle to get the minimum rights they deserve as human beings. They are routinely ‘invisibilised’ and ‘marginalised’ (Shah et al. 2015: 141).

Attempts at Breaking Gender Stereotypes in Urban Kolkata, West Bengal Amidst various obstacles and difficulties, some incidents in urban Kolkata are flashpoints that have given the trans movement momentum. The following story of West Bengal’s first legally married transgender bride is an example of this.6 Shree Ghatak who considers herself a transwoman felt attracted to Sanjay Muhuri, her school friend, at the age of 14. However, being trapped in a man’s body Shree felt lonely and confused. Shree underwent sex reassignment surgery in 2015 and took up the name Shree. Shree admits that her mother and husband were always by her side. Her in-laws accepted her wholeheartedly after she changed her sex. Shree and Sanjay married after sex reassignment

40  Constitutionalisation and Realisation of Human Rights surgery and after sorting out the papers supporting her transition they went ahead with a legal marriage. However, as Ranjita Sinha, transgender activist pointed out, there is no law that allows them to get married but transwoman marriages do not require any special law, as they marry as women under the marriage act. However, Ranjita and others are still carrying on with the movement so that transgender people can attain the right to get married under a special transgender law.

*** Atri Kar, of Tribeni, Hooghly, is a school teacher at Kuntighat. She graduated with English honours from University of Calcutta and took admission in University of Burdwan for post-graduation. Though Atri’s family is supportive, she has faced a lot of discrimination. Even two years after the NALSA judgement, Atri found it difficult to apply for government jobs which had no category on their forms apart from male and female. However, with due legal intervention she could finally fill out the form in the category for third gender. Atri is also the first transgender person to appear for civil service examinations.7

Some Reflections The previous examples bring into focus some of the realistic situations that the state has to confront while implementing laws. In India, due to a lack of awareness and absence of adequate modern training and skills, government hospitals and medical professionals are ill equipped to attend to the medical conditions of transgender persons. Due to a lack of availability of financial resources and necessary infrastructure there is a scarcity of separate wards for trans persons. The need to promote SRS through financial subsidies has also been a major challenge for the state. Since independence, the state has played a very dubious role as far as the issue of hijras is concerned. Till recently, there had been no exact statistics related to the number of individuals born as hijras. The census also included only the binary options and hence many of them were largely left out or were counted in most cases as males. In all sections of society, hijras are denied access. Recently, governments however are taking active interest in the concerns of the people of the third-gender category. They are primarily due to the following reasons: First, the number of trans persons along with the traditional hijra community in India constitutes a significant section of the society. Since they constitute an important vote-bank, the political parties are now keen to listen to their concerns to further their own political interests.

Constitutionalisation and Realisation of Human Rights 41 Second, governments’ commitment towards good governance, which includes decentralisation, honesty, independence of judiciary, human rights and people’s participation, equality of treatment, absence of discrimination, administrative responsiveness, social sensitivity, ethical approach and willingness to learn have made them more responsive and sensitive towards the need of these persons. Third, the global policies that have largely focused on human development and participatory approach have had great impact on domestic laws, which clearly reflect notions of inclusivity. These policies and schemes provide room for upliftment of the disadvantaged and marginalised communities especially in areas of basic social services such as education and health and protection of employment. Fourth, the recognition of the hijras and transgenders by neighbouring South Asian states has also spurred the urgency of officially accepting the identity of the hijras in India.8 Following the observations of Upendra Baxi as advanced in his book The Future of Human Rights, I agree that there exists a strong relation between global human rights culture and societal cultures. How much impact they have on each other and to what extent is difficult to ascertain but one will agree with Baxi that there is a relation of both ‘submission’ and ‘struggle’ (Baxi 2008: 22). Human rights discourse as is amply reflected from the aforementioned instances evolves through what I would call strong protests and resistance movements which also may sometimes display a political overtone thus expanding its scope and horizon. Though much has been achieved, a lot more is yet to be done as has been pointed out by a section of trans activists. After the NALSA judgement an environment has been created where the rights granted gives the transgender community a legal arm to fight against injustices and discriminations directed at them. One has to contest for those rights and translate these declarations into reality.

Notes 1 For details refer to Aniruddha Dutta, ‘Legible Identities and Legitimate Citizens: The Globalization of Transgender and Subjects of HIV-AIDS Prevention in Eastern India’, 2013. www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14616742.2013. 818279 (accessed on 10 December 2015). 2 For details see Baxi (2014). Here, Upendra Baxi has provided a critique of Naz 2, the judgement of the Supreme Court, which reversed the progressive, egalitarian, inclusive and constitutionally wise decision of Naz 1 by the Delhi High Court. www.epw.in/journal/2014/6/commentary/naz-2-critique.html (accessed on 23 November 2018). 3 For a detailed analysis see the article by Anuvinda P. and Tiruchi Siva, ‘No Country for Transgenders?’ Economic & Political Weekly, 51(37), 10 September 2016. www.epw.in (accessed on 23 November 2018). 4 Sumanta Ray Choudhuri, ‘Bengal’s Transgender Development Board All Round Failure, Alleges Member’, Hindustan Times, 4 July 2016, www.hindustantimes.

42  Constitutionalisation and Realisation of Human Rights com/kolkata/bengal-s-transgender-development-board-all-around-failurealleges-member/story-8YZ4xiM8DMkd9DBYRj5FVI.html (accessed on 24 August 2017). 5 This is referred by Madhuja, a transsexual person working with Sanlaap, an NGO addressing the trafficking of girls and other related issues. Madhuja openly spoke about her views in the conference organised by ATHB, referring to the humiliation she suffered at the hands of the mainstream persons even after her sex change. 6 For details please refer to Shreya Biswas, ‘Shattering Gender Stereotypes: Here Comes West Bengal’s First Legally Married Transgender Bride’, India Today, 21 February  2017. http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/first-transgender-marriagelegally-shree-ghatak-west-bengal/1/887869.html (accessed on 30 January, 2023). 7 For details please refer to Sohini Dey, ‘Breaking New Ground: Meet Atri Kar, First Transgender from WB to Appear for the Civil Services Exam,’ The Better India, 23 January  2017. www.thebetterindia.com/83328/atri-kar-transgenderwest-bengal-civil-services-examination/ (accessed on 20 February 2017). 8 For an understanding of the comparative position of the legal rights of gender non-conforming persons in South Asia see Jain and Rhoten (2013). In this article, reference has been made to the recognition of transgender as a separate gender category and equal citizenship being granted to them in Nepal in 2007, Bangladesh in 2009 and Pakistan in 2011.

4 Civil Society and Human Rights Activism

The term ‘civil society’ gained significance in Indian democracy in the last two decades. Being non-state actors, civil society and civil society organisations have played an important role in areas where the government could not play a proactive role in terms of intervention into the daily lives and well-being of people. Over the last few years, civil society, especially non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and community-based organisations (CBOs), has been seen to play an extremely engaging role in cases of disadvantaged, vulnerable, excluded and marginalised sections of society. Thus, the importance and relevance of civil society has increased since the 1990s primarily due to two reasons. First, as a result of the state’s inability to handle discrimination and injustice that took place at the micro-level on a daily basis. Second, positioned between the government and the people, civil society organisations could cater best to the needs of the people and often bring them to the attention of the government. In this sense they acted as pressure groups, drawing the attention of the government by making issues public. ‘Contemporary’ human rights discourse has the potential to ‘expose human suffering’, ‘make it visible’, and take necessary measures to ‘ameliorate’ it (Baxi 2008: 6). NGOs, CBOs and the media in India have been truly instrumental in exposing glaring discriminations and providing a space for disseminating ideas about emancipation of human rights. In Kolkata, the spontaneous growth of CBOs and NGOs has provided a major platform to expose and alleviate human suffering. Defined variously, one of the most accepted functions of civil society is to articulate the views of the people and include them in the policy-making processes. Thus, the neo-liberal period created new ways for marginalised citizens to express their grievances by participating in ‘social action, policy processes and governance at both national and international levels’ (Sundar 2010: 52–53). Pushpa Sundar in her book Foreign Aid for Indian NGOs: Problem or Solution? draws our attention to the fact that with the onset of globalisation in the 1990s, the visibility of NGOs has sharply increased. This was also aided by an influx of foreign aid into their hands which largely helped DOI: 10.4324/9780429243851-5

44  Civil Society and Human Rights Activism them to manoeuvre the direction of development at both the national and international levels (Sundar 2010: 4). In this chapter, I analyse the ways in which the civil society, predominantly the NGOs and CBOs, have been performing in India.

The Role of NGOs and CBOs in the Case of the Third Gender in India NGOs have played a formidable role as far as the human rights of sexual minorities are concerned. We are aware of the fact that for a very long time the issue of sexuality remained taboo in Indian society and even now it is not a very popular subject to discuss or research. The most important work that NGOs working in this field have undertaken is to spread awareness among the masses who are not sensitised enough to comprehend the manifold dimensions of people who exist beyond the heteronormative paradigm. In this chapter, I have discussed the work which these NGOs and CBOs have achieved in the last two decades in ameliorating the social, economic and civil rights of the hijras and transgenders in Kolkata; some have a broader base and operate throughout West Bengal. ATHB (Association of Transgender/Hijra in Bengal) ATHB was formed in 2008 to protect and safeguard the interests of hijras and transgenders. It firmly believes that violence against transgenders/hijras in West Bengal has been increasing day by day. To try to put a halt to and adequately address violence against transgenders/hijras, seven CBOs came together under one umbrella to form ATHB. It plans to work towards strengthening each association/coalition to respond to any situation in a timely and effective manner. The objectives of this organisation include working towards making transgenders/hijras self-reliant; safeguarding their equal rights, opportunities and dignity; and the recognition of the community as a ‘third gender’. Its activities include creating awareness about the rights of transgenders/hijras and sensitising the general public to try to change their perception of the community; fact finding and documentation; legal aid counselling; protection against violence; lobbying with the government to gain recognition of transgenders/hijras as the third gender; helping them to get their basic rights and access to government schemes, generating awareness to recognise them as a separate gender identity particularly in government mechanisms like the national census, voter card, ration card and passport and in establishing their ownership and inheritance rights under formal law and other activities. On 30 April  2010, ATHB organised Transgender Day in West Bengal. It was the first time that the transgender community came forward and celebrated the day. The organisation held rallies, signature campaigns, exhibitions, stage programmes and a press conference. After the National

Civil Society and Human Rights Activism 45 Legal Services Authority (NALSA) judgement, ATHB decided to move the date and celebrate transgender day on 15 April, the day the historic verdict was announced. Most transgenders/hijras drop out of high school because of stigma and discrimination. ATHB through Indira Gandhi National Open University made it possible for the transgender/hijra community to pursue and finish their education and gain access to many other professional courses through scholarship. Efforts to provide land/shelter for the transgender/hijra community through the office of the district collector and Municipal Corporation and generating awareness to vote as a transgender citizen are also made by ATHB. ATHB also organised an award function for the transgenders/hijras in West Bengal, for the first time in India, where five community people received Bravery awards for having done something for the community and society. ATHB has opened a platform for the transgender community, providing support and encouragement. Every year, the community celebrates two events: Transgender Day and the Kolkata Rainbow Pride Walk to celebrate the beginning of the LGBT movement around the globe. This programme has drawn huge support from the mainstream and celebrities who promote the cause of the hijras and transgenders in India. ATHB has provided a platform for all transgenders and hijras who seek to exhibit their talents amid public gatherings. Dramas, as well as dance, music and songs, performed by transgenders who are otherwise mocked and illtreated, reveal the great skill some of them possess, without having received any formal training. In an interview with Ranjit Sinha (Ranjita), Founder Executive of ATHB in Bengal and project director of Bandhan, she points out that transgenders face huge obstacles in society from early childhood. Schools in India do not have gender sensitisation programmes and as a result children who are considered effeminate go through significant mental pressure. Most of the time, the families of these individuals also become hostile towards them. Ranjita points out that in some cases, the members of the families forcibly cut their hair or abuse them in other ways. Many such children in India leave their homes or commit suicide. According to Ranjita, rights of transgenders have been violated tremendously. She points out that her organisation performs the role of an ‘interventionist’ by providing counselling, negotiating with family members, trying to fight for the rights of transgenders/hijras and standing by them whenever their rights are infringed. Ranjita has worked to establish shelter homes for those who are driven out of their family homes and those who need a safe place for doing their work in Kolkata. Ranjita talks about the role of public hospitals which fail miserably in giving minimum recognition to the needs of these persons. Citing a case of a patient (Bini) who is HIV-positive, Ranjita points out that she had to run from pillar to post in order to get Bini admitted in one of the leading

46  Civil Society and Human Rights Activism public hospitals in Kolkata. The hospital did not have trained doctors and nurses who could handle transgender patients and no separate wards where they could be admitted. The patient could be admitted neither to the female ward, where other female patients had been admitted who voiced their concern about Bini being admitted with them, nor to the male ward, where the patient was not comfortable being. Under these circumstances, medical attention is delayed and the patient suffers tremendously. Ranjita adds that there are other roadblocks which they are fighting against, namely that transgenders/hijras cannot open accounts in the banks; doctors are not sensitised to their problems; and they do not have any reservation in educational institutions. Agencies and organisations are lending a supportive hand to the transgender issue and are struggling to provide them a platform to voice their grievances and raise awareness.1 During the interview, Ranjita asserts that the transgender movement fights for the right to equality, education and employment. Though a part of the LGBTQI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex) movement, Ranjita refuses to attach themselves with the issue of decriminalisation of Section  377. For Ranjita, the movement for the transgender community does not centre only on sexuality. Their movement is based on the right to equality along with the acceptance of difference. They have much more diversity within their group. Asked about the changing scenario after the historic NALSA judgement, Ranjita replied that the government sometimes fails to comprehend their problem. ‘Sarkar log hijra matlaab samajhte hai Unke liye larka se larki, aur larki se larka hona bahut bara baat nehi hai, woh sarkar log aise problem ko kuch samaj nehi paate’. As Ranjita points out, the government is sensitive to the demands of the hijra in India. But they still cannot comprehend the problem of the transgender or the transsexual where they need to change their sex. For the government, looking at policy issues to make changing one’s sex easier is not a priority.2 However, she is grateful they finally got justice. Ranjita is dedicated to serving the interests of the community from a grass roots level. Formerly there had been a pride walk that was mainly initiated by organisations for men who have sex with men (MSM). It was felt that this could not reflect the interests of the entire community because the participants were mostly people from the upper classes. As a result, since 2013, ATHB has organised the Kolkata Rainbow Pride Walk where the larger community can take part. She also points out that every year they had celebrated 30 April as Transgender Day. But after the third gender got a formal recognition from

Civil Society and Human Rights Activism 47 the Honourable Supreme Court of India on 15 April  2014, they decided to celebrate this historical date as Transgender Day and 15 April  2017 was observed with great pomp and splendour, including a successful fashion show which included persons from both the community and the mainstream. Friends and well-wishers supported the Programme. The dress and Programme were designed and co-ordinated by Laila Sanyal.3 As this day also coincides with Poila Boishakh, the Bengali New Year, women wore traditional white saris with red borders and men wore dhotis. Another important day that has been celebrated in Kolkata is International Trans Visibility Day. Ranjita points out that though 31 March has been marked as International Trans Visibility Day, Kolkata had never witnessed such an event. So to commemorate this day of significance for trans persons, Ranjita notes that a pride walk was arranged for the first time in Kolkata to make trans persons feel special. It commenced from Hazra (a busy junction in the southern part of Kolkata) to Rabindra Sadan, Nandan, in Kolkata, on 31 March 2018.4 Another major step which ATHB took was to celebrate the 157th birth anniversary of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore on 9 May 2018. As Ranjita observes, it will remain a milestone in the journey of ATHB. With help from youth organisation Prantakatha and corporate social responsibility group Kutchina Foundation, ATHB as the umbrella organisation has been working to reclaim the dignity of trans citizens by participating in mainstream activities like Rabindra Jayanti, which people from all sections of society join. Veteran dancer and social activist Alokananda Roy graced the occasion with her beautiful presence. Ranjita is hopeful that spiritual upliftment through dancing will help trans persons regain their own faith and think of themselves as part of the larger society. SRS Solutions, Kolkata Tista Das is the founder of SRS Solutions, Kolkata, who had been working relentlessly for the past few years to provide medical and legal help to transgender individuals. Tista notes that access to safe sex reassignment surgery (SRS) remains a widely neglected medical issue in India. Despite the advances made in the field of cosmetic surgery, most transgenders can afford only crude methods of castration. Tista feels that transsexuality is more a field of open rebuke than a subject of serious medical inquiry in India. She tells me that when she had approached leading government hospitals in Kolkata for surgery, she faced ridicule and blunt refusals. She remembers painfully how one doctor suggested that she should stop fantasising unnecessarily of becoming a woman. Tista (formerly Susanta Das), as the first transsexual person in the city, realises the need to undergo such sexual changes. She feels she is a complete woman now and is more confident. In an interview in Bengali magazine Rupantar Tista pointed out that she had spent almost three lakhs sixty-two thousand in those years to give herself

48  Civil Society and Human Rights Activism a new life. This amount is too high for any middle-class family. Tista feels saddened every time someone asks her whether she can be a mother in the future. She feels sympathetic towards them who do not realise that motherhood is a state of mind that can be achieved without biological intervention (Kolkata, 7 July 2013). Her organisation provides ready medical consultancy and guidance to people belonging to the transgender community in Kolkata. Transsexualism is an individual’s identification with a gender inconsistent or not culturally associated with their assigned sex. It defines a person whose assigned sex at birth conflicts with their psychological gender. A medical diagnosis has to be made if a person experiences discomfort as a result of a desire to be a member of the opposite sex or if a person experiences impaired functioning or distress as a result of that gender identification. Transsexualism is stigmatised in many parts of the world but became more widely known in Western culture in the mid- to late twentieth century, concurrently with the sexual revolution and development of SRS.5 In an interview with Tista, who leads this consultancy and actively pursues activities around transgenders’ equal rights, she says that she is optimistic about the future of the transgender community in India. SRS consultancy has been trying provide medical, social and legal services to transgender clients (related to plastic, aesthetic and reconstructive surgeries). Tista however acknowledges the huge problems that come from the families of the transgender individuals who are not sensitised enough to properly understand these issues. She points out that most of the time transgenders are subjected to domestic violence. And most of the time the parents come to her at her clinic, saying, ‘I want my son back. He needs to be cured’. Tista feels depressed by these statements and wonders how and whom to cure and whether there is anything to cure. She is hopeful that one day parents of transgenders will accept them as they are and embrace them as their children (Kolkata, 16 September 2017). Pratyay Gender Trust The Pratyay Gender Trust is a sexuality rights initiative that commenced in the year 1997–1998 by members of Calcutta’s kothi, hijra and other gender non-conforming/transgender women who remain excluded from the mainstay of broad human rights movements. The organisation was formally registered in 2002 under the Indian Trusts Act, 1882. Pratyay aims to empower transgender women to live their lives with dignity, free from violence and discrimination. Transgender women face multiple forms of marginalisation and continue to suffer social violence owing to their sexuality and exploitation due to their class position. These women are also disentitled from women’s rights on grounds of their ‘biological gender’; they become outsiders to the feminist movement. The experiences of large numbers of transgender

Civil Society and Human Rights Activism 49 women, with whom Pratyay works, reveal that they have been victims of violence and poverty. Since its inception, Pratyay has endeavoured to create a public discourse around the struggles of transgender women from impoverished classes. It has played a key role in locating issues and concerns of transgender communities on the human rights map by organising transwomen communities, documenting their human rights abuses and developing relationships and building alliances with other human rights movements, regionally and nationally. It tries to create a political consciousness among kothis, hijras and other transwomen groups. Some of the services it provides are counselling (around issues of workplace/public place harassment, self-esteem and gender identity), healthcare referrals (for both general health and HIV/other STDs), vocational training, crisis management and legal aid and advocacy towards creating accountability of the state machinery with regard to ensuring the rights of transgender women in society. As a researcher, when I stepped into the office of Pratyay Gender Trust, here in Kolkata, I  was struck by the order and cleanliness and a highly defined aesthetic environment that instantly made me feel rejuvenated and energised. I was also taken aback by the documentation and collection of books that they have preserved as part of their documentation library. I was interested in talking to Anindyo Hazra, founder of Pratyay Gender Trust. I  called him up one morning and he gladly agreed to meet me in a shopping area called Dakshinapan at a famous tea shop that was unanimously decided as our meeting point. Owing to the cooperation and amazingly fluent conversation I had with Anindyo, I picked up a lot of information and most importantly his views on the subject. Anindyo discussed about his belief in ‘performativity’ (a term coined by Judith Butler) and emphasised the ‘fluidity’ in one’s sexual orientation. Asked whether he would like to change his sex, Anindyo firmly answered in the negative and emphatically asserted his belief in gender fluidity. In 2014, Pratyay instituted the Rituparno Ghosh Memorial Lecture in memory of the famous director and artist of Bengali films. The lecture is held on 31 August every year to commemorate the birth date of the beloved director. Eminent speakers and distinguished persons are invited to speak on issues of concern from a perspective that transcends the boundaries of the immediate and the local to achieve greater universal significance. Distinguished personality, legal scholar and author activist Flavia Agnes was the speaker at the first annual lecture. Anindyo, on behalf of the Pratyay Gender Trust, pointed out that Rituda (as Rituparno Ghosh was fondly called) still lives within them and continues to give them strength for being gender non-conforming and standing up for their rights and justice – which he did beautifully through his films and his writing. (Based on an offline interview in Kolkata, 11 June 2012)

50  Civil Society and Human Rights Activism Kolkata Rainbow Pride Festival (KRPF): Solidarity, Art and Sexuality for Dignity and Equality Kolkata Rainbow Pride Festival (KRPF) is an open collective of individuals, networks and organisations which believes that sexuality is a key element of human existence, fulfilment and enjoyment. It holds that no individual, community or section of society should face stigma, discrimination or violence because of their gender and sexuality. Woman, man, transgender, gay, straight, lesbian, bisexual, hijra, kothi or none of these, old or young, single or married – each person has a right to their sexuality along with a responsibility to respect another’s sexuality. In its pamphlet KRPF declares that it strives for greater understanding of the entire spectrum of human sexuality and aims to generate dialogue on diverse expressions of gender identity, sexual orientation, sexual identity and sexual and romantic relations as well as associated socio-economic issues like health, education, law and the domain of work. KRPF deploys a variety of art forms, media and mass awareness activities to generate the dialogue necessary to achieve its objectives. As a ‘festival’, it is not limited to any particular date or time period during the year; rather, it is a celebration of events spread throughout the year on dates of commemorative significance. KRPF was formed on 1 May 2011 at the first meeting to plan the event in 2011. While based in Kolkata, the festival is not limited to participation from the city alone. Inclusiveness is the collective’s mantra – all are welcome who agree with KRPF’s objectives and want to volunteer time, skills, ideas, legwork, funds or other resources. It also plans to collaborate with other community or civil society initiatives similar to its own. KRPF raises funds and resources through fundraising events, individual donations and sponsorships by organisations. Donors and sponsors may be members or supporters. KRPF acknowledges and honours all its contributors, but only in a manner deemed neutral by the entire collective. It is not a forum to promote an individual or organisation’s agenda. KRPF’s activities include the following: •

Annual Kolkata Rainbow Pride Walk, usually held in late June or early July to mark the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots (27–29 June 1969) and/or the Delhi High Court ruling on Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (2 July 2009); exhibitions of paintings, photographs, handicrafts, film screenings, media interface and fundraising parties at friendly venues. Apart from exhibiting posters, holding performing art shows, fashion shows, sports events, fairs and picnics are some of the basic activities which it wishes to undertake. • Various art works displayed at a range of exhibitions. Some groups put up stalls exhibiting various types of T-shirts, some exhibit coloured potteries, young individuals bring out little magazines featuring stories

Civil Society and Human Rights Activism 51 of their own lives, and others make ceramic cups, jewellery out of beads, bags and blankets. All these artistic things are made available for sale. The most striking thing about such carnivals is the decoration of the tents and the ground with vibrant colours (using all the rainbow colours) exhibiting various posters. Bandhan: Tying the Knot of Fraternity A CBO in Kolkata which has been working towards establishing selfreliant transgenders, ensuring their rights and dignity, Bandhan pursues the following objectives: • • •

Recognition of transgenders/hijras as the third gender Equal rights and opportunities for transgenders/hijras and MSM Self-dependency (i.e. income-generating activities)

Ranjita Sinha, Director of Bandhan speaks about the human rights of sexual minorities (transgender, hijra, bisexual, homosexual, kothi, etc.) and others who are oppressed due to their sexual preference and/ or gender expression. Bandhan campaigns against unjust laws that criminalise/discriminate against sexual minorities. Its activities include creating awareness of the rights of transgender and hijra community; sensitising the general public to change their perception towards these communities; helping with fact finding and documentation; providing legal aid and counselling; advocating and lobbying with government stakeholders to acquire the recognition of MSMs, transgenders and hijras as the third gender and their basic rights; helping transgenders and hijras to secure government schemes; generating awareness about prevention of HIV/AIDS; working for crisis management and violence intervention and undertaking research and documentation work on hijras and the transgender community. Saathi – Solidarity and Action against the HIV Infection in India Saathi is a collective NGO that seeks to eradicate the stigma, discrimination, violence and exclusion faced by communities like people living with HIV and sexual minority groups. It is staffed by over ninety professionals in public health, social work and research, nutrition programme communication and sexually transmitted infections. Saathi’s dream is a concerted response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in India. It seeks to strengthen the capacities of individuals and organisations working on HIV prevention, care, support and treatment and sexual and reproductive health interventions in India through information dissemination, networking and operational research, advocacy and training and other technical assistance services.

52  Civil Society and Human Rights Activism Its approach is to provide for technical, operational and financial assistance to strengthen and expand HIV/AIDS services; advocate for increased attention on and political commitment to HIV/AIDS; conduct research to generate evidence for an informed programme response knowledge transfer and sharing of HIV-related science, policy and advocacy updates. Saathi also does networking to bring people from multiple sectors together and into faster collaborations. It values health responses that are rooted in science and that directly engage with affected community members and addresses issues of marginalisation based on gender, sexuality and other factors, influencing equitable access to quality care. Headquartered in Chennai, Saathi has offices in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal. Amitié Trust Amitié Trust is located in Chandannagar, a small sub-divisional town in West Bengal, a suburb of Kolkata. Derived from the French word ‘Amitié’ (which means ‘friendship’) it is a friendship group that caters to sexual minorities. With its limited resources, the members of this trust try to serve the people of the local community. It has actively participated in events like the Rainbow Walk, India’s first pride parade organised by the Integration Society; the Siddarth Gautam Film Festival organised by Saathi, Kolkata; Fourth West Bengal Sexual Health Conference organised by West Bengal AIDS Prevention  & Control Society and Worlds AIDS Day and World Human Rights Day celebrations. In November  2003, on the occasion of Jagaddhatri Puja, an important and famous local festival, Amitié ran an HIV/ AIDS awareness campaign with the help of West Bengal AIDS Prevention & Control Society, which was a grand success. Managing trustee of Amitié Trust and member of the Transgender Development Board, Aparna Bandyopadhyay, in an informal interaction after the Consent and Gender in Equality conference, talked about the way she feels about herself and the community members. She is not against the practice of traditional profession of the hijras (the badhai) but admitted that one needs to live her life on her own terms.6 At the Queer Is Natural conference, Aparna stated that every person has a right to life and live it according to their choice. She raised an important question on why they are called queer and not normal. She insisted that we look back at history in order to assess the position of the hijras and transgender people and their place in society. Before the advent of the British, the hijras had a distinctive place in South Asian culture. It was only after the advent of the British, who cast them as unnatural, hence abnormal, that their position deteriorated. Referring to how much we have achieved in improving the hierarchical status in the mainstream, Aparna commented that first and foremost one has to learn to accept onself completely. Selfacceptance matters most and only then can one fight for one’s rights.

Civil Society and Human Rights Activism 53 Eminent lawyer and human rights activist Kaushik Gupta, also present at this conference, emphasised the need to fight against discrimination and contest for the rights that are granted to all citizens in the Constitution of India.7 However, NGOs suffer from certain limitations. Problems related to the allocation of global and national funds granted to hijras and transgenders sometimes pits them strongly against each other. Generally, the distinctions between these categories of gender identities are so blurred that who caters to whom and how often remains indistinct and unclear. Human Rights Law Network (HRLN) The Human Rights Law Network (HRLN), West Bengal, was established in 2000 primarily to provide legal aid to the prisoners. Over the years, the unit expanded its work and now the focus is also on providing pro bono legal aid to the poor, marginalised persons with disabilities and socially discriminated sections. In the last few years, the unit has successfully established a legal aid network in the state. Since the last few years, HRLN in Kolkata has been vigilant about trans issues and has successfully intervened in providing required help to victims. A  significant achievement of HRLN was seen in the case of Atri Kar v. State of West Bengal and ORS, OA. No 1201 of 2016, State Administrative Tribunal, West Bengal. The applicant, Atri Kar, is a transgender who was unable to fill out the online West Bengal Civil Services (WBCS) application form due to unavailability of the ‘Other’ category in the gender column of the form. Atri Kar, who is a school teacher at a government school at Hooghly, West Bengal, is well qualified as a candidate for the WBCS examination. HRLN, Kolkata filed an application on behalf of Atri before the State Administrative Tribunal seeking that Atri should be allowed to fill out the form and appear for the examination in the ‘Other’ category within the prescribed deadline. Pursuant to the same, the Tribunal passed an order in favour of the applicant, allowing her to fill out the form online and directing to henceforth include the category of third gender.8 In other similar cases, as to include provision of a third-gender option on PAN Cards and petition for legal recognition of transgenders HRLN has been active in its endeavour to fight for justice for trans persons in India.

The Media The role of the media in creating awareness and public consciousness has achieved unprecedented success. Mass communication has evolved over time, and as theorists such as Athique (2012) and Hall (1995) have pointed out, ‘media is not neutral but guided by their own specific ideologies in constructing the messages that they disseminate’ (Dasgupta 2017: 21).

54  Civil Society and Human Rights Activism The growth of Indian mass media can be traced back to the colonial years when anti-colonialists used the media to gather support for their cause. Later, post-independence, this was followed by state-controlled media. The postliberal period since the 1990s witnessed a virtual communication revolution, which included rapid technological advances and had a direct effect on the media. Most state-owned channels were replaced by private channels and its impact was witnessed in political and social spheres (Dasgupta 2017). Professor Amartya Sen (2009) in his book The Idea of Justice points out that an ‘unrestrained and healthy media’ is important for various reasons. Emphasising the importance of ‘free speech in general and of press freedom in particular’, Sen argues that it has a direct effect on the ‘quality of our lives’ (Sen 2010: 335). By emphasising the role of the press in the process of knowledge dissemination on specialised issues, Sen has drawn our attention to the ‘informational role’ that media plays which also attracts ‘public scrutiny’ (Sen 2010: 336). Apart from this, the ‘protective function’ of media in giving voice to the ‘neglected’ and ‘disadvantaged’ has played a crucial role in contributing to ‘human security’ (Sen 2010: 336). Arguing in tune with professor Sen’s observations, I have to admit that the Indian media in the last two decades has played a revolutionary role as far as awareness about the hijras and transgender in India is concerned. Print media, including big houses like The Times of India, The Asian Age, Ananda Bazaar Patrika (a Bengali daily), The Telegraph and The Statesman, have all along raised important issues concerning this community. Serious writings about the third-gender community appeared in the 1990s. However, in these reportings, the third-gender community has been referred to in general as hijras and often there has been an overlapping of distinctive identities. Most of the reporting at that period was centred on the pain and trauma of the individuals of these peoples. The papers sensitised the need to talk about them just as any other human being, thereby trying to break the taboo, or the hard-core barrier, that exists within the Indian society. The Asian Age in its report ‘Trapped in a wrong body, they too want recognition’, published on 14 September 2000 pointed out how the taunts and ‘sneers’ have forced the third-gender community to live in the ‘fringes’ of society.9 Referring to this, Jayanta Nath, a youth in his twenties wonders whether ‘society will accept them as they are if they want to join the mainstream’. He pointed out that people treat him like a ‘circus clown’. He also pointed out that even if he wants to change his sex, he will not be able to do it, as it is very expensive. Jayanta highlighted that ‘even basic medical care’ is not available in the conditions in which they live and ‘even hospitals turn us back’. In another article titled ‘NGO Takes Up Eunuchs’ Fight’ published in The Statesman on 10 October 2000, it was pointed out that since the first census in 1872, eunuchs have always been counted as male. Demanding an immediate change, Ritwik, an NGO working for the third gender in

Civil Society and Human Rights Activism 55 Baruipur, urged that they be recognised as they are and acknowledged with their ‘identity’.10 Crucial issues related to non-acceptance of a transgender child in society and the inclusion of transgender persons in the electoral role have been addressed by the media and have largely helped in creating an environment in which social problems were now heard and talked about. In the article ‘The Third Sex’, published in The Sunday Times supplement, an incident of the birth of a trans child born to a respectable educated lecturer in an upper-middle-class family residing in South Kolkata had stirred great controversy. The mother of the child was mentally tormented and her family wanted her to abandon the child. The intervention of the media helped to increase public awareness and the mother’s decision was finally respected.11 The media coverage that brought into focus that almost ‘28,000 transgenders were included in the electoral role for LS elections’ made an impact on the minds of people, as for the first time in India transgender persons could vote based on their own identity and not as male or female.12 Media houses brought into focus the problems that have been faced by transgender persons in their everyday lives. Interviews with trans persons reflected how their health issues are not taken into cognizance. Most hospitals both public and private do not have separate beds for them and are not sensitive to their physical problems. They are often forced to share wards with male or female persons which puts them in an uneasy space. Most of the time, as trans persons reported, a great deal of problems persisted due to lack of knowledge by the trainers and nurses who do not have even the minimum sensitivity and knowledge to handle these cases. As a result, their sufferings intensify and the pain becomes so acute that it becomes unbearable for them.13 An analysis of these reports helps us to conclude that media channels have acted as a powerful pressure group both on the government and on the society in general. By bringing into focus the challenges from the state and society, that transgender persons face related to basic areas of life such as education, health, employment and the right to live with dignity, the media has provided a platform where their sufferings are reported. Media also reflected the problems that have often been confronted by the people at large in society. While a section of the population term them as ‘extortionists’, others feel they are nothing but public nuisance, beggars. Reports highlighting atrocities done by fake eunuchs have been reported.14 The last two decades have seen the growth of a trans sympathetic audience who is eager to lend their ears for understanding the situation of the third gender in India. The media has relentlessly captured the changes that are occurring in the urban landscape. In Kolkata, the media has extensively covered and reported events such as the Kolkata Rainbow Pride Walk. For example, the 11th Kolkata Rainbow Pride Walk, which included almost 1500 participants, was described vividly. Photographs of trans persons dressed as drag queens and drag kings were vibrantly portrayed and their

56  Civil Society and Human Rights Activism objective to reflect ‘diversity in sexuality’ was clearly reflected (Das 2012). In these reports the media mentioned names of celebrities who joined the pride march and supported the cause of the movement. These reports have amply made it clear that media has been effectively playing both the informational role as well as the protectionist role in safeguarding the rights of the disadvantaged section. A crucial role was played by the media at the time of decriminalising century-old law, Section  377 of the Indian Penal Code, which had been responsible for the suffering of transgenders across the country. The media through its reports portrayed the ambivalences that existed in society in the minds of the highest echelons who were supposed to usher justice.15 In an article ‘Sex No Bar’ published in The Telegraph, it was reported that though the Supreme Court acknowledges the transgender community as third gender it will take a long time for the hijras to bring changes in their lives, as the society is still reluctant to accept them as equals who have the right to live with dignity.16 Finally, the turning point was reached when the Supreme Court assigned a separate category for the transgenders in India. The media extensively covered these issues and brought into focus the changes that were made by successive governments and opened the platform for public scrutiny as to why and how these changes were taking place in both the state and society.17 Visual Media With regard to issues of the transgender community, popular channels like NDTV (at the national level) and private channels like ETV, Omkar, Tara News and Times Bangla (at the regional level in Kolkata) have interviewed several transgenders and have focused on topics such as social and human rights issues, their lives and ways of discrimination. Local channels have also covered their days of celebration like Transgender Day celebrated in Kolkata on 30 April, the Rainbow Carnival and the Parade. Of late, programmes like Bigg Boss (at both the national and the regional levels) have included a transgender member within the group and attracted a large number of viewers. This gave these individuals a platform to show what they think, how they dress, their way of talking and their ability to cope with others and at the same time have also sensitised ‘others’ and how they maintain their balance in keeping relation with the transgender person. Channels like NDTV24X7, with national coverage, have brought forward important agendas through its programme We The People, sensitively telecasting an interview with three individuals – Tista Das, Bobby Darling, and Mahua, a student – alternating two captions of the programme: ‘Trapped by Nature – India’s Sex-Change Phenomenon’ and ‘Trapped by Biology – Breaking the Silence on Sex-Change in India’.18 In this programme, Tista Das, who has successfully undergone SRS, briefly spoke about how she aligned her body to herself. During the interview she raised an important

Civil Society and Human Rights Activism 57 question to the audience about whether motherhood meant to give birth to a baby or nurture the child. Bobby Darling shared her early childhood trauma as she considered herself a eunuch and how difficult it still is to stand  in a queue where there are only two demarcations of gender. She regretted that to earn her livelihood, she had no options but to dance in bars and play gay characters in films/serials. Mahua, a student of St  Stephens College (University of Delhi) in the hormonal phase of therapy en route to SRS, spoke of how when younger she loved the pink shirts in the male section and how she hated looking in the mirror and felt depressed seeing hair on her face, hands and body. The panel also consisted of three experienced doctors who talked about the gender reassignment surgery procedure and criteria. Patients needed to have a psychiatrist rule out underlying mental illnesses before they could be referred. Most who underwent the procedure were already in relationships. Though the media has played a significant role in disseminating information about the transgender and hijra society in India and helped in creating awareness, we cannot deny that the media (both print and electronic) is mostly driven by the commercial market, and as a result the reports may often be hyped and not always bring out the truth. Further, these issues have a huge commercial market and therefore big business houses have all made important news as their headlines. For example, of late, the publicity which Section 377 received was unprecedented in the history of the transgender movement in India. The facts that were presented in the papers did not fully portray the reality and were merely concerned with talking about issues of homosexuality, and the major argument of ‘decriminalisation’ and the impact it has on the lives of these people was barely touched. However, these issues which were buried socially for so long are now on the agenda, being talked about and discussed, and the media has been largely responsible for creating this ‘public space’ for these individuals. The news articles and coverage have certainly disrupted the age-long taboo that persists in society and created an environment and mindset that will help stop the discrimination between ‘us and ‘them’. Finally, these issues need to be addressed within a wider socio-economic scenario, and how to resolve the dilemmas as pertaining to these complexities among law, society and economy will be discussed in the concluding chapter. Very recently, Bengali television channel Zee Bangla has been telecasting a serial named Phirki (often spelt as ‘Firki’) which tells the story of a transgender person named Lokkhi, who rescues a little girl named Phirki, and her feelings towards the child. As a transgender mother, Lokkhi faces numerous difficulties in raising Phirki because of societal oppression and norms. This serial has attained popularity and is watched in most Bengali households. This serial has highlighted important issues that need to be sensitised amongst masses and raised social issues that need to be addressed if we want to attain gender justice. It questions the rights of transgenders to attain

58  Civil Society and Human Rights Activism motherhood and perform the duty of motherhood. Marriage and motherhood are two desires that most women cherish and consider natural. Transgender women are no exception, and they nurture these deep sentiments and longings in their hearts. This serial critically questions the position of a transgender mother in society and sensitises and introduces the masses to these important issues that need to be discussed in contemporary state and society. Online Media Online media and global communications through various social networking sites have made a tremendous impact on the lives of the marginalised groups in India. The relaxing of boundaries and the blurring of private and public spaces have created new spaces for interaction and exchange of ideas which has helped in ‘community formation’ (Dasgupta 2017: 29). There has been a significant shift in the ways in which intimacy is played out in the public space through public posts and chats on threads and blogs. Issues such as compassion, companionship, relationships and hook-ups in cyberspace remain central in understanding virtual intimacies. Online media has proved to be an area of communication and information and site of exchange of thoughts. Orinam.net, HuffPost.com, Lawctopus.com, HindustanTimes.com, UNIIndia.com, ScoopWhoop.com and Vartagensex. org are some of the popular online sources for information. Varta Trust – Gender, Sexuality, Intimacy, Publishing is an online media source that writes about gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and other queer communities. As a founding trustee, Pawan Dhall has been engaged actively in community mobilisation and HIV-focused programmes, capacity building and has been focusing on bringing these issues to India’s development agenda. www.abakaashe.com is another online media source focusing on Kolkata. It provides information about transgenders and Adivasis as well as regions like Sonagachi, Sunderban and North Bengal and their local history, in addition to news about and interviews with activists. Through interviews with trans persons and queer people, Abakaashe portrays their feelings and emotions and the challenges they face in their day-to-day lives, even after the NALSA judgement. It also provides crucial links to the various problems felt by these people that need to be addressed by society and the government. Sanjoy Gayen is the main architect behind this programme who has been relentlessly working for and promoting the upliftment of trans persons by bringing into focus the struggles they endure in their daily lives. By focusing on the stories of the trans persons, Sanjoy has opened a space where these issues can be discussed freely.

Civil Society, Eminent Personalities and Rights Activism Apart from NGOs and CBOs and the media, a vital role is played by important personalities, scholars, eminent academicians and lawyers.

Civil Society and Human Rights Activism 59 Kolkata has witnessed a surge of events, discussions, conferences, film screenings, protest movements and celebrations to bring awareness to the mainstream. Film screenings have also been a significant part of the queer and LGBT movements in Kolkata. Resistance movements of various kinds are organised in Kolkata as a mark of protest. For example, when the Honourable Supreme Court read down the judgement of the Delhi High Court that recriminalised Section 377, protest movements sprang up throughout Kolkata. Conferences and workshops are also organised frequently in Kolkata. Eminent lawyers such as Kaushik Gupta, Professor Pratulananda Das of Jadavpur University, Ranjita Sinha, Aparna Bandyopadhyay and Tista Das have all along been vocal in raising important issues, discussing trends and charting out future directions. Dr Manobi Bandyopadhyay (Eminent academician and Vice chairperson of the West Bengal Transgender Development Board) has been disseminating ideas about the position of transgender persons in society for almost half a decade. She successfully edits the little magazine Abamanab (meaning ‘subhuman’) which discusses critical issues in the lives of trans persons in India. The most important part of this magazine lies in the narration of interviews that Dr Bandyopadhyay has conducted with eminent personalities such as Dr Anirban Majumder, an endocrinologist who has worked relentlessly for trans persons who wish to undergo sex reassignment surgery. In an interview with Majumder from 2014, conducted after the sudden death of famous director Rituparno Ghosh, important aspects about the safety of these treatments and the risk involved in sex-change operations are extensively discussed (Abamanab 2014: 23–26). In another issue, Dr  Bandyopadhyay conducted an interview with eminent High Court lawyer Kaushik Gupta immediately after the verdict of the Supreme Court came out which declared that necessary steps should be taken to bring trans persons into the mainstream. These articles have been helpful not only in raising consciousness among all sections of the society but also in focusing on the various legal, social and economic aspects of trans persons in contemporary India (Abamanab 2015: 7–13). Similar initiatives providing healthcare, opportunities for livelihood empowerment, legal aid and advice have been undertaken by many trans activists. Ranjita Sinha was extremely happy to announce the launch of Sneho Nir handicraft store in Gokhale Road, Kolkata, near Rabindra Sadan. It was inaugurated during the Bengalis’ most popular festival Durga Puja and has been supported by the West Bengal Transgender Development Board. As part of the state project, handicraft items, junk jewellery and other homemade products made by the community are exhibited and sold. There are several transgender self-groups across the state in which many members are engaged with making handicraft products. The community members now have a permanent place where they can showcase their artistic talents and pursue a steady income. Ranjita is hopeful that eventually

60  Civil Society and Human Rights Activism the Bengal government will also organise handicraft-making works for the community on a regular basis. Ranjita in recent years has organised and opened a shelter home for transgender men and women in West Bengal known as Garima Greh. It is funded by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. I visited this place during this year Durga Puja, 2022. All members of the community residing here have found a home for themselves. They are busy in arranging the necessary chores that is required in a family. Ranjita Sinha, founder of this shelter home, looks after their well-being. An effort to provide them with vocational training and increase their skills and capability are constantly looked into. Raina Roy, a trans person herself, felt that transgenders should have a space of their own where they can talk and freely discuss their opinions on issues. Raina, with the support of other trans persons, has opened a café named Odbhuth at Jadavpur, which means ‘strange’ in Bengali. Raina Roy is presently engaged in supporting the cause of the transgender persons at the grassroot level. Her organisation, named ‘Samabhabona,’ located in Kolkata looks after the well-being of the transgender persons. Initiatives have also been taken by members of the mainstream to help trans persons in general. In a recent initiative by Laila Sanyal, owner of Creative Strokes, an art gallery in Kolkata, a space has been created for exhibiting handicraft items made by trans persons. An initiative by the NGO Satrangi provides a space for persons coming from the grass roots to exhibit their handmade goods. It is the first ever trans-feminine Indian livelihood venture that has creatively engaged and economically empowered them. Bappaditya Mukherjee, founder and executive director at Prantakatha, which promotes active citizenship, believes that change has to begin from one’s own self and the one has to be the change one desires to see. At the LGBTQI Youth and Livelihood Discrimination conference organised by the US Consulate General Kolkata, in partnership with Prantakatha and the South Asian Young Queer Activists Network, representatives and youth activists from Bangladesh, Burma, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka via video conference upheld that discrimination against gender and sexuality minority groups is present all over the South Asian countries. Their rights have been vindicated and they are victims of various forms of torture and violence.19 The American Centre, Kolkata, has played a commendable role in disseminating knowledge and promoting awareness through discussions and dialogues in collaboration with various organisations on issues related to gender and sexuality minority groups ranging from livelihood to discrimination at the workplace and violence targeted against these groups. It has been extremely articulative in affirming the dignity and equality of all people. Gender mainstreaming is now practised by transgender persons themselves. Over the years, the third community realised that no matter how inclusive policies are, unless they are accepted socially, it is difficult for trans persons to enjoy their rights. Some of the endeavours taken by different trans

Civil Society and Human Rights Activism 61 organisations reflect this objective. Initiatives to organise Durga Puja by trans persons have also showed new ways of being engaged with the mainstream.20 Human rights activism for trans persons has been largely accentuated in recent period due to the involvement of NGOs, CBOs and awareness programmes conducted by media. Of late, trans persons’ lives are being glorified and aired on almost all TV channels through various advertisements that show that they are human beings like all of us and have equal access to opportunities and the same sentiments, desires and feelings that we all do. Thus, by adopting an all-inclusive approach, they are brought into the mainstream. An advertisement by the Vicks brand portrays that the concern of a mother is the same everywhere. In it, the role of the mother is played by Gauri Sawant, a Mumbai-based transgender activist who works for an NGO and who has adopted a daughter, Gayatri. She raised Gayatri after her birth when the child’s mother succumbed to HIV/AIDS. For director Neeraj Ghaywan, the experience of making the advertisement was an emotional one as he bonded with Gauri, who plays herself. This advertisement is so heart rending that it went viral. When Gauri accepted the proposal from Publicis Singapore she had no idea that people would accept the theme so whole heartedly (Sengupta 2022: 219).21 Another very educative and informative video is by VithU and Ogilvy and Mather, Mumbai. This video is introduced as part of a public service initiative. The advertisement portrays transgender persons giving guidance to the public about safety measures such as how to use seat belts. The advertisement wanted to drive home the message that trans persons can effectively play important roles in society. This two-minute video captured the attention of almost 1.6 million viewers and upheld their responsibility towards society. Various other brand campaigns have built on themes inclusive of the transgender community (Sengupta 2022: 219).22 It is interesting to observe that there are now persistent attempts both from the government and at the private level to break gender stereotypes and taboos and increase the level of consciousness of people to include them within the mainstream and treat them as one among them. For example, Brooke Bond Red Label launched India’s first transgender band in 2016, by partnering with Y-Films and releasing a musical album called Sab Rab De Bande, consisting of six musical videos performed by hijras (Sengupta 2022: 219).

Notes 1 This interview was held at Ranjita Sinha’s residence at Gokhale Road after the Transgender Day celebration in 2012. Ranjita has been an activist for a long time and has been clearly vocal about the transgender movement towards equality. 2 This view was expressed by Ranjita during an informal interview at her residence over two cups of tea specially made by her. She prefers to add tulsi and other herbal ingredients into this. She told me that she is happy about the NALSA

62  Civil Society and Human Rights Activism judgement but firmly believes that a lot of sensitisation has to be done in order to implement these policies into actual practice. 3 Laila Sanyal is an individual owner of an art gallery in Kolkata who caters to the cause of empowerment and upliftment of trans persons in the city. Her gallery is situated near Ballygunge, a posh locality in Kolkata. 4 For a detailed report please visit www.dreamnews.in or contact dreamnews76@ gmail.com (accessed on 12 November 2018). 5 Tista is a transgender activist and has undergone SRS. She realises the trauma of the trans person who feels trapped within the wrong body and her consultancy, that is SRS Solutions, provides proper guidance and counselling to persons who wish to go for SRS. 6 This conference on Consent and Gender in Equality was held in the Lincoln Room, USIS, on 30 August 2016. 7 The conference on Queer Is Natural was held at Gandhi Bhavan, Jadavpur University, on 5 April 2016. 8 For a detailed report please see the article Central Administrative Tribunal (Kolkata) allows transgender UPSC candidate to apply offline since online form lacked ‘Other’ gender option, 27 February 2018. http:/hrln.org/central-administrative-tribunal-kolkata-other-gender-option (accessed on 24 June 2018). 9 ‘Trapped in a Wrong Body, They Too Want Recognition’, The Asian Age, 14 September 2000, pp. 9–10 by Correspondent. 10 T. Mitra, “NGO Takes Up Eunuchs’ Fight”, The Statesman, 10 October 2000. 11 S. Bose Roy, “The Third Sex”, The Times of India, 9 July 2006. 12 For a detailed report refer to the article ‘Over 28,000 Transgenders in Electoral Roll for LS Elections’, 6 March 2014, www.indianexpress.com (accessed on 12 November 2018). 13 S. Yengkhom, ‘HIV+ Eunuch Kept Waiting at SSKM’, The Times of India, August 2013. 14 S. Nath, “Fake Eunuchs Spread Terror in Trains”, The Asian Age, 18 August 2000. 15 A. Singh, “Decriminalising Gay Sex Won’t Be Easy”, The Statesman, 25 January  2014, p. 7. 16 R. Martins, “Sex No Bar”, The Telegraph, 23 April 2014, p. 11. 17 Z. Keck, “Indian Supreme Court Creates ‘Third Gender’ Category for Transgenders”, The Diplomat, 15 April 2014. 18 Interview telecast on NDTV 24X7’s programme We the People; interview conducted by Barkha Dutt. 19 This conference on LGBTQI Youth and Livelihood Discrimination was held in the Lincoln Room, USIS, on 20 June 2018. 20 For the first time in Kolkata, Durga Puja, the most auspicious religious festival of the Bengalis, has been organised by the transgender organisation Pratyay Gender Trust with the cooperation of active youth in the northern part of Kolkata, at Jaya Mitra Street. The idol was made by Chaina Pal Kumortoli. The idol depicted the concept of Ardhanarishvara (half-man, half-woman). 21 Archana Iyer, ‘Vicks Ad: How Neeraj Ghaywan and Gauri Sawant Bonded Behind the Scenes’, 31 March  2017, www.mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com (accessed on 11 June 2017). 22 Vinaya, ‘ “The Seatbelt Crew” – A  Transgender Community Encourages Seat Belt Safety in India, Video Gains Over 6M Views’, http://lighthouseinsights. in/the-seatbelt-crew-a-transgender-community-encourages-seat-belt-safety-inindia-video-gains-over-1–6m-views.html/ (accessed on 12 September 2017).

5 Representation of the Third Gender in Indian Cinema and Literature

Cinema Cinema is one of the most popular cultural mediums that can have a spontaneous impact on a vast number of people. Popular images in films, theatre and jatra can be potent tools for education and creating awareness about issues such as gender fairness, empowerment, violence and socially rejected illnesses such as HIV/AIDS. It not only helps in popularising the ideas of equality, freedom and shared suffering but also acts sometimes as a breakthrough in changing the mindsets about stereotypical notions that curb individual autonomy and shared living experiences. While jatras are highly popular in rural areas, films, theatres in regional languages, and literature written in both English and regional languages have often performed the role of disseminating important messages among the people and planting ideas that might encourage reflection. The visual medium of cinema can have a more powerful impact to usher in changes and leave an indelible mark on an individual’s mind. It has been very effective in spreading consciousness and awareness of contentious issues and can evoke empathy and positive response. One of the major reasons to discuss films and literature in this monograph is to understand the importance of popular culture and the role it plays in depicting the interests, thoughts and ideas of the common people – often referred to as mass culture. Through these mediums, one can relate to the life and thoughts of common people and how they build various images regarding social issues and community development. Representations of the masses therefore form an important backbone in understanding their perceptions about social issues; it also reflects voices of dissent and change (Chatterji 2016: 15). Cinema in India refers to films from all regions of India and in all regional languages; however, Bollywood unleashes a hegemony due to its language, Hindi, which is largely spoken by a majority of the population. The Hindi cinema industry received the status of industry from the Central Government in 1998 (Dasgupta 2017: 24). For this reason, I  discuss two Bollywood films, Tamanna (1997) and Shabnam Mausi (2005), and one regional film, Chitrangada (2012), that DOI: 10.4324/9780429243851-6

64  Representation of Third Gender in Indian Cinema and Literature have commonly upheld the perception of the majority of society towards these marginalised persons. I have chosen to discuss the film Chitrangada by Rituparno Ghosh for a couple of important reasons. The Bengali film sensitively treats the issue of transsexuality. We can see that the iconic director could identify himself with the inner turmoil of a trans person, trapped in the wrong body. Though Rituparno himself believed in gender fluidity, he nevertheless proclaimed himself as the spokesperson of a community of men who had to live through public humiliation for being “effeminate” day in and day out (Datta, Bakshi, and Dasgupta 2016: 17). The film Chitrangada has beautifully captured the dualities, complexities and inner contradictions of a transgender person in a society where he or she is not accepted as a human being, facing stigma that pushes them into an abysmal loneliness. I discuss this film to drive home the truth that many trans persons feel rejected in society and face the same loneliness engulfing their lives. Though there is a great amount of work on the third gender, in the decades following the liberalisation of the 1990s, my occupation and engagement has been with a few select films which created an impact in the minds of the audience at large. It is important to mention that these films are discussed not from the cinematic point of view but from the objective of how alternative gender identity, especially transgender and hijra persons, has been looked at throughout these years in Indian and regional cinema. ‘The rapid spread of new media and telecommunications technologies radically transformed the cultural practices of the urban middle class’ (Ghosh 2007: 419). Expressions of sex and sexuality were started to be looked at with great interest. Though viewers responded with both ‘anxiety’ and ‘enthusiasm’, it cannot be denied that since 1990s the subject of queer identity and desires emerged in ‘electronics and print’ media (Ghosh 2007: 419).

Tamanna/‘Desire’ (1997) This is a film based on the life of a hijra named Tikku. Directed by Mahesh Bhatt and produced by Pooja Bhatt under Pooja Bhatt Productions, the film featured actors Manoj Bajpai, Paresh Rawal, Sharad Kapoor, and others. The lead role was played by Paresh Rawal, who rescues a mutilated newborn girl child from the streets of Mumbai. He later names the child Tamanna.1 The film opens with the funeral of Tikku’s Guru Ma. On the same day, Tikku becomes the guardian of the little child Tamanna. Another scene shows a haveli, where a group of hijras enter to celebrate the birth of a newborn but hush up when they come to know that the baby was stillborn. The following year, the birth of a baby boy is celebrated in the family. Tamanna knows Tikku as her father, and ‘Diguchacha’, who is actually Tikku’s partner, as her closest friend. When she grows up to a marriageable age, she has difficulty finding a suitable match. One day, Tamanna discovers

Representation of Third Gender in Indian Cinema and Literature 65 that Tikku is actually a hijra and she breaks down. However, she also finds out about the extent Tikku had gone to raise an abandoned child. Discovering who her real father is, Tamanna is shocked by patriarchal hypocrisies around her. Her real father had abandoned her with the help of a dai ma (trustworthy maid), only because she was a girl child. The film sensitively portrayed that hijras are capable of being good parents to children and can bestow unconditional love even without having any biological connection to the child. Love is a wonderful gift of God and it is within all individuals – even a hijra. Another very popular and sensitive movie which was released in the same year is Darmiyaan which means ‘in between’ in English. The film was directed by Kalpana Lajmi and features veteran actresses Kirron Kher and Tabu in the lead role. The film is set in Bollywood of the 1940s and depicts marvellously the emotions and pain of an actress who finds her son to be a eunuch.2 Both these movies unravelled a marvellous path in depicting the plight of the hijras in India and the pain and mental agony they undergo in society. It is important to talk about these films in this book, as I find that it is from this period that we see Bollywood cinema started to depict the conditions of eunuchs seriously. Previously most films had depicted them as comic characters. These two movies were pioneers in the sense that they skilfully uphold human emotions and sentiments amongst wider masses and audiences.

Shabnam Mausi (2005) Shabnam Mausi, a film, is directed by Yogesh Bharadwaj and produced by Sudesh Bhosale and Manoj Jaiswal is based on the real-life story of hijra Shabnam Mausi, who was later elected as a member of the state legislative assembly in Madhya Pradesh. The film begins with the child being born to a police officer who takes pride in himself and in his brutal masculinity. Incidentally, as a group of hijras arrives in his home, they discover that the child is also a hijra.3 Despite protest from the parents, the group takes the baby away, stating that the child’s true place for upbringing will be at their home. Amma (Vishwajeet Pradhan), the head of the group, entrusted Halima (Vijay Raaz) to raise the child. The child is named Shabnam and she grows up under Halima’s love and affection and becomes a talented singer and dancer. She joins her community in the traditional occupation of singing and dancing at weddings and births. This film drives home some basic facts of a hijra’s life. One scene reveals how Lolo, another hijra, is in love with someone and thinks of marrying him. But soon Lolo realises that the man does not love her but has brought her there only to safeguard his queen and the harem. Lolo feels devastated. She complains to God, asking why He did not make her a complete woman. How she longs to be a queen, have servants and give birth to a child. Lolo

66  Representation of Third Gender in Indian Cinema and Literature strongly feels that no one should be born a eunuch. To this Shabnam says, ‘One has to accept the “truth” of life. Only then can one live peacefully’. The film shows people of the hijra community as people who are not above jealousy and hatred. It showcases the sharp divisions of power within the community itself. The film reveals that members of the hijra community also get entangled in the sex trade. It is on this occasion the film shows an altercation between Amma and Halima, who tried to resist such incidences. But amid this Halima was incidentally killed and Amma blames Shabnam entirely for her mother’s murder. This totally devastates Shabnam, and when the police arrest and brutalise her in the lock up, she keeps silent. Shabnam leaves the community of hijras and finds shelter in another village where she rescues a young woman from being raped by local hooligans. Shabnam is later attacked by these fellows but they are no match for her strength. Shabnam’s words and actions arouse the villagers from their passive disposition. They take collective responsibility for the killing and the police are forced to retreat without making any arrests. The rest of the film projects Shabnam Mausi’s rise to social and political power. This film boldly reveals that one’s inability to procreate cannot make one a social outcast, as is done with a hijra. This film questions social norms and asserts that society needs to look at the hijras in a different light and consider them equally capable of doing things. As Shabnam points out in one scene, ‘I can even become a postman and deliver letters of happiness and sadness’. This film is path-breaking since it shows that in reality only talent and inner capabilities are responsible for an individual’s rise to success and recognition in society. Other impositions are only socially devised means to create division in society that holds back the potential of many talented individuals.

Chitrangada: The Crowning Wish (2012) Chitrangada is one of the most popular dance dramas composed by Rabindranath Tagore.4 It is the name of the princess of Manipur who though born as a woman was brought up as a prince by the king. But one day when Chitrangada meets the famous Arjuna (the epic hero of the Mahabharata) her inner womanliness is awakened. She falls in love with Arjuna and wants him to marry her. Arjuna however is not receptive to her overtures. This offends Chitrangada, who later takes the help of Madana, the God of beauty and love, and totally transforms herself into a beautiful princess. But Madana warns her that this will last only for a year. Arjuna is charmed by the beauty of the transformed Chitraganda. But she is apprehensive that after one year she will not remain the beautiful princess. Meanwhile, Arjuna also hears about the qualities of the fighter Chitrangada and he becomes restless to meet the prince. Chitrangada then reveals the truth. Tagore’s dance drama is path-breaking, as it upholds the position

Representation of Third Gender in Indian Cinema and Literature 67 that a woman’s qualities, and not appearance, are eternal, which should be embraced by greater humanity. Finally, Arjuna realises his mistake and accepts Chitrangada as the way she was, as a companion and friend, in times of adversity and of well-being. Rituparno Ghosh adopts the name Chitrangada for his film Chitrangada: The Crowning Wish (2012) from Tagore’s dance drama and uses it symbolically for his film. However, the interpretations that follow in this film are essentially his own ideas about a ‘transgender’ dancer, Rudra, who wants to change his sex and become a true woman. The film opens with the setting of a nursing home where Rudra (a dancer and a transgender) has been admitted and is going through a series of treatment meant for sex changes. In the background he fondly remembers those scenes when he was directing Chitrangada for a stage play. Rudra (here acted by Rituparno) recollects how while giving direction, he had become agitated by the performance of Kasturi, who was playing the role of Kurupa (the first Chitrangada, who was supposed to look bold like a man) and asked her to remember that Chitrangada was not so feminine. So she cannot dance like Radha playing Holi. Chitrangada was conditioned to be a man. She wanted to become a woman after meeting Arjuna. Back in the nursing home, Rudra is seen to be talking to his nurse to whom he releases his pent-up anguish. He remembers his old days when his father used to long for a son who will carry on the family name. He concludes, saying sadly that sometimes ‘children have dreams beyond their parents expectations’. The film at this juncture brings in the counsellor, Subho (played by Anjan Dutt) to whom he pours his heart out. Subsequently, Rudra reveals he is falling in love with a man (because as a transgender Rudra feels he is trapped in the wrong body) called Partho, another name of Arjuna (here played by Jisshu Sengupta), who was a percussionist and a drug addict. Despite Partho’s shortcomings, Rudra feels emotionally attached with him and invites him to join his troupe. The next few scenes depict Rudra’s longing to be with Partho and raise a family with him. But Partho is against the idea of Rudra’s sex change. Rudra remarks, ‘Law does not allow two male partners to adopt a child’ and strongly desires to transform himself into a complete woman, having a body which will also respond to his mind. But Rudra cannot convince Partho. Partho tries to bring to his notice the harsh effects and complications a sex change can bring with it. He tells Rudra, ‘Love the way you are’. But somewhere deep down in his mind Rudra ‘longs’ for a sex change though he admits that his dance comes from within and is not limited by his gender. The film explores the relationship between Rudra and his parents. Rudra talks to his parents about his decision to undergo a sex change. He has great difficulty in convincing his parents, who want him to get treatment. But Rudra feels extremely lonely and tells his parents about it. His parents realise their mistake. Rudra’s mother is worried about the entire medication

68  Representation of Third Gender in Indian Cinema and Literature process and breaks down in anguish saying that she has a right to know about those bruises in that body which she had oiled and bathed. The film has an extremely powerful narration and brings out the turmoil of the inner mind of a transgender in society. On the one hand, they have a struggle within themselves to overcome the psychological emotion which does not respond to their biological sex. On the other hand, there is a world outside them which refuses to accept them as they are, and finally, there is their own ‘bodily need to feel like a complete woman’. A strange fearlessness grips Rudra in the middle of the film. He still does not know if the world in which he would step in will make him happier or if he will be able to physically survive the impact of such painful operation. To solve his inner conflicts Rudra flees from the nursing home at dawn on the day of his operation to find answers to his questions that still torment his mind. He asks Subho, who we find out is a figment of his imagination, what will happen if he dies. Subho replies firmly that it is not ‘if’ he might die, but that he ‘will’ die. His old life will come to an end. He will be blessed with new life – a rebirth – becoming Usha, the Goddess of Dawn. ‘Can’t two lives live simultaneously?’ is Rudra’s question in the film, one which he must find the answer to. To this Subho says that he has to decide how he wants to be remembered as a person – the vivacious, creative dancer or the transformed Chitrangada. Subho reminds him that even the transformed Chitrangada is not immortal. He points out that no transition is ever complete. The film ends with reverberating sounds of Rudra’s wish: Lord of Life Give me new life Banish all ills . . . In this new rejoicing Destroy the debris of night . . . In New Dawning. (Author’s Translation) This film is probably the first of its kind in Bengali that has dealt with the inner turmoil of a transgender individual. The film is also socially relevant for multiple reasons, as it introduces to its viewers the need to ‘tolerate’ and ‘accept’ people individuals with ‘deviant gender identities’ in society. On this note we need to mention that Rituparno Ghosh’s sudden death was an eye opener for many of us. It raised many questions about the ill effects of hormonal treatment and the impact of SRS on human bodies. Rituparno was well aware of these deadly consequences. In his film Chitrangaada, when his partner Partho questions why he would ‘tamper’ with his body which is the ‘main instrument’ of his dance, he replies that his dance is not limited to his gender, and neither is his identity. He points out that he

Representation of Third Gender in Indian Cinema and Literature 69 does not dance with his body, as ‘it comes from within’ (Datta, Bakshi, and Dasgupta 2016: 185). But seeing the desire of his friend Partho, he wanted to go through a sex change, thinking that it will give them a new life and they can live like heterosexual couples. Director Rituparno Ghosh, a vibrant and creative film director, died young at the age of 49. He is still remembered as a vivacious, energetic director just as he had visualised in his film Chitrangada. His personal longing and desires died with his death and what has remained in the minds of all his loved ones are those two piercing eyes seeking to question the existing norms and practices and depicting them cinematically on the screen.

Jatra The history of jatra, a popular folk theatre form of Eastern India, dates back to nearly 400 years, making it one of the oldest performing arts of India. One of the most vibrant chapters in the history of this art form is that of female impersonators. For decades, female impersonators held the centre stage across suburban and even urban Bengal when the idea of a woman performing on stage was not accepted by society. Female impersonation as a genre of performing art has a long and global history. Presence of female impersonators in Victorian and Greek plays has been documented in theatre. Among traditional theatre forms that employ or employed impersonations are ramlila, krishnanattam, raslila, therukoothu, bhavai and jatra (Chatterji 2016). Chapal Bhaduri, alias Chapal Rani, or Queen Chapal, is one of the most talented actors who played female roles in Indian jatra, Bengal’s traditional travelling folk theatre. He was born in Calcutta and joined the Natto Company, a jatra group, in 1958. He lost his mother at the age of ten. Later he and his sister joined the jatra and theatre group successively. Chapal Bhaduri started with rupees hundred but soon became famous with his performances in Raja Debidas, Chand Bibi, Sultana Razia, and Mahiyashi Kaikeyi. His fame spread far and wide and he soon became a living legend and the highest paid actress whose monthly income in those days were around 7000 to 8000 rupees per month. At the end of the 1960s, Chapal Rani started facing problems in the theatre world, as women performers started coming out of the confines of their homes to play female roles. He started working with smaller groups to make ends meet and finally got an opening with the Kamala Opera. In 1995, Chapal Bhaduri started playing the role of Shitala, the poor person’s goddess of smallpox and disease. Shitala worship was widespread with the incidence of smallpox in the eighteenth century. Shitala is also worshipped for marriage and fertility by women. Chapal pointed out that the organisers of the Shitala show never provided him with any script. They merely narrated him the story of the goddess and rest was a product of his research and interpretation (Chatterji 2012).

70  Representation of Third Gender in Indian Cinema and Literature Significant plays and cinema have been made centred on the life of Chapal Bhaduri. One of the earliest is a documentary called Chapal Bhaduri: Performing the Goddess made by Naveen Kishore of Seagull Books. Kishore explores the private and public life of Chapal Bhaduri, who was forced to eke out a living which became increasingly difficult after the rise of cinema, TV and satellite entertainment. He used to dress as a woman, wore costumes, make-up and jewellery like the goddess is expected to wear, complete with a bra and wigs, and blessed the devotees of the Onkarnath Temple in Calcutta. This is one of those rare areas of worship where male theatrical performers and actors play not only female roles but also the part of goddesses. Chapal’s effeminate bearing, voice, pitch and throw of lines bears out his inborn genius for female impersonation. Looking back at those days, Chapal in the documentary reflects on his life and says that he had always been more feminine. He talks in this film about his love life with only a slight embarrassment but without any shame or pride. The actor recounts with great sorrow the pain he had felt on that day when his partner left him without the slightest hesitation and moved onto a new life. He acknowledges that he had once ‘stooped low’ for professional reasons. He admits that it is very different to act in films than it is to perform on stage. He is happy that gay men in present times do not have to lead a cloistered life but can lead a life like every other man. Other films which portrayed his life are a telefilm directed by Kaushik Ganguly called Ushno Taar Jannyo (Bengali) in which Chapal had a small cameo, and Just Another Love Story (Bengali-English), a feature film directed by Ganguly in which he narrates his life in camera while filmmaker-actor Rituparno Ghosh plays the young Chapal. As a researcher, I had the opportunity to interact with Chapal Bhaduri on two occasions. One was at Tapan Theatre near Kalighat in Kolkata where a play named Rituparno was being staged. Here the veteran actor had been invited to speak before the audience about his life and work. The stage was dark. Only a light was lit from above where the actor was sitting. As soon as the curtains were drawn open, we saw an aged, dignified man dressed like a woman sitting at one corner of the stage. His effeminate voice soon captured our attention. The actor introduced himself. He talked about his childhood, lovingly recollecting the past. He told us that as a child he loved to sit with women, hear what elderly women talked about and dress up as a woman, and he was not interested to be in the company of other boys. For this he was often scolded by the elder members of his family. However, with these effeminate qualities he soon became a successful actor in his life and on stage he performed glorious female roles. Asked face to face what he thinks about transgenders, Chapal reacted very sharply, stating that he does not want to call himself a transgender, though in his own life he enacted different female personalities and performed various roles. Asked about his present life, he said he feels insecure due to

Representation of Third Gender in Indian Cinema and Literature 71 lack of work, money and emotional security. But he loved those moments of life when he had reached the zenith of fame and recognition. My second interaction with the veteran actor was at a two-day conference organised by a heritage university in Kolkata. The theme of the conference was Transgender Embodiments and Experiences; Problems and Possibilities. While many eminent professors, activists and thinkers were present at the conference, the centre of focus undoubtedly was the presence of the legendary actor and persona, Chapal Rani. I was also in the audience this time, trying to feel the vibes of this great master who even at the age of seventy-two had no difficulty in switching between roles from the female to male attire. The actor performed on stage. He began the play by uttering a question ‘Who am I?’ to the audience. He spoke about the need to live with dignity by keeping his merudondo (a Bengali word, meaning the spinal cord) straight, which also refers to one’s character and honesty in the face of many adversities. His exceptional acting talent made the audience spellbound and even at this age he held the attention of the entire audience. The performance ended with him shedding his female attire piece by piece, eventually standing bare-chested, in only his pajamas – a symbolic act of breaking down stereotypes of gender identity. This act may have generated a shade of discomfort among the audience, but it was powerful and subversive.

Literature Popular words through the medium of literature act as one of the most important agencies that evoke collective consciousness. From scripture to the classics, literature is an important medium to understand issues pertaining to human dignity and rights. Literature is often called the mirror of society, as it upholds the different social conditions that lie deeply hidden within the various layers of the society. There is a vast literature in Bengali which has looked into the lives of the hijras and has portrayed their sufferings in society from a time when these individuals had remained invisible in society. Though many of the books do not categorically articulate the nuances of constructionism of gender identity in Indian society, their questions of existentialism have been portrayed in various works written by well-known scholars and litterateurs. Issues concerning hijras and transgender identities were portrayed in the famous Bengalis literary works of Tarashankar Bandopadhyay, Kabita Sinha, Samaresh Basu, Syed Mustafa Siraj, Narayan Sanyal, Kamal Majumdar, Nabaeeta Dev Sen, Abul Bashar and others. In this chapter, I discuss a selected list of contemporary Bengali titles – Banglar Chalchitro by Abdul Jabbar, Santap by Manab Chakraborty, Bangla Samaj o Sahitye Tritiyosatwa Chinha by Manobi Bandopadhyay and Holde Golap by Swapnamoy Chakraborty, which won the prestigious Ananda Purashkar award for best Bengali literature of the year.

72  Representation of Third Gender in Indian Cinema and Literature Banglar Chalchitro by Abdul Jabbar was published by Mitra Ghosh in the year 1405 (Bengali Year), Santap by Manab Chakraborty was published by Ananda Publishers in 1993 and the other two books are very contemporary, published in 2012 and 2016 respectively. While Abdul Jabbar’s work throws light on the village working class, Manab Chakraborty’s book is based in a typically ‘urban’ environment where ‘slums’ play a vital role in the lives of the downtrodden people who do menial work in the cities (during the day). After a discussion on the three major Bengali literary works, I  discuss two contemporary English titles: City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi by William Dalrymple and Seven Steps Around the Fire by Mahesh Dattani. I have attempted to study whether the changed economic scenario in the 1990s ushered in new dynamics in relation to the hijras within society. A discussion of the characters of these books will help us understand the forms of domination and marginalisation that are faced by the members of this community as individuals or as members pertaining to this community. In the last section of this chapter, I examine three autobiographies. The first is written by A. Revathi, a person from within the community. It is translated from Tamil by V. Geetha and is the first book in the history of the third-sex movement in India, where a person from within the community narrates her personal experiences. I  also discuss the autobiographies of Laxmi, the eminent transgender activist, and Manobi Bandopadhyay, India’s first transgender principal.

Banglar Chalchitro (1405, Bengali Year) This book is written by Abdul Jabbar against the backdrop of the life of village working-class life and its articles were first published in the popular Bengali literary journal Desh. Banglar Chalchitro is a collection of short stories that touched upon the lives of various classes of people, including peasants, moneylenders, saints, pirbabas, weavers, fishermen, snake charmers, wine sellers, informers of police stations locally known as thanas and middlemen of the cow trade, reflecting on many other facets of work and life in a village. In a particularly intriguing foreword, the famous Bengali litterateur Sunita Kumar Chattopadhyay writes ‘that amidst all the writings by Jabbar, one thing that is centrally located is his concept of atmansanman bodh or self-dignity’. The writings, which portray the happiness and despair of the daily lives of these people, embody a language that ushers in a strong sense of righteousness and courage. Brihannala Sambad, an article which depicts the lives of some hijras, is discussed ahead. This is a story of three hijras – Rupo, Bansi and Moyna – who come into a village singing Qawwali. The villagers had not seen rain that year and farmers were cultivating paddy with great difficulty with water drawn from nearby ponds and lakes. Small drops of rain had just started. Ten to twelve wage earners were working in the fields and the farmer’s educated

Representation of Third Gender in Indian Cinema and Literature 73 boy in a raincoat was standing nearby with gumboots on his feet, listening to Rabindra Sangeet (songs composed by Rabindranath Tagore). As soon as the hijras enter the village, the villagers start shouting and come running to see the hijras as though they are seeing a A paagol ba matal – a mad person or drunkard. The author describes Rupo as a male hijra and Moyna and Bansi as female hijra. All of them are dressed as women, wearing saris and glass bangles, and Moyna has a silver ornament around her waist. Rupo too is wearing ornaments. Rupo is almost fifty-five years of age and is their leader. Moyna as the author describes is fairer and is twenty-five or twenty-six years old. Her postures reflect that she was from a good family. They meet a Brahmin, Hari Ghoshal, who flees from them in disgust. The hijras are however actually looking for Hari Ghoshal’s house. They had heard that a newborn baby has arrived in Ghoshal’s family and therefore had come to complete the ritual of badhai, in which the hijras sing and dance and play the dholak and bless the newborn. There is quite a gathering in front of Ghoshal’s house. They have all come to see the hijras, dancing and playing the dholak, uttering lewd words for amusement. They take the newborn from the lap of his mother, Ramala, the youngest daughter of Hari Ghoshal, and throw him up in the air and start to sing. Women folk particularly enjoy the song and dance. Hari Ghoshal’s wife bursts into tears when she realises that Moyna is her own daughter whom she had given to Rupo, twenty years before.

‘Undesired, Unsocial Animal’ Nobody keeps them at home. They are a curse. But I could not forget . . . because I am her ‘mother’. (p. 53) The author depicts the excruciating pain that the mother feels when she has to part from her most precious possession, when ‘the blessing of her womb’ becomes a curse for her. The mother becomes inconsolable. Meanwhile, Moyna, after discovering who her mother is, also becomes miserable. She feels that due to her ‘ill fate’ she now lives in a basti, without her family. Moyna’s father reflects on the ‘ill fate’ of their daughter. At the time of departure, Moyna cries and cries. Rupo, the leader, consoles her. He tells her that a woman without a ‘body’ is useless. A beautiful woman with a body (she means genital organs) is of no use to her family and society. The family cannot give her away in marriage and she cannot procreate. meyemanush jataoi rupashi hok Tor Jodi dehata bekol hoy Purushmanush debata hole o chure phele debe. (p. 55)

74  Representation of Third Gender in Indian Cinema and Literature Not only in the family but also in society they have no position. Rupo tells Moyna that even if they witness a murder nobody will call them as witnesses. We have no family, master, party, society, father, son or daughter – ‘we are all hijras’. Moyna goes to stay with her parents, but at the end she realises that she has no one apart from her ‘own community’ and they are all she has. Rupo consoles her by saying that they are peculiar animals, and even God did not think of them and hugs her with great compassion trying to erase all her tears. She is her family and only that is the reality. (p. 57)

Santap (1993) This book is a Bengali literary fiction written by Manab Chakraborty in the year 1993. The central characters in this book are a group of hijras – Murli (the leader of the group), Jena, Kanhaia, Kamu and Binti. They are all hermaphrodites by birth. The story is written against the backdrop of a basti (a slum), known as ‘Titlibasti’. The name is significant: Titli, in Bengali, signifies a colourful butterfly whose beauty mesmerises everyone. But here it is the name of the basti, in which the marginalised reside who have no colour in their lives. They live in broken houses made of tin, asbestos and mud. To protect themselves from the contempt of people whose gaze enmeshes them with both hatred and indifference, these marginalised individuals shield themselves away from the public eye. They live in fear, despair and curse their own existence. Human beings need something more for their existence. But for them the path to happiness is closed from their very birth. They are debarred from any right to be brought up in one’s own family and society. Yet hijras are not devoid of feelings of love, compassion and affection. With technological and scientific development, the author hopes that there will be rapid progress in society which will alter the lives of the hijras. His optimism is reflected when he narrates an incident. When the small child Cheeku becomes unwell, Murli, driven by maternal instincts, becomes extremely upset. Seeing his condition, a drunkard asked, ‘Who is the person crying? Must be the child’s mother!’ Another person remarked, ‘What an idiot you are! Can’t you see they are hijras? How can they be mothers?’ The author observes that only a mother can cry like this. Man has reached the moon. Babies are born in test tubes. Eyes are taken from the dead to give vision to many. Why can’t a hijra have a baby? But the author is sharply critical of this society in which human beings are judged only by their external looks and not by their mind and feelings towards others. Murli bears testimony to such feelings. Endowed with motherly feelings, she is apprehensive about how Cheeku would respond to her love when as an adult he would find out about Murli’s identity. The story ends tragically. He depicts the ugliness and sheer cruelty that exists in the so-called bhadralok (gentleman) or mainstream society. The character called ‘Fulut babu’ narrates an incident to Murli and others. There

Representation of Third Gender in Indian Cinema and Literature 75 were two brothers Shanti and Bijoy. Shanti was a hijra and Bijoy was the elder brother who indulged himself in all kinds of illicit activities. One day, he marries Shanti off to a young woman of a very poor family. On the third night of their marriage Bijoy takes advantage of Shanti’s incapability to fulfil his role as a husband and he rapes the young girl. Unable to bear the sounds of the lusty animal, Shanti exposes the truth to the little girl on that very night. He disrobes in front of her and the girl faints. Early morning, both Shanti and Bijoy find that the woman has hanged herself. Shanti leaves his home. Santap in Bengali means ‘repentance’. In a way, those who are born hijras or suffer from gender disorder repent for their lives, as they are of no use to society and have no meaning to their families. Their lives are also a curse for themselves trapped in wrong bodies which they often have to sustain with strong ‘sexual deprivations’, as nobody looks at them as a woman or recognises them as their wives or show respect to their maternal feelings. Though they are physically not a woman they have to dress like being one by wearing blouses and creating artificial breasts while their body screams to be a fully able-bodied woman, seeking pleasures, being loved in return and desiring for a family of their own. The author laments at how society can be so insensitive towards certain individuals who just do not conform to the binary modes of gender identity. Do such individuals cease to exist? Do they lose the right to live with dignity? Why do families disown them? And why does society marginalise them even without looking at their inner abilities or giving them an opportunity to prove themselves? These are all social fallacies, for which we should truly repent.

Bangla Samaj o Sahitye Tritiyosatwa Chinha (2012) This book is written by Dr Manobi Bandyopadhyay, a meritorious student, talented teacher, activist and an able administrator who effectively managed two key positions both in her college and at the Transgender Development Board. This book is the outcome of her doctoral dissertation. She writes in the preface that she never thought that she would write on this aspect of her life. As a transgender person she has suffered enormously in society, from peer groups, at the workplace and in myriad other ways. She acknowledges the contribution of Bhakti Prasad Mallick’s Aparadh Jagater Bhasha which received the prestigious Rabindra Puraskar award in 1973 for her work. She observes that even after more than two decades the concept about hijra has not changed much and they are still regarded as jauno pratibandhi (sexually handicapped). Apart from this definition she also refers to other categories of hijras in our society. Her work is inspired by the research of Ajoy Majumdar and Niloy Basu. Professor Bandopadhyay writes about various terminologies regarding sexuality and gender identity. Focusing on Michel Foucault’s History of Sexuality, she strongly felt that Foucault could forward a definition that could provide a scientific understanding

76  Representation of Third Gender in Indian Cinema and Literature of sexuality and power. She also refers to Zia Jaffrey’s The Invisibles and reflects on the presence of eunuchs in the medieval period. In the later chapters, Professor Bandyopadhyay very aptly discusses the portrayal of third genders in history, literature and contemporary writings. She elaborates on the history of eunuchs throughout the world, particularly in India – the status of hijras in the Mahabharata (especially the roles of Shikhandi and Brihannala), their depiction in Rabindranath Tagore’s works and in other Bengali classics such as Tarashankar Bandyopadhyay’s Hansuli Banker Upakatha, Bibhutibhusan Bandyopadhyay’s short story Nasumama o Ami, Samaresh Basu’s Banda, Kabita Sinha’s Paurush, Syed Mustafa Siraj’s Mayamridanga, Narayan Sanyal’s Rupmanjari, Nabaneeta Dev Sen’s Bama-Bodhini, Abul Bashar’s Naram Hridayer Chinha, Kamal Chakraborty’s Brahma Bharghab Puran, and Manab Chakraborty’s Santap.

Holde Golap (2015) The book Holde Golap by Swapnamoy Chakraborty, is the outcome of a series of articles written in the Ananda Bazar Patrika (Rabibar, the Sunday supplement) which was later published by Dey’s Publishing House in 2015. Written in the colloquial language usually spoken by members of the hijra community, this work is also reflective of social rituals and customs of the hijra community and the range of emotions attached to their body and mind. He briefly introduces his readers at the beginning of his novel to the pain and suffering of men who are considered effeminate and the humiliation they face in society. Most of this novel is based on research on transgender individuals and the transgender community. Written very realistically and factually, it discusses ideas and concepts that are not commonly discussed and talked about in society. Based on a scientific understanding of gender and sexuality, it showcases that our sexual behaviour is guided by our hormones and mind has little role to play in its determination. Chakraborty emphasises the need for sexual education, use of contraceptives and the right knowledge that teenagers should have to avoid abortions and the need to develop scientific knowledge about masturbation and more in the novel. Chakraborty also initiates a discussion about whether homosexuality is abnormal since heterosexuality is the preferred sexual way. Writing in a lucid language though occasionally introducing his readers to some of the slang words used in Bengali within the community and sometimes amongst the economically lower class, he tries to project a realistic picture that exists in the society. This book is also significant for a number of other reasons. At a time when certain ideas of gender and sexuality are still not popular and hardly known or discussed, such as the concept of breast implant, or trans-axillary breast augmentation, or trans-umbilical breast augmentation, Chakraborty

Representation of Third Gender in Indian Cinema and Literature 77 introduces his readers to the ways it is done and how it is being perceived in the society. The novel is path-breaking and a valuable contribution to Bengali popular culture. Holde Golap breaks the stereotyped notions that are generally nurtured by modhobitton Bengali sreni (middle-class Bengali people) and helps to perceive them through a medical and scientific lens.

City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi (2004) In City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi, William Dalrymple traces the story of eunuchs back to the days of the Mughal period. Against this backdrop he devotes a small section in this book to the portrayal of the plight of the hijras in Indian society. Referred to in the earliest of Hindu texts, the Vedas, written in the second millennium bc, Dalrymple observes that eunuchs were once common over the width of Eurasia. They are fleetingly referred to in the ancient Assyrian and Babylonian era and became popular as ‘servants’ and as ‘passive sexual playthings’, in the degenerate days of the later Roman Empire (Dalrymple 2004: 169). By referring to these words, Dalrymple pointed out how eunuchs were treated. He also pointed out how the eunuchs were looked at in the Muslim world. Due to their ‘impotence’, they were frequently appointed as ‘harem guards’. They even rose to the position of ‘chamberlains’, ‘governors’, and even ‘generals’. Dalrymple observes that eunuchs have ‘apparently died out everywhere except in the subcontinent’ (Dalrymple 2004: 170). Within this small section, Dalrymple sensitively portrays the conditions of eunuchs in India. He refers to the two traditions, Islam and Hinduism that were prevalent amongst the hijras. He points out that after the Mughal Court was disbanded the ‘Muslim hijras’ for the first time came in contact with the ‘Hindu, tradition of eunuchry’ (Dalrymple 2004: 172). Dalrymple compares the situation of trans people in Europe with those in India, highlighting that the option for a sex-change operation in India does not exist widely. He sensitively refers that due to lack of availability of sex change in India, the hijras had to resort to ‘brutal’ and ‘dangerous’ form of castration. In Europe, full sex change at that time was possible and persons born as male could go through it and identify themselves as transsexuals (Dalrymple 2004: 179). Dalrymple focuses on the hijra household, describing the relationships and family structure, with the guru taking on the responsibility of the mother. The household has its own rules and the guru directs them. The book also includes a criticism of this social system which removes all other opportunities and leaves the eunuchs with only two options – dancing and prostitution. The book talks about the marginalisation of the transgender community by Indian society and how with time they turned into something half-way between a ‘talisman and an object of ridicule’ (Dalrymple 2004: 183).

78  Representation of Third Gender in Indian Cinema and Literature

Seven Steps Around the Fire (2000) This play, written by Mahesh Dattani, was first broadcast as Seven Circles Around the Fire by BBC Radio 4 on 9 January 1999. Dattani adopts a radical stance as he exposes the patriarchal hypocrisy of society, which denies any social recognition to the hijras as individuals. He depicts the harshness in the play through strong language used against hijras; words and phrases such as ‘it’, ‘kick’ and ‘you worthless pig’ bring out very sensitively the fact that hijras are not treated as humans. They are treated like animals by men in this society (Dattani 2000: 8–9). This play is about Kamala, a beautiful hijra who has been accused of murder. The play opens in the office of the Superintendent of Police. The male section of Central Jail, Bangalore, where Munuswamy, a respectable police constable, ushers in Uma Rao, wife of the Superintendent and daughter-inlaw of the Deputy Commissioner of Police. She was working on the hijras of India from a sociological perspective therefore she arrived at the police station to collect data for herself. The constable was surprised to hear that a respectable lady of her stature would like to work on hijras. He tries to convince the lady about other areas of work which probably are more dignified. Uma however focuses on Anarkali, a hijra, who has been arrested on charges of the murder of her sister, Kamala. Anarkali denies the allegation. The constable, the police superintendent and others refer to Anarkali as ‘it’ (generally a term used for inanimate things). At night Uma questions her husband Suresh (Superintendent of Police) about the reasons for Anarkali’s arrest and asks whether they have any evidence against her. Fearing that his wife has taken on a dangerous path, Suresh tries to distract her attention from the issue by exercising his conjugal rights. The next morning in the Superintendent’s Office Uma tries to be friendly with Anarkali by offering her cigarettes. Anarkali pleads with Uma to accept the truth that she had not killed her sister. Uma is convinced to find out the truth for herself. Munuswamy, the constable, informs Uma that Kamala was burnt to death and was then thrown into a pond. None of the hijras had filed a missing complaint with the police and were busy collecting the jewellery which she wore when she died. Uma was taken aback after hearing this. From where did she get so much gold? Uma: Then is it true? That they are criminals? Am I making a fool of myself? Even so, I’ve got to find out for myself . . . who knows? Some of those people out there might be . . . they just might be . . . (p. 17) Uma meets Champa, and with Champa’s help she finds out that a man named Salim used to visit Kamala and now wants to go through her things kept in a trunk. UMA:  What was he looking for? CHAMPA:  I don’t know. He said he

wants a photograph that Kamala has of Kamala and him together. (p. 27)

Representation of Third Gender in Indian Cinema and Literature 79 UMA:  Where does Salim live? CHAMPA:  In Palace Orchards.

He is the bodyguard of the Minister. (p. 27)

In spite of repeated persuasion Anarkali does not disclose who killed Kamala. She knew that they were influential people. When Uma insists, Anarkali says, ‘One hijra less in this world does not matter to your husband’. (p. 35) The next day Uma goes to the Minister’s house to talk to Salim’s wife. She was faced with strong opposition from Salim, Mr Sharma, the Minister, and Subbu, the Minister’s son, who knows both Salim and Uma’s family. Subbu pleads with Uma not to arrest Salim, who he says is a good man. Uma with her husband Suresh is invited to Subbu’s wedding. At the wedding Mr Sharma greets them. He is aware that Uma is searching for the truth behind Kamala’s murder. MR SHARMA:  Looking for someone as usual? (p. 36) UMA: Oh! MR SHARMA:  I am sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. UMA:  No, no I wasn’t. MR SHARMA:  You had that searching look again. MR SHARMA:  How can you tell? MR SHARMA:  I have seen it in many people it is a spiritual UMA:  (laughs) And is that what you see in me? MR SHARMA:  Yes. I see a search for the truth. UMA:  Do you think I will find it? MR SHARMA:  If you look in the right place UMA:  Which would be? (p. 37)

search that I see.

Mr Sharma then informs Uma that his son is getting a wife from a fine family and is entering the phase of the householder. UMA:  And you feel the truth lies in that? MR SHARMA:  For him, yes. My truth is in ensuring he is on the right path . . .

Come. The time is auspicious. (p. 37) I n the distance, Mr Sharma is being congratulated:  ‘Congratulations!’ ‘Sharma Saab’, Congratulations, ‘may you be a grandfather soon!’ The group of hijras approach clapping loudly. They wear dancing bells on their ankles. (p. 38) CHAMPA:  May God bless this house with many children! ANARKALI:  May God smile upon this house! (p. 38) The play ends tragically when Anarkali arrives at the wedding and hands Subbu the photograph of Salim and Kamala together. (p. 39) Subbu shoots himself with Suresh’s gun after he finds out that Mr Sharma had wanted that photograph and had sent Salim to threaten

80  Representation of Third Gender in Indian Cinema and Literature Anarkali and Champa. He gets the picture eventually but loses his son. What a price to pay! And now he will be arrested and tried for murder. (p. 41) But, alas! The play brings out the harsh reality of the society where ‘money’ and ‘power’ have the ability to subdue all ‘wrongs’. In a society that is torn by classes, riddled with inequalities and filled with patriarchal hypocrisy, the play reminds us that the ‘institutional’ set up is just a façade, and that behind it works the vested interests of moneyed and power lobbies, who can get away with anything, even with crimes like that of murder, and who have no scruples in heaping the blame on the poor and downtrodden, and for ‘hijras’ in the society, the cry for ‘justice’ is far too great. As summed up, the hijras Anarkali and Champa knew all along who was behind the killing of Kamala. But they have no ‘voice’. (p. 42) The case was hushed up and was not even reported in the newspapers. Champa was right. The police made no arrests, Subbu’s suicide was written off as an accident and all evidence was destroyed. The photograph was destroyed. So were the lives of two young people. (p. 42) Mahesh Dattani in his plays portrays contemporary themes like sexuality, religious tension and gender issues. His works have sensitively focused on human relationships and their personal and moral choices have occupied the centre stage in his dramas.

The Truth About Me: A Hijra Life Story (2010) This is a bold narrative of courageous hijra A. Revathi who fights relentlessly against the ridicule, persecution and violence both within her home and in the larger society. Written by a hijra, this work gives us an insight into the ‘actual facts’ that hijras experience. Born in a small village in Namakkal taluk in Salem district, Tamil Nadu, Revathi was born as a boy and was the youngest of five brothers and sisters. His parents named him Doraiswamy and he received a lot of attention being the youngest. From a very early age Doraiswamy loved to play games which the girls played, swept the front yard clean and drew the Kolam every morning. He helped his mother in the kitchen, sweeping and swabbing, washing vessels. He also liked to get dressed in her sister’s long skirt and blouse and walk like a shy bride. For this he was taunted and laughed at and everyone called him the ‘female thing’ which made him painfully shy. In school the teachers were very harsh and treated him badly. He remembers being caned for not being brave like a boy. And since he did not play boy’s games, he was punished by the PT teacher too. The teacher even went so far as to ask him to strip in front of all. ‘I somewhat got to Class 10. I experienced changes in my body and in my being. I experienced a growing sense of irrepressible femaleness, which haunted me, day in and day out. A woman trapped in a man’s body was

Representation of Third Gender in Indian Cinema and Literature 81 how I  thought of myself’. With a friend he went to Dindigul to Amma’s place (A woman who wore saris and had an ‘operation’ and received other women like her from Mumbai and Delhi during the time of the Goddess Festival). She got her name Revathi from there, and her guru felt that she should go through nirvaanam (undergoing castration by having an operation) (Revathi 2010: 22–23). Revathi went to her home to see her parents. She was apprehensive about how she would be greeted and her apprehension came true. She was beaten up by her brothers. Her mother wanted to cure her by taking her to the Samayapuram temple where she could offer his hair to the goddess and he would be free from the seducing female demon who she claimed had a hold on him. Revathi again fled from her home and went to Delhi to her nani and guru. From there she went to Mumbai to the house of her guru’s mother (Revathi 2010: 56). Revathi unfolds the various life patterns which the hijra community follow. She learns about the hijra’s custom of badhai, why they collect money from shops and why they are considered auspicious. She learns that only those hijras who look like women are allowed to do sex work. In order to forget her troubles, Revathi starts drinking and gets engaged in dhanda. Once she changes herself to a woman she is also deprived of her ancestral ‘property’. Revathi recollects how tumultuous her life was as a sex worker. She speaks about the degradation that she went through at the hands of fellow hijras and their gurus as well as drunken men and the police. She is raped and robbed, and her life becomes a journey of unending miseries. Finally, she comes back to her village unable to bear any more torture but to her family she has already ceased to exist. She has the opportunity to travel to Bangalore. Here she discovers a non-governmental organisation (NGO) working for sexual minorities. This proves to be a turning point in her life and she takes up a job there to escape from the horrible life of a sex worker. Another world opens up in front of Revathi. She starts working as an office peon and later with her intelligence she gets more responsibilities in the organisation. She attends activist meetings and reads literature about hijras like herself and other marginalised communities. She realises that they should stand up for their rights and fight for them. Three months after Revathi visits Sangama, the NGO where she is now working, she gets a job as an office assistant. The NGO’s aim was to challenge the stereotypical and incorrect perceptions of sexual minorities. Revathi participates in these events and speaks about hijra culture, hijra ways of living and the violence and discrimination that they faced (Revathi 2010: 243). Revathi writes that the Indian government needs to be more involved with the upliftment of hijras by organising counselling sessions for them, putting them on a course of hormones and assisting them with sex-change surgeries.

82  Representation of Third Gender in Indian Cinema and Literature She points out, ‘Since law and society in this country do not acknowledge our right to live as we wish, we are forced to beg, take up sex work and “suffer as a consequence” ’ (Revathi 2010: 262). Revathi asks the state to grant them ration cards and housing rights, ensure employment and provide medical care. Revathi feels that for a woman, rights do not and cannot bring all the happiness needed in life. Love for living is as important as air for breathing. She befriends a person and gets married. She is in love and wants to set up a family like all other women. But her happiness is short lived. She is shattered when, on the slightest pretext, her partner breaks the relationship. Despite these losses and sufferings, Revathi continued to finish writing her book and continues her life as an activist in Bangalore.

Me Hijra, Me Laxmi (2015) Laxmi Narayan Tripathy is a transgender rights activist who has played a pioneer role in the process of petitioning in favour of recognising transgenders as a third category on all documents. Born into a middle-class Brahmin family in Bhita, near Gorakhpur in Eastern Uttar Pradesh, Laxmi lived with her family (before she came out as a hijra) in a shanty on the banks of the Siddheshwar Lake in Thane, Mumbai, with her mother, father and older sister, Rukmini, lovingly called Mintu. Being the only son of his parents (since Laxmi was born as a boy) at that point of time, Laxmi alias Raju had enjoyed a lot of attention from his parents and fondly remembers sleeping in his mother’s arms. Later, when his brother Shashinarayan was born, he slept with his father. Laxmi remembers that she would often fall ill as a child. Laxmi writes, ‘my fragile health however, did not prove a damper to my love for dance’ (Tripathy 2015: 4). But the ‘patriarchal’ and ‘misogynistic’ society, as Laxmi points out, severely criticised her for the womanly pursuits and called her names such as homo and a chakka. Laxmi grew up with such taunts and jeers. She was sexually exploited at the age of seven and suffered from repeated sexual assaults. Laxmi suddenly found that she had outgrown her childhood. Laxmi started learning English from her friend Sangita Sethi. She lived next to Laxmi and she affectionately called her as Sangita auntie. With her help, Laxmi met Ashok Row Kavi and his group at Maheshwari Udyaan and got inducted in his group through the performance of ‘haldi-kumkum’, done by Vijai Nair. Later, when Laxmi was in the fifth standard, they changed residence and started living in Khopat, a place surrounded by Gujrati families. It was here that Laxmi experienced her first love (Tripathy 2015: 9–13). Laxmi took up dancing, which sustained her amid all turbulences in life. She states, ‘Dancing transported me to another world where I  could be my true self’ (Tripathy 2015: 23). Soon she started her own dance classes

Representation of Third Gender in Indian Cinema and Literature 83 known as Vidya Nritya Niketan and people acknowledged her dancing. She also became a model co-ordinator who sent girls from the dance class to Bollywood. Later she learnt about fashion from Shabina. Lawrence Francis alias Shabina is the brother of Gloria and was a hijra. With the help of Shabina, Laxmi joined the hijra community as a chela. In 1988, she completed her reet and was christened into a hijra (Tripathy 2015: 39). Laxmi realised that after becoming a hijra she got her own identity. She realised how difficult it was to lead a hijra’s life. Some of the hijras like Subhadra, who went for sex work, was even murdered and no clue was found to prove the case. A hijra’s death hardly seemed to matter to anyone in society. Laxmi became vocal about the conservative elements of her community. She pointed out that the nayaks (leaders) were against the use of condoms as they believed that it turned the customers away. In the meantime, her family became a bit distanced from her probably because of the pressure they faced in the neighbourhood. Much later when her father persuaded her to marry she revealed her status. She joined DWS, a social organisation, but due to personal differences in opinion she left (Tripathy 2015: 67). Laxmi travelled far abroad to attend international conferences and film festivals in Toronto and New York. In her autobiography she wrote how she was harassed by Bombay Gymkhana back home, which later motivated her to fight for transgenders’ rights against the government. She suggested that ‘O’ provisions should be made optional in all documents. Laxmi points out that till the newly introduced Aadhar card there was no official recognition of hijras. Estranged from family and ostracised by the society, she notes that people couldn’t care less about how they earned a living. Their main occupation is performing badhai at weddings or when a child is born. But Laxmi points out that badhai alone cannot fulfil their stomachs and hence they have to take up sex work, dance in bars or beg on streets. Dancing, Laxmi believes, comes to them naturally. Laxmi knows that generally people think that all hijras undergo castration. She acknowledges that she is not a castrated male but observes that getting breast implants and hormone therapy is a necessity sometimes to look more feminine and complete. Laxmi in her autobiography has refuted various myths associated with the lives of the hijras. For example, hijras are often in the news for the wrong reasons like kidnapping children and forcing them to become hijras. Also, it is believed that the funerals of hijras take place at an unearthly hour of the day so that none can witness it. She rejects these myths and says that all hijras are buried according to their own religion. In the final chapter Laxmi points out the various definitions of certain terms of which the general public is not aware of. She writes that the word hijra is derived from the Urdu word ‘hijar’ meaning a person who has walked out of his tribe or community (Tripathy 2015: 171).

84  Representation of Third Gender in Indian Cinema and Literature In Urdu, hijras are also called Khawaja Sara, kinnar in Hindi and Aravani (based on the Mahabharata) in Tamil. She calls the deity of the hijras as Bahuchara Mata or Murgiwali Devi, as she rides a cock. Laxmi opened the path of recognition for the hijras. She refers to obtaining the first right to vote in 1994 in Tamil Nadu, which is the only state to allow hijras to use the ladies’ toilet, and then to the rise of Shabnam Mausi in 1998 to the state of legislative assembly in Madhya Pradesh from the Suhagpur (also called Sohagpur) constituency (Tripathy 2015: 179). Laxmi concludes her book with a definite opinion of her own. She rightly points out that all hijras are referred to as transgender. In the formulation of LGBT, Laxmi points out that transgender, which means ‘transcending gender’, to her refers to gender, whereas all other categories (lesbian, gay bisexual) refer to sexuality. She recollects opinion of some of the feminists who do not consider transgender as women as they cannot conceive and give birth to children. Laxmi ends with a message that both society and the hijra community need to change their mindset. Whereas society needs to confront biases towards hijras, the hijras also have to be forthright and guard their behaviour, lest they defame the entire community.

A Gift of Goddess Lakshmi: A Candid Biography of India’s First Transgender Principal (2017) This is an autobiography of eminent and erudite professor of Bengali, Dr Manobi Bandyopadhyay, who was previously known to her friends and community as Somnath Bandyopadhyay. Written by Manobi Bandyopadhyay with Jhimli Mukherjee Pandey, Manobi di as we popularly call her traces her journey of life and struggles. Born into an upper-middle-class Brahmin family, Manobi recounts that there was great deal of joy after his birth (since he was born as a son) following two elder sisters in the family. He was called Lakshmi as he brought great luck to the family (Bandyopadhyay 2017: 4). Manobi went to Mahendra High School in Naihati in north 24 Parganas, one of the districts in West Bengal. This is the school he recounted that famous singer Shyamal Mitra also attended. Soon the school days became nightmarish as the children in the school realised that he was not a girl, but a weak boy. They started bullying him in all possible ways, making his life hell. Nobody took pity on his condition, and he wept and wept. During the adolescent period Somnath (later Manobi) realised that his feminine traits were becoming prominent and that he was getting a feminine look. Manobi realised that she was an extremely good dancer and picked up steps very easily. She joined the famous Manjushri Chaki Sarkar’s dance troupe and started flourishing as a dancer (Bandyopadhyay 2017: 15). Love remained always elusive for Manobi. She admitted that she was never tired of loving or love. In her autobiography, Manobi openly discusses the affairs she had and longings she felt for elderly good-looking men.

Representation of Third Gender in Indian Cinema and Literature 85 However, she admits that she never found anyone committed to her love and had been often misused and exploited by cousins and others. After her graduation, Manobi joined Jadavpur University, which was like a dream in her eyes. With a liberal environment, Jadavpur offered everything she felt she deserves. Eminent professors and great teachers like Sankhya Ghosh, Pabitra Sarkar, Pinakesh Sarkar and Tapobrata Ghosh inspired her. Seniors like Tapati Sengupta also took her imagination and Manobi felt that she was out of depth among this elite pool. Gradually she updated her knowledge of Bengali literature but she felt fortunate that unlike her previous college, no one at Jadavpur University ‘jeered’ at her ‘for being different’ (Bandyopadhyay 2017: 53–55). At 23, Manobi realised she needed a stable job to fund her own expenses. She first joined Sri Krishna College, a rural college in Bagula, Nadia, the district made famous by Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the famous Bengali spiritual leader, for Rs 125 per month. However, starting her permanent job as a lecturer at the remote Satavarshiki College in Jhargram on 8 March, International Women’s Day, marked the beginning of a new chapter in her life. In this college she was used to all kinds of sneers and taunts. Situated in the rural area the people were completely not at ease with the trans-ness and hence they were amused and curious to know whether she is a beti (a daughter) or a beta (a son). Their curiosity was heightened as they could not get an answer. To them she was a hijra, neither man nor woman. In her autobiography, she has mentioned again and again how she has been humiliated, and for all these times she is grateful, as they gave her the strength to discover herself and fight back. Probably it is from this strength that she rose to a position that no ordinary academician can think about. She became the first transgender principal at a woman’s college, Krishnanagar Women’s College, and the vice chairperson of the Transgender Development Board in West Bengal. However, her spirit to contest for her rights and live on with dignity is truly a story that should inspire many who have been considering themselves as unfortunate being trapped in wrong body. In spite of the struggle Manobi had (after her name change at Bankshall Court as Manabi, as spelt at that time under the supervision of a magistrate), she was denied recognition, as her previous certificates were all in the name of Somnath. So she fought a legal battle too and ultimately won the battle, to her credit losing many years of seniority (Bandyopadhyay 2017: 160–161). With the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) verdict of 2014, the mainstream community has started to realise the position of a trans person and treat them like human beings who have a right to live with dignity irrespective of their gender identity. Professor Manobi Bandopadhyay has achieved success and glory but her biggest happiness comes from her son, Deba, and like most women who yearn to hear the word ‘ma’ (meaning ‘mother’) from her child she also craves it. She is prepared for the happy tragedy when her son will get married and the mother might not remain the first priority of his life (Bandyopadhyay 2017: 183–184).

86  Representation of Third Gender in Indian Cinema and Literature In this chapter, I try to bring together stories about and from the transgender community and how we have culturally engaged with them by depicting real-life histories, stories, films, literature and autobiographies. There has been a significant increase in the number of stories, experiences and representations of the community in art and popular culture in the last two decades. A  recent TV serial named Phirki which is broadcast on the Zee Bangla channel is a story of trans woman. Suzi Bhowmik, a member from the community, plays the lead role. Its popularity among middle-class Bengali families has once again confirmed that our society is much more openminded about the transgender persons and have become sensitive to their conditions.

Notes 1 The film Tamanna is a Hindi movie directed by Mahesh Bhatt and was released on 7 March 1997. The movie starred Paresh Rawal and Pooja Bhatt in the lead roles. The film sets a highly sensitive tone, as it depicts the tamanna (which means ‘desire’) of a transgender named Tikku (acted by Paresh Rawal) who longed to be a father. He picked up a girl (here played by Pooja Bhatt) and named her Tamanna. The film is written by Mahesh Bhatt and Tanuja Chandra and produced by Pooja Bhatt. The music was provided by popular singer and composer Anu Malik. 2 Darmiyaan is a Hindi movie which was released in 1997. It was directed by Kalpana Lajmi with music by popular veteran singer Bhupen Hazarika. The word ‘darmiyaan’ means ‘in between’ and depicts the character of an actress who realises her son is a eunuch. This film portrays renowned Hindustani vocalist Rita Ganguly and features veteran screen actors Tabu and Kirron Kher. 3 Shabnam Mausi, released on 20 May 2005, is a Hindi film that depicts the reallife character of an Indian eunuch who rose to spectacular success in politics. She was an elected member of the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly in India. The film is directed by Yogesh Bharadwaj and produced by Sudesh Bhonsle and Manoj Jaiswal. The lead role of Shabnam Mausi is played by noted actor Ashutosh Rana. 4 The film Chitrangada: The Crowning Wish is a Bengali movie released in 2012. The film is directed by the late veteran film director Rituparno Ghosh, who also thematised the story and screenplay. The film won a National Film Award. The lead character Rudra was played by Rituparno himself, and that of his friend Partho by Jisshu Sengupta.

6 Globalisation and the New Age of Rights

Globalisation has acted as a watershed in the context of its impact on the lives of third-gender persons in India. India entered into the neo-liberal expansion of the economy in the 1990s. The most significant outcome of this process was reflected in the field of communication technology. Communication revolution through digital technologies during this period helped in bringing groups and communities closer to each other to share their anxieties and experiences across borders. Globalisation paved way for new relationships, ideas and formation of identities. It brought in considerable changes in family life and aspirations. New possibilities of thinking and experiences of non-heteronormative gender and sexualities came to the front. All this led to new awareness amongst the members of the third-gender community. Moreover, for the first time community members became vigilant about their own rights and started questioning existing norms and practices. Domestic policies were now under scrutiny and efforts to change these policies were given great importance. The global civil society acted as a platform in terms of sharing relationships, values, ideas and networks and what was previously not considered important by nation states started receiving their attention beyond the ‘confines of national societies, polities and economies’ (Glasius 2013: 145). It was around the late 1990s and early 2000s that knowledge from the internet gained momentum and made a profound impact on transgender issues. Trans individuals belonging to the middle class and had family support to continue their education imbibed a lot of new knowledge about their bodies and desires around this time. Previously what was considered sinful or shameful gave way to a new understanding of gender and sexuality in more privileged circles. The most inspirational writings that brought changes in the realm of ideas came from Western scholars such as Gayle Rubin, Michel Foucault, Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, Judith Butler and Diana Fuss. In the influential essay ‘Thinking Sex’, Gayle Rubin shows the creation of sexual hierarchies in society and ‘sexual minoritization’, which privileges DOI: 10.4324/9780429243851-7

88  Globalisation and the New Age of Rights heteronormativity and reproductive sex over homosexuality and all other expressions of sexuality and sexual behaviour (Shah 2013: 163). Michel Foucault’s writings stirred huge upheaval. His writings on the discourse of sexuality served as the foundational texts for critical thinking about knowledge and power and how they are essentially linked together. In his significant four-volume work History of Sexuality, Foucault speaks about the discourse on sexuality. In the first volume, The Will to Knowledge, written in 1976, he discusses the interdependencies between power and the human body – its functions, physiological processes and so forth (Foucault 1998: 145). Important works on gender and sexuality as propounded by Judith Butler were also significantly influential in questioning stereotypes. Butler’s seminal works, which include Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity originally published in 1990 followed by Bodies That Matter and Undoing Gender, were path-breaking as far as transgender, transsexual and queer rights and identities were concerned. In Gender Trouble, Butler first discusses the concept of ‘performativity’ (Butler 2006: xv) and in later writings she goes on to revise and provide explanations to the debates around these concepts. In her path-breaking book Undoing Gender, Butler acknowledged that she was influenced by tenets of ‘New Gender Politics’ and ‘a combination of movements’, concerned with ‘transgender, transsexuality, intersex, and their complex relations to feminist and queer theory’ (Butler 2004: 4). Butler is concerned about ‘heterosexual hegemony’, and in her pathbreaking work, Bodies That Matter she questions whether there is a way ‘to link the question of the materiality of the body to the performativity of gender’ (Butler 2013: Introduction, p. xi). Butler’s concept of gender performativity was not only thought provoking but also remained controversial as well as crucial in analysing gender norms. She raised the significant question about why people imprisoned, killed or marginalised due to their difference? And why violence is inflicted on people with different gender manifestations specifically. Butler strongly criticises the institutions which normalise and police non-heteronormative gender and sexual behaviour. Her writings opened a new plethora of concepts regarding rights, identities and entitlements. Butler was also greatly concerned about the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.) gender identity disorder diagnosis, which treated gender dysphoria as a psychological disorder and sought to critically review these issues (Butler 2004: 4–5). Globalisation paved the way for a scientific understanding of these issues. In the West these issues, especially knowledge of gender dysphoria, of opting for sex reassignment surgery (SRS) were well discussed and followed. The community members could now make important decisions about their lives without suffering from guilt of being born into a wrong body. The need to

Globalisation and the New Age of Rights 89 include these changes in their bodies became crucial for many trans persons, particularly for those who remained unhappy with the sex assigned at birth. They wanted to go for change of sex and fulfil the desire to be in the body and adopt the gender identity they desire rather than move on with the same sex they were assigned at the time of their birth. For many trans persons the concept of gender fluidity became more attractive in terms of its realisation in their lives. In India, the concept of androgyny which talked of fusion of male and female in the same body was prevalent from ancient days. However, these were hardly recognised in contemporary India. The interaction with the Western world brought into focus the need to accept these concepts and go ahead with one’s life. A breakthrough in the realm of knowledge took place when gender identity disorder was removed from the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders by the World Health Organization and a new condition called gender dysphoria was added to diagnose and treat those transgender individuals who felt distress at the mismatch between their identities and bodies. This was done to protect trans individuals from being categorised as people with mental disorders. This boosted the spirit and morale of the trans community and helped to break the conventional stereotypical notion that prevailed in India that third genderism is an ‘illness’ and needs to be treated. Another landmark event that brought great relief and contentment amongst the third-gender community in India was the International Convention on Minorities and Sexual Rights held in 2006 from 6th to 9th November in Java, Indonesia. This was popularly known as the Yogyakarta Principles which addressed a broad range of human rights standards and their application to issues of sexual orientation and gender identity.1 The principles affirm binding international legal standards with which all states must comply. They promise a different future in which all people are born free and are equal in dignity and rights. This convention provided a platform for sexual minority groups who could openly claim their rights based on their sexual orientation and gender identity. In India, the movement for greater visibility of trans issues saw a rise through the LGBT or queer movement that developed in the USA as a protest of discrimination of LGBTQI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex) people in social and political spaces and asserting their rights to public spaces.

Technological Revolution and Access to Global Information Issues which were considered taboo found a space for discussion. Knowledge about various gender identities and their associated behavioural activities were uploaded to sites such as Facebook. Many websites were for non-profit organisations and some were also government supported. The sites gave legal advice, medical guidance and mental support to transgender, gender

90  Globalisation and the New Age of Rights diverse and queer people and sometimes included counselling to even family members of the trans community. These sites were breaking new ground and set an example for individuals and community in India how these issues related to their differences in body and mind could be handled. Other websites have produced invaluable information regarding services such as counselling, advocacy, training for service providers and training and education for clients that show them their right path in reclaiming their identities. Similarly, there are new sites and pages on Facebook, Twitter and others where users and communities interact and have open discussions about sexual identity and choice. These sites offer help and support to trans individuals and an opportunity for them to interact from within their comfort zone and share their feelings with advocators on the other side. Very recently sites have also been made available that provide medical services and advice on gender issues, counselling and diagnosis, blood tests, monitoring, prescriptions and even medication. How to respect the dignity of trans kids and protect trans youth are also matters of great concern and many online portals are working towards greater sensitisation. The major objective of these sites is not only to spread awareness among all people but also to focus on the issue of trans rights and human rights. There are a number of foreign films which can be accessed online which depict sexual identities apart from the heteronormative paradigm. Thus, the queer identity of transgenders along with that of people of other sexual minorities such as lesbians, gays and bisexuals find representation and a community through different forms of media. The internet has provided queer youth a virtual community. In Kolkata, a lot of queer films have been screened at the Max Mueller Bhavan. According to Rohit K. Dasgupta, the growth of queer visibility and queer consciousness is intrinsically linked to liberalisation in India which started in 1991. The change in social and economic policies during this time provided a boost to the aspirations of the middle class in India. Forwarding the arguments as advanced by Roy (2003) and Shahani (2008), Dasgupta points out that ‘the queer community were amongst the first to enter the digital folds of social interaction’ (Dasgupta 2017: 3). In an article, Joanne Addison and Michelle Comstock also note that queer people have more readily engaged themselves in establishing cyberzines, discussion groups and support services through the internet. These creations were termed ‘cyberqueer spaces’ by Nina Wakeford. Wakeford argues that the cyberqueer spaces have been used by the queer community and sexual minorities to represent themselves and to form sites for political resistance and coalition. (Alexander, Gibson, and Meem 2014: 327–328) The internet has provided greater visibility to LGBT groups in articulating ‘their concerns, interests and desires’ (Alexander, Gibson, Meem 2014: 328). Social networking sites for instance like Facebook often provide a larger platform to these groups who can now get connected to each other and exchange their ideas, ‘personal likes, dislikes and identities’. They also ‘identify their romantic, emotional, and sexual interests and augment this

Globalisation and the New Age of Rights 91 information by uploading images and videos’ (Alexander, Gibson, and Meem 2014: 328–329). The sites also provide gender counselling services and support groups that provide a wide range of practical information regarding counselling and transitions. As Gibson notes in the essay, greater visibility and representation may also increase the risk of homophobic attacks on LGBT individuals which seek to ‘control expressions of sexuality’ (Gibson, Alexander and Meem 2014: 329–330). The internet has acted as one of the most important knowledge facilitators. Apart from Facebook, YouTube channel also provided a great deal of information about hijras, transgenders, transsexuals and their physicality, medical care, new techniques in the adoption of sex change, post-operative treatment, exposition to knowledge about methods of pleasures and other individuals who share the same problems in addressing their identities is available worldwide online. So is information about sex, queer bodies, sexual pleasure and contraceptives for the community. This has set a new horizon for trans persons in India. My first interviewee Tista Das, who had undergone an SRS in India and in West Bengal, told me that primarily all the information about transgenderism and sex change was learnt from these websites. These sites not only helped in raising awareness but also helped her to regain her confidence about her gender identity. She could realise that there is no abnormality in being born transgender. As far back as 2001, when I  interviewed Tista for the first time, she already had sufficient information in her hand and wanted me to read it. Most people are not aware of the transgender body or about their minds and hence scientific knowledge about these areas is totally absent. (As narrated to the author during an interview conducted in Baruipur 2001) Certain informative and educative articles, as Tista recalls, provided primary information about what we call gender basics and issues related to transsexualism. Scientific and medical information related to trans bodies and the way to change through SRS was discussed. Lynn Conway’s important article ‘Basic TG/TS/IS Information’ has referred to certain important basics of gender identity. In most cases as Conway points out, it is common to think that ‘boys’ with male genitalia will ‘grow up as men’ and ‘girls’ with female genitalia will ‘grow up to become women’. From birth, one is identified through one’s ‘genital sex’ though in reality the cases are far more complex. She discusses extensively the various conditions that determine gender identity, conditions resulting in ‘ambiguous genitalia’ that lead to the birth of ‘intersex babies’.2 It is important to mention that when the West was making significant developments in these studies there was total lack of knowledge about trans bodies in India. In 1960, John Money of Johns Hopkins University was the leading advocate of the view that conducting surgical changes on intersexed infants and raising them according to their corresponding gender can bring normal gender identity. According to Money, the infant is

92  Globalisation and the New Age of Rights thought to be a blank slate having no inherent personality characteristics. Therefore, after surgical intervention if the person is brought up according to their corresponding gender identity, then one can avoid a mismatch. Money placed a lot of importance on upbringing and socialisation, which he believed to be the cornerstone of gender identity. Money’s notion was however strongly criticised by reputed scientist Professor Milton Diamond, who served as the director of the Pacific Center for Sex and Society at the University of Hawaii.3 In 1965, he criticised Money’s theory in his paper ‘A Critical Evaluation of the Ontogeny of Human Sexual Behavior’. Based on evidence collected from biology, psychology, psychiatry, anthropology and endocrinology, Diamond argued that ‘gender identity is hardwired into the brain virtually from conception’ (Colapinto 2000: 44). Therefore, the ‘correction surgeries’ which were carried out during twentieth century did not work to a great extent and left many intersex people genetically maimed by those surgeries. Further case studies on this finally revealed that Money’s theory, which emphasised that gender identity is socially constructed, was wrong. The highly publicised case of ‘John/Joan’ presented in the book As Nature Made Him: The Boy Who Was Raised as a Girl by John Colaptino revealed that Money’s experiment on a little infant boy who had lost his penis in a medical accident had not been fruitful and Money had concealed this counter evidence for years. These findings clearly led to a paradigm shift within the medical community. The other important observations that can be obtained from Lynn Conway’s website regard who transgender persons actually are and what the different problems they face in adjusting themselves to strict specific gender roles are. The site explains the meaning of transgender transition (i.e. ‘live out their lives in the social gender they feel most comfortable in the middle of the physical spectrum ie without undergoing sex-reassignment surgery to modify their original genitalia’), ‘gender identity disorder’ and “gender dysphoria’, a state ‘referring to the angst felt at being forced to live in the wrong gender’ (Conway 2006). From the aforementioned writings, we learn important information on and medical knowledge of transsexualism (i.e. how to go through the innovative surgical and hormonal treatments to correct one’s body according to their psychological identity). Dr Harry Benjamin in his celebrated book The Transsexual Phenomenon from late 1966 is an invaluable contribution to the field of knowledge about transsexualism. According to Tista, a lot of information had been obtained from these websites about transgender transition, SRS, hormone therapy and about how to express themselves honestly, improve opportunities for their well-being and happiness. Tista now runs a successful community-based organisation (CBO) that provides multiple services to transgenders from counselling and therapy to sex reassignment surgery. The community-based clinics proved beneficial for many trans persons who could not easily access the regular clinics. As the

Globalisation and the New Age of Rights 93 community-based clinics are set up by trans persons they are more equipped to look after the well-being of the persons and provide valuable services to them. In India, there are still very few organisations that address these issues. Tista being the first transsexual person in Kolkata who had undergone SRS has mustered the courage to help all transgender persons (both male to female and female to male) to understand their own bodies and make decisions about their own lives. She supports and helps all those who suffer from gender dysphoria and assists them in coming in terms with their own bodies and minds and opting for sex change if that is needed by them. According to Tista, access to safe SRS remains a widely neglected medical issue in India. She remembers the hardship she faced and had to sell some of her utensils to pay for the surgery. The operation is expensive and most transgender persons cannot afford it. The majority of trans persons still opt for crude methods of castration (Das 2008: 1–3). Of late, the number of cases undergoing SRS in which male-to-female trans persons undergo a rigorous operation in creating a vagina, which they refer to as ‘gifting themselves a vagina,’ in order to lead the life of a woman, has been quite high. Similar cases for medical treatment in which individuals transition to becoming a transman and change themselves from female to male are also underway. My personal interaction with Mr  Sumit Biswas (name changed on request), a practising lawyer, and Piyal Datta (name changed on request) has revealed how by giving themselves the body of their identification they have been able to live a life of dignity.4 One of the exemplary case studies of Kolkata who had the courage and strength of mind to pursue a sex-change operation when it was not so popular is Tista Das, who was formerly known as Susanta. Born into a low-middle-class family in Agarpara, Tista was adamant about giving her body the shape that would reflect her identity. In order to get over gender dysphoria, or the uneasiness about being trapped in a wrong body, Tista went through a nine-hour-long operation in a private nursing home in Kolkata to change her body biologically. She is the first transsexual person in the state as well as in the country to have undergone this surgery. During an interview conducted in Baruipur, Tista disclosed that she changed her sex to get rid of everyday harassments and problems faced at public places such as using public toilets along with many other factors that compelled her to prepare her mind and body for SRS. She sold her ghoti and bati (essential utensils that one uses in everyday life) to get her operation and to be transformed. (Sengupta 2014: 80) These words echoed the pain she suffered in the hands of the society at large. SRS is still a distant dream for many trans persons in India. (Das 2008: 1–3) Globalisation: Its Impact on Health and Human Rights Health is considered one of the most important indexes for human development. In India, it is now acknowledged as an important right of the

94  Globalisation and the New Age of Rights citizen. The right to survive is the driving force for all human beings. The state should give primacy to health sectors especially for those who are marginalised, vulnerable, differently abled, helpless, and so forth. Concern about the health of third-gender persons was not acknowledged as an important issue that needs to be separately looked at or treated with difference and sensitivity. The governments lacked awareness and sensitivity to bring in any change in the lives of these individuals of this community. It was only from 1990s onwards that the health issues of the trans community started receiving some attention due to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. It cannot be denied that one of the effects of globalisation on sexuality came through the spread of HIV/AIDS pandemic (Altman 2007: 153). To a large extent, the trans community and the LGBT community were felt to be at high-risk zones and they were held responsible for the spread of this deadly disease. The governments started to campaign widely and it was mainly due to their accountability towards public health they started undertaking measures to control the spread of the disease and safeguard the health of the trans community at large. The campaigns were largely highlighted in media and TV channels. I still remember the symbolic figure of an elderly woman named ‘Bula-di’ who became the spokesperson providing guidelines for a safe and healthy sex life in West Bengal. At the advocacy level there have been great attempts to stop HIV/AIDS from spreading. Through Bula-di, a lot of daily efforts to prevent AIDS were made by using condoms. The government also took active measures in providing contraceptives in targeted areas to help stop the spread of HIV/AIDS.5 Globalisation ushered in the knowledge that trans persons needed additional support from doctors and public health officials. The hormonal changes they experience in their bodies are far more complicated and need more care. Concern towards mental health issues came to the forefront after the information regarding mental health was discussed in the international platforms. The American Psychological Association observed that due to stigma, rejection and discrimination, these persons suffer from shame and tremendous guilt and the very fact they can be rejected brings great stress both physical and mental. Long-term discrimination has resulted in a greater number of suicides in the trans community around the world. According to the members of the community, very few steps have been undertaken by the governments both central and state to provide specialised services to the trans community. Apart from the awareness programmes, barely any health concern targeted the specific health issues of the trans community. Hardly any doctors or trained nurses can handle the needs of a transgender patient and provide counselling. Most of the time, as transactivist Ranjita Sinha points out, they have to fight for separate beds in hospitals as trans patients are not comfortable in male or female wards.6

Globalisation and the New Age of Rights 95 However, during the COVID-19 pandemic a reputed government hospital in Kolkata had set up beds for transgender patients. Treatment of trans persons who suffered from COVID were also treated with care in a reputed private nursing home in Kolkata. Globalisation to some extent brought in the awareness needed to talk about these issues publicly as any other problem and find ways to deal with it. In India, the stigma is so sharp that it has taken years to break ground for new thoughts. The only help that showed up were the community-based clinics where trans persons could go for consultation, counselling and other bodily corrections. Since the last decade, progress regarding SRS, which are done in certain specific hospitals as advised by doctors, has come to the forefront. The most important impact that I found that globalisation had was in building the trust that there is nothing to be ashamed of in one’s body and there is nothing wrong in correcting the body according to their choice. This really triggered the stimuli to a great extent, and the youth could see some hope in their future and thus continued to fight for their wellbeing. They now fiercely protect their right from body shaming and attack those who try to denigrate them based on the differences manifested in their bodies. A vehement protest of body shaming has been undertaken by trans persons and a tendency to showcase their bodies on social media and in public sites reveals that they are no longer shameful about how they look or about their bodies. Neither do they want to follow the binary path. The message to the mainstream is quite clear: trans persons are comfortable in their bodies and people should accept them as they are without goading them to correct their bodies and conform to the binary track. Whether they choose to correct their bodies has again become their personal choice.

Global Civil Society: Its Impact on Human Rights As we have noted, the importance of global civil society lies in the fact that it has enabled greater dissemination of knowledge and ideas beyond national boundaries and greater collaboration of ideas amongst people with similar concerns. This has led to a greater critique of existing governmental laws and forces communities to reflect on and to fight against stigmas and social injustices. Agreeing with the observations of Michael Warner, queer activists Arvind Narrain and Gautam Bhan, point out that the force of ‘queer resistance’ is extremely strong, as it goes to criticise the ‘fundamental assumptions’ of the society. The voices of the queer community can no longer be subdued and social norms are now increasingly being questioned, including questioning the hypocrisy of silence of institutions and their systematic ways of exclusion and marginalisation (Warner as cited in Narrain and Bhan 2005: 4).

96  Globalisation and the New Age of Rights With the release of the film Fire in 1998, India experienced its first exposure to an LGBT film where love between two women was shown on screen. It set some sections of society aflame as some audiences were deeply rattled by the portrayal of a same-sex relationship in a film. Later films with non-heteronormative narratives such as Mahesh Dattani’s Mango Soufflé, Sridhar Rangayan’s Gulabi Aaina, Riyad Wadia’s BOMgAY and Nishit Saran’s Summer in My Veins projected the emerging queer culture on screen but catered mostly to upper-class English educated persons. Documentary films, such as Many People, Many Desires from 2007, offered a different perspective from the point of view of those who are ‘gay, lesbian, kothi, transgender, bisexual and hijra’. Many other films that speak about the diverse experiences of the queer community have been released since, which has marked a beginning for new ways of looking at these issues (Narrain and Bhan 2005: 12–13). Similarly, contemporary works of fiction from authors like Raj Rao, who represents himself as a gay author, are also significant. Theatres, posters, pamphlets and T-shirts that carry the logo of queer culture at various events and public places show that the queer community has developed its own sub-culture. In a globalised world where information technology has attained great heights, it has become easier for these people to advance their cause and use the media and the internet as tools for activism. Through queer film festivals, where films are used to initiate discussions on gender and sexuality; LGBT community pride marches; the celebration of special days, for example, Transgender Day (which is usually celebrated on 30 April every year), International Trans Visibility Day (31 March) and various regional and local community magazines, the silence of queer culture has been broken. Perhaps the most visible example of the newfound assertiveness in queer organisation has been the World Social Forum organised in Mumbai in 2004, where the Rainbow Planet made a dramatic presence as a coalition of sex workers, persons living with HIV/AIDS and sexual minorities. The flyer for the event displayed the message ‘All Are Different – All Are Equal’. In spite of considerable activism, the queer movement in India still faces certain severe challenges. First, it’s often accused of building on a concept which is strictly confined to a small, Western-educated, elite minority and thus developing an understanding of sexuality that is aped from the West. Second, though queer spaces ideally should be free from the hierarchy and exclusionary politics of mainstream society, in reality they have to struggle against biases and hierarchies, particularly along the lines of class and gender. Though the movement of the queer community has begun to aggressively challenge the discrimination that exists in larger society, it has been unable as yet to transcend the identities that divide it. At what point in time does the space becomes ‘autonomous’ and ‘exclusionary’ again is a question that has yet to be answered within the queer community.

Globalisation and the New Age of Rights 97

Global Symbols: Their Influence on the Third-Gender Movement One of the significant manifestations of globalisation that is reflected in the transgender movement in India is the adoption of symbols and techniques in exhibiting the rights of the LGBTQI group. The use of rainbow flags during the pride march in India has been one spectacular method in drawing attention of the mainstream and targeting desired objectives. The rainbow freedom flag which the queer people exhibit during their movements was designed in 1978 by Gilbert Baker to designate the great diversity of the LGBTQI community. It has been recognised as the official flag of the LGBTQI civil rights movement.7 The transgender pride flag was created by Monica Helms in Arizona. In this flag there are five parallel columns of colour of blue, white and light pink. The blue colour on top of the flag represents male, light pink represents women and children and the white portion in the middle represents those who represent as neither male nor female. The main characteristic of the flag is that it has neither a front nor back side. This brings out the transgender people and it is their pride. Western influence can be directly witnessed in pride parades8 and festivals but mainly in the structure, activities and symbols of LGBT organisations with agendas similar to those found in the West. The first gay parade in Asia took place in 1994 in Manila commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Stonewell Riots. Kolkata Rainbow Pride Festival is one of the pioneers in steering the LGBTQI movement in Kolkata. On occasions such as Transgender Day or International Trans Visibility Day it has organised and provided a platform to various members of the queer community to openly come up with their ideas and manifestoes. It has been actively engaged in organising rallies and walks on the streets of Kolkata and helping the queer community to express their feelings and voices. Most often they have invited celebrities from the film and entertainment sector and have been able to draw more attention from mainstream persons. In June, or Pride Month, the queer community raises their voices against policies which are not inclusive and concern their day-to-day lives. With the decriminalisation of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code they are now eager to bring more positive changes to their lives. After the abolition of Section  377, their main concern has been to imbibe positive changes in the minds of people and make them sensitive towards gender diversity and queerness.

Global Agencies and the Role of Global Funds With the outbreak of the global HIV/AIDS pandemic, India too faced its share of difficulties in combating this deadly disease which left an uneasy mark on the state and its citizens.

98  Globalisation and the New Age of Rights With limited infrastructure and low sensitivity, India had a tough time dealing with these issues. International mobilisations did come to the rescue and a lot of financial help was granted for this cause. Development resources were made available to groups working with men who have sex with men (MSM) and sex workers. In this context, it is important to draw attention to the fact that international agencies such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have been supporting critical issues such as the prevention of HIV and AIIDS since 2003 and have provided significant funding to stop the spread of this deadly disease.9 Important programmes such as Alliance India, whose mission is ‘to support community action to prevent HIV infection, meet the challenges of AIDS, and build healthier communities’ were also taken up. Alliance India along with MSM organised important programmes like Pehchan (meaning ‘identity’, ‘recognition’ or ‘acknowledgement’) to strengthen and build the capacity of CBOs to provide an HIV prevention programme.10 The growing challenges from HIV/AIDS also led to important organisations like the National AIDS Control Organisation to pursue its objective along with active help from foreign donors.11

Global Conferences and Seminars With increasing need to foster scientific understanding and to spread awareness, global campaigns and conferences gained huge ground across countries. These conferences provided a platform to various individuals belonging to the transgender and LGBTQI community who could come out and mingle with diverse people and learn more about their bodies, their sexualities, and the ways to cope with the range of challenges in society. These conferences helped them to be in their usual selves and learn more about grooming SRS and different transformations which can make their lives better. It also helped them to interact with other sections of the community and enjoy fun-loving sessions, getting to know each other better. In India, similar workshops and conferences became hugely popular. Prominent non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and CBOs largely took the initiative in organising conferences. Addressing topics from queer and sexuality issues to gender and marginalisation, academic seminars were seen to be showcased in India. Seminars, workshops and conferences, such as Hijra Habba held in New Delhi, celebrating transgender identities and advocating equality, were held with the aid of global funding. More than two hundred stakeholders from government, media, international agencies, transgender and hijra communities and civil society came together for the second National Hijra Habba to promote social justice and empowerment for transgender and hijra communities in India. The event was organised by Pehchan in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme.12

Globalisation and the New Age of Rights 99 Addressing the event, Shabnam Mausi, a former member of the legislative assembly and the first transgender in India to be elected to public office, said, ‘In India, transgenders and hijras face repeated stigma and discrimination, often in violation of their basic human rights due to their gender identity. It is time that their priority issues are highlighted and they are empowered to be mainstreamed’. Pehchan was a five-year programme to strengthen and build the capacity of two hundred CBOs in seventeen states to advance HIV prevention. It collaborated with India’s National AIDS Control Programme to reach 453,750 MSM, transgenders and hijras by 2015 and was the Global Fund’s largest single-country grant to date focused on the HIV response for vulnerable sexual minorities. The programme included leaders from the hijra community and other stakeholders and addressed important issues such as the importance of recognising identity, eradication of stigma and discrimination and access to healthcare and other legal services. Senior officials from the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Department of AIDS Control, law enforcement agencies, media UNAIDS, USAID and DFID, along with community representation from across the country joined the event. According to James Robertson, then executive director of India HIV/ AIDS Alliance, ‘The Hijra Habba is a vital forum to affirm the principle that transgenders and hijras are full citizens of this country. Their fundamental rights, including civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights, need to be protected and guaranteed through equal protection under the law. India has been a global leader in defining an effective HIV prevention response for transgenders and hijras. The world has much to learn from this example. Even while progress has been made, the journey towards equality is not yet over’ (Pehchan, 2nd Hijra Habba, 15 November, 2013).

Sustainable Development and Strategies of Living: Exploring Sustainable Development Goals 2030 The importance of gender mainstreaming has received lot of attention since the Beijing Conference in 1995. However, though a lot of inclusivist policies were incorporated in India most of them were centred on women’s issues and the marginalised sections were not given cognizance in policy and other governmental agendas till very recently. The United Nations’ decision to create a set of global goals to end poverty and inequality by 2030 as agreed in 2015 had a great impact on the economic livelihood of the third gender in India who have been discriminated against through the ages. The principle ‘leave no one behind’ is relevant especially for the third gender. The most important driving force behind this is the human rights-based approach to development. It focuses on the realisation of rights of the

100  Globalisation and the New Age of Rights excluded and marginalised populations and those whose rights are at risk of being violated. By this time, it has been realised that in order to achieve substantive gender equality and transform equality into practice one needs to be fairly in control of one’s life, about the choices of one’s life and about making important decisions in life. For the marginalised this is a distant dream. The Sustainable Development Goals had placed before the nation states a universal agenda of including all and leaving no one behind. The right to human development as advocated by the United Nations in 1984 was treated with extreme importance and it was widely accepted that development in terms of economic growth was not sufficient and focus on quality of human life had to be given primacy. This concept is integrally related with Professor Amartya Sen’s understanding of living a life with human dignity and for that Sen believes it is essential to develop capabilities. Capability, according to Sen, plays a direct role in the well-being of a person to the extent that they have the freedom to decide and choose their ways of living. It is ‘truly human functioning’ that alone enables an individual to develop capabilities and extend his autonomy and freedom for better choices in life (Sen 2011: 427–428). Thankfully this understanding gained prominence in India and for the marginalised section this proved beneficial. The continuous marginalisation of the third gender from participation in social, economic, cultural, educational and political activities and rejection by families takes a toll on their health (mental, physical, emotional and social health) and education, leading to social insecurity and isolation as well as loss of livelihood and dignity. It is only development through participation and by creating a culture of inclusion that we can think of addressing social justice for the trans marginalised community in India. The marginalised community seeks to develop their skills and capabilities by which they can earn a living. For ages, the community has been deprived from getting equal access to work, healthcare other social services and control over their property. In certain cases, they have been vocal about equity measures. Though the planning of equity measures of giving certain benefits to the disadvantaged section can solve some problems, it will essentially be a short-term proposition. The long-term solutions include skills development and social inclusion. Sustainable Development Goals 2030 has provided us with an agenda where one can fight for their rights in participating in the developmental processes thereby ensuring their contribution to society and economy and enabling them to live a life of their own choice with dignity and freedom. In this section, I have reviewed some of the challenges the third-gender community faces in society in trying to realise the goals as projected by the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 and whether these have provided new grounds for opportunity for development. One important factor that we

Globalisation and the New Age of Rights 101 need to address is that sustainability focuses on individual talents and the need to adopt survival strategies based on their skills and talents which will help to sustain themselves in the future both physically and psychologically. In India, not much effort at the governmental level has been noticed till now. What is significant is the role played by the private institutions and individuals who have taken broader initiatives in promoting the skills of third-gender persons.

End Poverty in All Its Forms Everywhere (Goal 1) Exclusion and discrimination make it harder for trans persons to earn money, stay secure, and pursue their goals. However, transgender persons are now pursuing education and with change in policies, that is after the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) judgement, they are able to compete in various services and become economically empowered. I would like to discuss how far the right to development and participation have been helpful in achieving some of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Case Studies and Personal Narrations Atri Kar who is a transwoman residing in Tribeni comes from a middleclass family. She has been a good student throughout her life and has wanted to participate in various sports and other activities. However, being a trans person (male to female) Atri realised she was being observed by other team members and school mates and this raised a lot of embarrassment for her. Later she had joined college for her studies and had to travel by local train. There also Atri had been subjected to great humiliation. However, even after all these challenges and limitations Atri could finally complete her education and take up a job in a school. She recalls, ‘I was often subjected to taunts and humiliation in my workplace. All my colleagues made it apparent that I am different and therefore not “human” enough to sit in one place. I was often asked embarrassing questions about my gender identity’. Later however Atri appeared for public examinations and insisted on and retained her transgender identity in the application forms which previously allowed for only male and female. She still faces humiliation and taunts by people in her locality and on buses and trains. She feels dejected and sometimes wonder about her status. ‘eto porashuno kore ki holo?’ Which means ‘What is the use of so much education if as a trans person I still face so much humiliation?’ Atri Kar, Kolkata, 2019

102  Globalisation and the New Age of Rights Similar situations are also faced by many of trans persons in Kolkata. In an interview with me during my field study, Ranjita Sinha, director of Association of Transgender/Hijra in Bengal (ATHB), a CBO that protects and promotes the needs and interests of trans persons in West Bengal, told me that some private enterprises are extending their hands for cooperation and upliftment of the transgender people in West Bengal, such as the Kutchina Foundation which has set up extensive training programmes for increasing the skill and capacity of trans persons in Kolkata. It has provided training and facilitated the trans community to set up their own businesses. They are providing sewing machines to all transwomen who would develop their capacity to start their own business. Together with Prantakatha, an NGO for the upliftment of youth in Kolkata, Ranjita felt that they could provide some economic opportunities for trans persons here in Kolkata. Ranjita Sinha, Kolkata, 2018

Good Health and Well-Being (Goal 3) Trans persons face a very harsh time even today in India. Many doctors still have transphobic ideas and many clinics refuse to provide services to transgender persons. Many government and private hospitals lack infrastructure to admit persons of non-heteronormative category. The doctors and nurses and other team members are not equipped and sensitised enough to deal with these patients. Moreover, the fear that trans persons are more exposed to HIV/AIDS has further complicated the issue. Of late, CBOs are helping trans persons overcome their initial fears about their selves and bodies and their gender dysphoria (the uneasiness one possesses due to the difference of their body and mind). In an interview, Tista Das, founder of SRS Solutions, a CBO, speaks openly about how she helps trans people to come out of their phobia by providing counselling to those who suffer from gender dysphoria. She also assists those who opt for changing their sex by going through SRS. The government is yet to adopt policies accommodating these measures. However, for providing wider safety measures the government has adopted various schemes to create awareness about HIV and how to combat it. In India, programmes led by Ahavan and Pehchan (meaning identity and recognition) along with international agencies and foreign donors such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has helped in disseminating knowledge and awareness about this disease.

Globalisation and the New Age of Rights 103 Private business groups are also providing platforms to trans persons to develop the skill in enhancing their potentialities to work for private nursing homes. Jiya Das and Debdatta Biswas are the first two trans persons in Kolkata who were trained and given jobs as the first transgender OT technician in a private nursing home and assisted doctors in operation theatre.

Quality Education (Goal 4) This is another sector where trans persons face severe stigma resulting in humiliation and suffering. As Atri Kar has pointed out, most transgender persons leave their studies prematurely, as they are unable to go through the taunts and embarrassments. They are constantly bullied or excluded by teachers and peers. Those who remain silent have suffered from poor results. However, the inclusion of TG or the ‘Other’ as categories on the admission forms have opened up spaces for these persons. They can now take admission in schools and colleges without feeling ashamed. In Kolkata, educational institutions are often holding seminars and conferences to sensitise about gender identity and to promote awareness to tolerate social diversities and cultural recognition. The last few years has seen a gradual increase of transgender students in schools and colleges and also in the universities. They are now open about their gender identity and the need to suppress it in fear or shame has taken a backseat. Their peer groups are more sensitised and realise the need to give them a separate space and autonomy. The culture of treating them as subhuman has diminished to a great extent and is slowly replacing the intensely negative attitude people had previously. However, more positive changes should come in the near future.

Gender Equality (Goal 5) It is an important task to end all kinds of discrimination and violence against women and trans persons. Gender-based violence is mostly ‘driven by a desire to punish people who don’t conform to gender norms’ (OHCHR 2011), as a result, male and non-binary people who digress from these norms are often targeted (OHCHR 2011 as cited in Stonewall International). These issues are extremely sensitive, especially in a patriarchal society like India and unless people from the mainstream are vigilant it is difficult to stop this. Families should first be educated and sensitive and learn how to love their children irrespective of their gender. Most of the gender-based violence begins at home and by inflicting physical abuse, including heinous activities like corrective rape, mental torture and harassment, their families have inflicted them with the worst kind of gender-based violence. These activities have made them more vulnerable in society.

104  Globalisation and the New Age of Rights

Clean Water and Sanitation (Goal 6) This is one of the most important objectives for which trans persons strive. The problem of public toilet has been most acute and most of the time they face embarrassment when they are denied entry into the male or female toilets. Of late, corporations are opening up toilets for transgender people. Achintya (now Anuprabha) who identifies herself as a transwoman, discusses the difficulties trans persons face in public toilets. She recalls that most of the time transgenders try to avoid going to toilets due to embarrassment in public. They prefer not to use public sanitation. For this reason, they lack the freedom to be outside their homes for a long time. According to most third-gender persons, the government should take steps to build cubicles with facilities so that any gender can access them without harassment or humiliation. By pursuing these goals one can be certain that trans persons are on the right path of development, as they are into programmes and policies that seek to build their capacities. Not reservation to government jobs but only an upliftment of necessary skills to develop their abilities to perform can act as sustenance for both community members and society. Human rights in terms of community and individual development is best understood when we address a holistic conception of development as advocated by Martha Nussbaum and Professor Amartya Sen in their capability approach (Nussbaum and Sen 1993).

Community Development and Participatory Approach: Overcoming Challenges In Kolkata, various NGOs and CBOs have been working together to helping trans persons to develop and strengthen their potentialities and capacities in a range of fields. Prantakatha, an organisation endorsing active citizenship, has been promoting the cause of the transgenders along with its support for the youth. Debdatta recollects that it gave her an opportunity to join and work as an occupational therapy technician in a reputed hospital in Kolkata. Jiya also recalls this moment as the turning point that would help her to be trained in a particular skill and get employed after a few years. Prantakatha is also sensitive to the cause of the youth and helps the trans youth to come out of their depression and overcome challenges by getting themselves engaged in self-sustaining work. Ranjita Sinha, director of ATHB, a CBO, continuously improvises schemes for the benefit and upliftment of transgender people in Kolkata. In an interview at her residence in Gokhale Road, Ranjita Sinha, told me that nowadays many of the transgender persons are reluctant to be identified

Globalisation and the New Age of Rights 105 as hijras, who are negatively typecast and stereotyped in society. They are looked down upon as beggars and prostitutes. Trans youth and trans persons have lot of talents that should be nurtured in order to make them empowered and earn respect in their own right. Ranjita informed me that she has been talking to Alokananda Roy, famous veteran classical dancer, to teach the persons who are endowed with the natural faculty of dancing. Dancing, as Ranjita, Founder Executive of ATHB, observes, allows one to vent pent-up feelings especially as trans persons due to their social exclusionism suffer from depression and anxiety which they cannot share with others in society. Dance for them acts as a therapy that not only heals their physical bodies but also uplifts their spiritual and mental well-being. Apart from this the training also imparts a skill that can be utilised for their livelihood. It was really an experience to talk to Alokananda Roy (Munni di as we fondly call her) who shared her experiences of life with us and helped us to be guided by passion that will bring happiness in life. Apart from being a celebrity dancer and social activist, Alokananda Roy is known for her commendable service to society in which she has ardently tried to resurrect inmates into a life of their own. Through dancing she has taught them the method of healing their bruised self. Alokananda Roy (fondly known as Munni di) with the help of Ranjita now teaches dance to trans persons who are willing to learn dance and make that a way of life. Ranjita Sinha, Founder Executive of ATHB, along with NGO activist organised a programme to commemorate the birth centenary of Rabindranath Tagore, the dearest poet in the hearts of all Bengalis.13 Initiatives have also been taken by members of the mainstream to help trans persons in general. In a recent initiative by Laila Sanyal, owner of Creative Strokes, an art gallery in Kolkata, a space has been created for exhibiting handicraft items made by trans persons. Satrangi (which means both ‘rainbow of life’ and ‘colouring life’), an NGO, takes initiative and provides a space for transgender youth coming from the grass roots to exhibit their handmade goods. It is the first ever trans-feminine Indian livelihood venture that has creatively engaged and economically empowered them (Sengupta 2018: 192). All these works are supported by significant private companies, and it is important to mention that increasing public participation and community engagement has drawn support from both private and civil society support and moves towards realising the dreams of the marginalised community. Important companies such as the Kutchina Foundation (a brand of chimney in India) and Singer (a brand of sewing machine) are vital partners and financiers who sponsored all these events as part of their wider marketing and business strategies.

106  Globalisation and the New Age of Rights A great advancement is also recognised in acting and film-making, in holding literary meetings where transgender persons have participated to showcase their talents of reciting poems and reading their writings. Renowned academician Manobi Bandopadhyay, the first transgender principal of a college and vice chairperson of the Transgender Development Board in West Bengal, has been actively co-ordinating these programmes. Being the author of the celebrated book A Gift of Goddess Lakshmi, published by Penguin, Professor Bandopadhyay has shown that all hurdles in life can be overcome through education. She has been felicitated by Senco Gold, a renowned gold company as the Sonar meye (meaning golden daughter, which actually refers to precious in English) to felicitate transgender persons and transwomen who have made a place in this society based on their individual worth and talent (Bandyopadhyay 2017). Trans community and transindividual persons in India have been steadily overcoming a patriarchal society’s regressive attempt to dehumanise and humiliate a person due to the variance in their gender identity. In this section I have shown how with opportunities and avenues third-gender persons are able to empower themselves and make a life of their choosing. Human rights focus on the development of ability through learning skills. Unfortunately, even today third-gender persons are looked at with curiosity, their bodies are matter of discussion. In this regard all persons to some extent are victims of social exclusionism and basic entitlements irrespective of their class, religion or other factors. The government however has still to draw concrete plans of sustainability. While a lot of effort has been undertaken by the NGOs and CBOs and other private institutions, hardly any concrete programmes on the part of the government that have significant impact are visible.

Notes 1 The Yogyakarta Principles touched upon a number of areas beginning with the definition of sexual orientation and gender identity. Sexual orientation was defined as each person’s capacity for profound emotional, affectional and sexual attraction to individuals of a different gender or the same gender or more than one gender. Gender identity was defined as each person’s deeply felt internal and individual experience of gender, which may or may not correspond with the sex assigned at birth, including the personal sense of the body. For details, please refer to http://yogyakartaprinciples.org (accessed on 12 November 2018). 2 For a detailed discussion please refer to ‘Basic TG/TS/IS Information’ by Lynn Conway http://www.lynnconway.com (copyright 2000–2006) (accessed on 17 July 2017). 3 For details please refer to important writings such as ‘Sex and Gender are Different: Sexual Identity and Gender Identity are Different’ and ‘An Emerging Ethical and Medical Dilemma: Should Physicians Perform Sex Assignment Surgery on Infants With Ambiguous Genitalia?’ 4 In my in-person interaction and during our meetings in Kolkata, Sumit and Piyal have talked about their difficulties and the ways in which they both want to change their bodies.

Globalisation and the New Age of Rights 107 5 The Bula-di campaign is a popular mass media propaganda that was initiated by the state arm of the National AIDS Control Organisation (i.e., West Bengal State AIDS Control and Prevention Society in West Bengal). This campaign was carried out mainly to spread awareness among mainstream women and girls, and not just ‘targeted risk groups’, about the impact of this disease on their husbands or primary partners due to their engagement in high-risk sexual behaviour.’ This campaign was carried in 2004 in West Bengal to commemorate World AIDS Day. 6 In an in-person interaction, transgender activist and director of the Association of Transgender/Hijra in Bengal Ranjita Sinha referred to these challenges their community members face in everyday lives. 7 Gilbert Baker originally designed the flag, which has undergone several revisions since its debut in 1978: first, to remove colours and then restore them based on availability of fabrics. The most common variant consists of six strips. The flag is typically flown horizontally. This flag is a global symbol for LGBT movements. Baker died on 31 March  2017, New York. Also see: www.telegraphindia. com/1170402/jsp/foreign/story_144035.jsp (accessed on 30 July 2017). 8 Exhibition of similar flags can also be witnessed during the pride march in Kolkata and adjacent areas like Chandannagar. Sometimes celebrities such as Munmun Sen and June Malia from the Bengali film industry take part in these marches to attract greater attention of the people and the media and to convey a note of importance about the objectives of these movements. Also see www. telegraphindia.com/1120716/jsp/calcutta/story_15733112.jsp (accessed on 30 May 2016). 9 ‘Gates Cash for AIDS Fight to Stop in 2013’, The Telegraph, 10 May  2012 (by Special Correspondent, Additional reporting by PTI). www.telegraphindia. com/1120510/jsp/frontpage/story_15472911.jsp (accessed on 12 November 2018). 10 For more details see http://allianceindia.org/projects (accessed on 11 August 2022). 11 “Gates Cash for AIDS Fight to Stop in 2013.” 12 Also see National Hijra Habba, 2013, A Celebration of Transgenders and Hijra Identities, Second National Hijra Habba of Pehchan, a five-year programme for capacity building, 15 November, 2013, New Delhi www.youtube.com/ watch?v=LcROf8328gM (accessed on 14 November 2019). 13 Alokananda Roy, also popularly known as Munni di, is a veteran classical dancer and social activist and has devoted her life for the betterment of the marginalised section of the society. She has worked relentlessly at the correctional homes in Kolkata, West Bengal. The prison inmates used to call her Ma (mother) and she treated as her own children. She utilized dance as a therapy and inspired prison inmates to come out of their agony, anger, frustration through dance. In 2012 a film named ‘Muktodhara’, was released which touched the hearts of many across the country. She is now engaged in providing dance lessons to transpersons who are also extremely marginalised in our country.

7 Interrogating the Major Paradigms of Human Rights Implications in the Context of India

Understanding the Present Position of the Transgender Community in India through the Lens of Human Dignity In this chapter, I have made an effort to explore the foundational texts of human rights discourse and link them to the emerging third-gender movement in India. This is done for two reasons. First, we need to identify how global movements have had an impact on the social, cultural and legal positions of the marginalised third-gender community in contemporary India. And second, determine how far India has accepted these norms and international standards for ushering in social justice. The significant point of departure in this book as had been mentioned in previous chapters crucially revolved around the concept of dignity. It is important to acknowledge the fact that the inclusion of the term ‘human dignity’ in the preamble of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 clearly initiated a process of reviewing domestic policies and raised questions about practices that were in contravention of international human rights law. This led to changes in the existing culture in which discriminatory practices have been criticised and new norms for inclusion have been introduced. However, despite these positive moves towards greater inclusion, the third-gender category remains marginalised in all sectors of the state and society. In the Introduction, I  discussed the objective of this book as unfolding the journey of third-gender persons in making themselves visible in the post-independence period. Throughout various chapters, I have shown how the community members have mobilised themselves as a category to assert their rights for gender equality. From their narrations, stories and experiences it is clear how the community remained in the shadows of society and how there was an absolute silence about their lives and wellbeing. Through their narratives, this book refers to the discrimination they faced in getting access to educational institutions, healthcare services and public places; in enjoying their right to freedom, safety and security in workplaces; and most of all, in being denied the opportunity to live their lives with human dignity. DOI: 10.4324/9780429243851-8

Interrogating the Major Paradigms of Human Rights 109 This book analyses how the community effectively mobilised and collectively built up momentum concerning recruitment and citizenship rights, including a participatory approach in decision making; building more inclusive spaces in the public sphere, including gender-neutral washrooms; organisations empowering the community by providing skills to transgender persons, helping to build their capacities and improve their economic position, and helping to gradually change the mindsets of the people by removing the stigma at large through the process of gender mainstreaming at a societal level. The book reveals how these efforts have changed the landscape of the lives of trans persons in terms of legal changes by introducing more inclusive and transgender-friendly laws related to their access in the workplace and those related to violence and anti-harassment policies. In India, a large section of society is largely disappointed with the ways the transgender community often exhibits themselves during rainbow parades or in public places. According to them, it is largely due to the impact of globalisation that a section of the community adopts loud lifestyles or engages in exhibiting bodies and imitating gestures. The movement, which has been largely operative under the banner of LGBTQI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex), is often criticised on the grounds that it patronises a large section of the community whose drive is simply to enjoy sexual freedom and greater autonomy rather than the need for any basic human rights. A significant section of the entire LGBTQI community who have been writing their own experiences and stories and have been vocal in protesting about state and society and how their rights and freedoms are curtailed based on gender and sexuality. They are mostly from educated upper-class urban backgrounds. But members of the community from middle-class or low-middle-class backgrounds called the nimno modhobitto in Bengali are totally alien to this culture. Even for trans persons who have joined the hijras community for a living, words such as ‘rights’ are alien and the only human rights they enjoy are obtained from the money they earn throughout the day. The hijras in India had always enjoyed a community life and separate existence distinctive in South Asian culture and not imbibed from the West. Within their own community they enjoyed the freedom and liberty to express their feelings and opinions. Gayatri Reddy in her book With Respect to Sex: Negotiating Hijra Identity in South India has referred to certain terms like ‘dudh behan’ and ‘dudh beti’ which symbolise the relationship of a sister and a mother-daughter relationship just like we see in a heterosexual family (Reddy 2006: 165). Thus, the community reflects the bonding that we usually see in families and in referring to words like ‘pyar ke riste’ indicates the eternal feeling of caring and love for each other (Reddy 2006: 165). It is due to this strong emotional bonding that the hijras never felt isolated or lonely within their

110  Interrogating the Major Paradigms of Human Rights community. It can therefore be said that India had a distinctive notion of human rights which was collective in nature. As I  have pointed out in the first chapter, colonial governance through introduction of certain discriminatory sections, for example through Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, has largely linked sexual non-conformity with criminality. In post-independent India some of the derogatory laws such as Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code were framed during the colonial period and incorporated into the constitution without any changes. With modernisation the traditional occupation of the hijras suffered a huge setback. With the decline of population due to control of birth rate as a policy taken by the government in most states their access to livelihood badhai started to wane and they were treated like derelicts. The social rejection was so drastic that they were unable to get access into the mainstream society. Those who continued to live with their families were also taunted and humiliated. How far this can have an impact on the minds of transgender persons has been aptly explained by A Belden Fields in his oft quoted work Rethinking Human Rights for the New Millennium in which he has justifiably argued that human beings need a ‘a web of social relationships’ for the fullest development of their potentialities (Fields 2003).

Social Rejection and Lack of Development With social rejection the transgender community found it difficult to sustain within society and gradually drifted to the margins. Some of them were forced to join hijra communities where they got shelter and found emotional support. In my interview, some of the hijras told me that they joined the community voluntarily as they found this as the only place where they could freely be their own selves without being taunted by others for being a male or a female when in reality, they think of themselves as opposites. As a result, these persons had suffered a huge mental setback and were unable to exhibit their talents due to inaccessibility of opportunities both at home and in society. Some of them were grossly unaware of their potentialities as they never had access to such basic human rights as education to flourish and realise them. The family is the first and arguably the most influential school of moral development. Following the footsteps of John Stuart Mill, Susan Moller Okin points out that family is the first environment in which we experience ‘how persons treat each other, and in which we have the potential to learn how to be just or unjust’ (Okin 1995: 282). Hence, children who suffered from discriminatory attitudes in their families faced serious difficulties in their mental and psychological development. The lack of understanding by their families further aggravated the situation. Years of taboo and superstition had kept the families in darkness.

Interrogating the Major Paradigms of Human Rights 111 Moreover, the societal pressure along with social rejection compelled family members to inflict rude behaviour sometimes resulting in violence. Lack of scientific education persuaded them to think that these persons are abnormal and diseased and that given the right kind of treatment they will be able to overcome the situation. In an interview, one of my participants from SRS Solutions informed me about his horrifying experiences when he was treated as a mental patient in his family. In another case a trans person was beaten with heated rods to discipline him and bring him back to normal. In many cases families inflict heinous acts such as corrective rape on the transgender individuals. The impact of rejection by families coupled with societal pressure has often led to the suicides of trans teens and adolescents. Apart from the trauma they face in their families we have also noticed how they are systematically debarred from pursuing education. The importance of education through colleges and universities has been pointed out repeatedly by various scholars. In the celebrated book Equalizing Access: Affirmative Action in Higher Education in India, United States, and South Africa, Zoya Hasan and Martha Nussbauum opines, that ‘College and University education’, play an important role in imparting skills to people which can be used for obtaining ‘desirable career opportunities’ in later life (Hasan and Nussbaum 2012: 3). Hence, the transgender community in India suffered from a huge gap in educational aspects, as their gender identity (which is neither male nor female as was stated in admission forms) posed significant challenges in securing admission in major educational institutions. Moreover, lack of social acceptance from teachers and peer groups often forced them to discontinue their studies and leave them incomplete. On issues of health, there has often been so much misunderstanding and confusion also as a result of an absence of separate inclusions of trans people. Thus, the failure to meet each person’s equal basic rights and liberties gave rise to what John Rawls calls denial of social justice (Freeman 2008: 44). The historic National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) judgement by the Supreme Court in 2014 has been a milestone in the history of the third-gender movement in India. For the first time the state recognised the third gender as a separate category based on their hypervisibility and gave them the provision to choose their own gender identity. By introducing welfare schemes for transgender persons; redressing disadvantage; countering stigma, prejudice and humiliation; and facilitating political participation, the government has been proactive in translating formal equality to substantive equality.

Striking a Balance between Liberal Tradition and Community Living in India The Western liberal tradition which adheres to the concept of atomistic individuals loses its significance in the context of India, unless it is backed

112  Interrogating the Major Paradigms of Human Rights by the group characteristics and particular features of the community and its members. Will Kymlicka emphasised that liberals should accept a ‘wide-range of group differentiated rights for national minorities and ethnic groups, without sacrificing their core commitments to individual freedom and social equality’ (Robert and Sutch 2005: 215). As Parekh rightly observes in his multiculturalist thesis, human beings are culturally embedded and we need to strike a balance between individualism and cultural pluralism (Robert and Sutch 2005: 229). Charles Taylor rightly argues in his seminal essay ‘The Politics of Recognition’ that individuals ‘can flourish only to the extent that [they] are recognised’. Failure to give adequate respect to a cultural group threatens the self-respect of its members (Song 2007: 24). Both these perspectives are equally important in the case of the third gender in India. This can be exemplified by the following two instances. Over the last few years some of my research participants have distinctly shown their uneasiness over the fact that they do not want to identified as hijras in society, as they do not practise the traditional occupation. They claim recognition by virtue of their skills and creative potentialities in society as an individual and not by any group membership. With economic liberalisation and globalisation, trans persons are taking up occupations like acting, teaching, joining in politics, working in community-based organisations (CBOs) and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), appearing on TV shows such as Bigg Boss, dancing and working in careers related to fashion and glamour such as modelling, make-up artistry, working in parlours and providing make-up assistance in shopping malls. The drive for commercial need and benefit has opened new avenues for trans persons in which they have been able to provide services and exhibit their talents and skills. In face-to-face interaction with myself, many of them shared their stories, narrated various incidents and discussed their families and their challenges and how they could overcome them. In their push for recognition and respect they have also joined prestigious modelling shows and have boldly declared themselves as women. They have described themselves as woman who has gifted herself a vagina, or a new body, and focused on the realities of their lives which remained untold for a long period of time in history. In this context, I should mention that their acceptance in these various professional roles is largely due to the success of their own work, creativity and performance. I personally remember the bright feminine face of Suresh (name changed on request), a trans person who works in a parlour that caters to the elite class of people in Kolkata. Suresh has magical hands and approximately 60 to 70 persons are his own clients who would like to take service only from him. Similarly, Arun, who applies mehndi on the hands of would-be brides, earns a huge sum of money and gets offers for marriage ceremonies from abroad. He has already purchased a sprawling flat in one of the posh localities of urban Kolkata.

Interrogating the Major Paradigms of Human Rights 113 While these facts refer to their individual identities based on their individual attainment, a large part is also defined by their collective interests or community identity. For example, when the Supreme Court overturned the judgement of the Delhi High Court, a large protest movement was witnessed throughout India. In Kolkata, West Bengal, there was a candlelight protest in front of the Academy of Fine Arts by leading NGOs and activists to protest the unjust and derogatory law that affected the entire transgender and queer community. Whether it is the right to privacy, including having different functional toilets for themselves, getting access to government jobs, or enjoying and celebrating the pride march or the Global Day of Rage, the community has constituted a channel of collective expression that transcends all differences within the community and seeks to fight for their rights whenever they are attacked or infringed. In this regard they are also supported by organisations situated across borders. This protest often merges with the greater queer movement LGBTQI on many instances, though its objective may not be as elementary or basic as the objective of the trans movement in India. The ‘excluded groups are no longer willing to be silenced or marginalised, or to be defined as “deviant” simply because they differ in race, culture, gender, ability or sexual orientation’ from the accepted “normal” citizen (Kymlicka 2005: 2nd ed., 327–328). Citizenship, as noted by Kymlicka, which recognises differences and accommodates them based on their exclusivity, offers a far more inclusive citizenship (Kymlicka 2005: 2nd ed, 327–328). In this entire process the word ‘community’ as provocatively pointed out by Daniel Fischlin and Martha Nandorfy in the book ‘The Community of Rights, The Rights of Community,’ is a ‘loose’ but ‘unavoidable’ term and signifies ‘necessary relations’ that are present within a community that constitutes ‘relational contingencies, that link one to another’. It provides ‘the crucible through which we mediate our relations with others, our needs and desires within a complex matrix of individual and collective being,’. Therefore, it is important to note that ‘neither the individual nor the community is privileged over the other’ (Fischlin and Nandorfy 2012: pp. 7–9).

Gaining Visibility: Post-Globalisation Scenario in India Building on empirical evidence and narrations it can be stated that the concept of gender justice has vastly expanded, as it includes people within its fold on the basis of equality in spite of differences. The politics of recognition has been accepted as a compatible tool in a political environment of multiculturalism and democratic accommodation of cultural diversity. The attitude towards third-gender persons is changing, albeit slowly, and the importance of recognising them as equals is gaining acceptance. This can be seen in certain developments that have occurred in society. First, trans persons are living on their own right within their families or outside of them and have not been forced to join hijra communities.

114  Interrogating the Major Paradigms of Human Rights Second, transgender persons are conscious of their positions and have raised their voices whenever situations demanded. They are increasingly participating in mainstream activities and are actively getting engaged with social activities. Since the NALSA judgement they too have felt that legal changes will be workable only when they are backed by social acceptance. It is worth mentioning that during the Durga Puja in West Bengal, which is considered the most sacred ceremony of the Bengalee, participation from the third-gender community, who have for so long been forbidden to participate in these mainstream rituals, has been visible. On the occasion of sindur khela which takes place usually on the fifth day, the day of bishorjon, when the idol of Goddess Durga is immersed in the holy Ganges, a ritual is practised where all married women come with thali filled with pan and sweets to bid farewell to the Goddess Durga for the next calendar year. Certain local clubs have taken the initiative of inviting transgender persons to join this ritual and be a part of the mainstream. This indicates how platforms are initiated at local levels to include the marginalised who for so long remained forbidden in society. Whether this is an impact of globalisation or a strategy to attract media publicity is difficult to ascertain. But certainly, an eagerness to stand by a social cause and the realisation of the need to accept the marginalised whom we had kept isolated from the mainstream for a long number of years has been considered important. This reminds me of a poem written by Rabindranath Tagore. The poet and philosopher sensitised the crisis of the marginalisation in our society. In his poem ‘Apamanita’ (Gitanjali Kabya Grantha, Sanchaita 1975: 509), he writes: Jare tumi niche phelo se tomare bandhibe je niche Paschate rekhecho jare se tomare paschate taniche Agyaner andhokare arale dhakichio jare Tomar mongol dhaki gadiche se ghoro byabodhan Apamane hote hobe tahader sabar saman. (Tagore, Rachanavali: 73) In this poem, Nobel Laureate Tagore draws our attention to the fact that if we ignore a section of society by keeping them deliberately away from education and in ignorance, the darkness will soon engulf us and cast a shadow on our well-being. We cannot escape the humiliation that will bind us together in the same way along with them. While social changes have been witnessed in the twenty-first century, the states have also been taking active interest in issues related to the lives of the marginalised in India. Instead of the collapse of nation states in the face of globalisation there has been a resurgence of state power that seeks to acknowledge social diversity and cultural differences. However, how far the state will be able to actualise it remains doubtful but the fact remains

Interrogating the Major Paradigms of Human Rights 115 that pressures from international and national governments and civil society have made it more resilient towards accepting diverse social identities and cultural recognition. In my opinion the Indian State is highly receptive to new ideas and, judging by the performance of all the three wings of the state (executive, legislative and judiciary), it can be pointed out that governance has dramatically improved as a result of the pressures created by the international environment and domestic movements. This is evident from the landmark judgement of the Supreme Court from 6 September 2018, which decriminalised all consensual sex among adults in private, including homosexual sex. According to the Supreme Court, Section 377 was discriminatory and violative of constitutional principles. The Supreme Court, which had in 2013 turned down the verdict of the Delhi High Court judgement in Naz Foundation v. Government of NCT of Delhi, now declares that the law must be interpreted as per the requirement of changing times. This judgement came in as this book was being prepared to be sent to press. It represents a new dawn for the members of the LGBTQI community. From the reaction I found among the members of this community most of them were immensely relieved that an archaic colonial law prevalent for more than six decades after independence has come to an end and justice has finally prevailed. Some individual members of this community look at this judgement as only the beginning and expect that the state will take up more constructive programmes for building the capacity of the persons who have remained marginalised for a long time. As a human rights researcher, I think the most commendable part of the judgement is that it has finally upheld the guarantee of human dignity and fundamental rights that the Constitution envisages for all its citizens irrespective of class, caste, religion and sex. A similar reaction emerged with the passage of the landmark Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill by the Lok Sabha on 5 August  2019. When the 2016 version of the bill had been made public by the government, there were huge protests from the transgender community. They strongly protested certain provisions in this bill which seemingly violated the Supreme Court verdict passed in the NALSA judgement from 2014 and were contrary to international legal gender recognition. Finally, amidst many debates and controversies, the government was forced to remove criminalisation of begging and eliminate the medical screening committee before the bill was passed in the Lok Sabha. According to the community, this bill would at least act as a shield in protecting them from the physical violence and psychological pressures they undergo in society. However, having been a marginalised community for so long, they hope governments will provide opportunities for economic upliftment. A constructive dialogue is taking place between the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the nation states acting in compliance with the universal laws. But it is worth questioning how far developing countries like India with limited applicability and resources will be able to translate

116  Interrogating the Major Paradigms of Human Rights all legal promises into reality. The reservation policies and promises of jobs in the government might fall into the trap of electoral politics, vested interests and corruption. Even if jobs are provided, what will be the fate of the community in the years to come? We have seen how electoral politics and vote banks have manipulated these quotas without providing them real opportunities and access to human development. Human rights have a clear distinction in considering which is the most basic among them. The right to life, freedom of speech and expression, shelter, healthcare and dignity remains primary. For example, it is a violation of human rights when people are beaten or killed because of their gender variance or because they do not conform to cultural norms of how they should look and behave. Similarly, restriction to isolation on the basis of gender from public places and a safe environment for work are more important agendas of human rights. The state in these cases should focus primarily on the three Ps: protection, promotion of opportunities and prevention of discriminations at various levels. It is a fact that stereotypes and gender discrimination cut across religion and socio-economic status. I might be a veteran actor or director or principal of a college but my humiliation as a trans person has remained the same in all places. In the context of recent developments in India it has been seen that the judiciary has acknowledged trans persons as the third gender of India. The word ‘third’ has again come under scrutiny and a section of community members and activists view this as nothing more than just a re-assertion of patriarchal hierarchies engaged in the process of domination and subordination. For some others within the community this is a welcome change, as they can now self-identify, and having the third gender as a separate category will entitle them to some additional benefits and opportunities. Moreover, in an attempt to bring them into the mainstream the government has offered jobs to trans persons in the capacity of civic porters and other such roles. Many of them outright rejected these offers as they often earn more through begging and prostitution. A major section of the community points out that the government should provide necessary skills and impart training based on their capabilities and skills and then provide suitable placements. Only then would the dignity of the trans persons prevail, which would provide real opportunities necessary for the exercise of individual autonomy to make choices about their own lives. This requirement calls for attention both from the government and civil society. Due to stigma and negative stereotyping, trans persons have been victims of marginalisation for a very long period of time. This has often forced them to take up begging and prostitution for survival. According to some, begging and prostitution sounds indecent and undignified, but for them it is a matter of survival where a majority section of trans persons live in poverty.

Interrogating the Major Paradigms of Human Rights 117 However, many of them are willing to accept work of a rickshaw puller or civic porter for a living. But most transwomen I had interviewed vigorously rejected these ideas, as they feel they are not physically capable for doing these jobs and the government should provide some meaningful work based on their capability and consent.

A Brief Comparison of the Legal and Constitutional Positions of the Transgender Community in India with Other South Asian States A comparative assessment with other neighbouring South Asian countries reveals that the trend of official recognition of gender non-normative persons and their rights to equality is quite high. In 2007 Nepal recognised transgender as a separate person. In 2009 and 2011 Pakistan recognised third-gender persons as a category for state official identification documents and ordered the National Database and Registration Authority to issue third-gender identity cards to individuals identifying as such. Even Bangladesh in November 2009 announced that it would officially recognise the third gender as a separate category for the purpose of official government documents like passports and identity cards. In the wake of all these developments it can be said that in India the right to get access as a separate category came only in the wake of the Lok Sabha election in 2014 through the NALSA judgement. This surely indicates that the International Human Rights Movement has had a definite impact in shaping the laws at home. India can also look to other South East Asian nations. If one looks at the Alcazer Show that is hosted mostly by trans community members in countries such as Thailand one might be surprised by the glamour attached to it and the revenue they earn by hosting these shows which also attract tourists to a great extent. The states have given them full freedom and protection to pursue their profession. In this case it is also important to note that these programmes are very popular and the performers are looked at with much respect. This might be due to the culture of neo-liberalism which acts as ‘social rationality’, as pointed out by Foucault, that has removed obstacles to ‘free market enterprise’. Following Foucault’s provocative statement, Rohit K. Dasgupta in his book Digital Queer Cultures in India has emphasised that this has turned the citizen subject into an ‘entrepreneurial citizen subject’ whose bodies are looked at as productive and respectable (Dasgupta 2017: 4). These shows have attracted a huge number of tourists from around the world thus earning a large amount of revenue for the country. In India, we are still to come up with these ideas. However, fashion shows showcasing talents of transgender persons are on the rise though how far they have been represented at the national level needs to be analysed. Conversation with one of my friends, Subir (name changed on request), a trans person, helped me to visualise some changes that can be made in the

118  Interrogating the Major Paradigms of Human Rights near future. He told me that hijras should no longer depend on the mercy of people by begging, prostitution and so forth. They should be prepared to work hard, do jobs and train themselves in various sectors in which they are good and capable. The government should provide them training in their respective areas of interest and provide subsidy, fellowship and financial assistance at all levels. Only development in terms of capabilities can improve the lot of the individuals and members of this community. Reservations of seats without adequate promotion of skills will not improve the lot of the community and hence the state should be cautious in providing development rather than mere welfare services that cannot be actualised due to lack of education and skills. Financial scholarship and subsidy can help in providing access to their respective places of choice. (16 November 2017) Human rights of the third gender in India have come a long way since they were first referred to as the ‘invisibles’ by Zia Jaffrey in her celebrated book from 1998. Their resistance to discriminatory practices and resilience to oppression and power have made them visible and forced the state to recognise them as the third-gender category. The term ‘third gender’ as I have pointed out has been highly objected to by a section of the community members on the ground that it reinforces patriarchal hierarchy. Some economically privileged members within the community have disclosed their discomfort at being labelled even as transgenders. They want to be recognised as women since they strongly identify as such (with or without) sex reassignment surgery. They feel that they need not carry the community nomenclature as baggage, as they are quite capable of proving their worth as individuals in society. However, in terms of legal entitlement, I strongly feel that there is still a need for a separate category. In reality, gender inequality over centuries has given a low economic status to this community. Therefore, many of them need financial support and positive action from the state which is not possible in the absence of a provision for separate category. The term ‘Other’ seems to be more inclusive in this respect and has become prevalent and more acceptable as a category which is now being predominantly used in admission forms and other official documents.

Social and Cultural Inclusion: Need for the Day Various legal changes have brought definite improvement in the status and position of the third gender in India. Not just the central government but also various state governments have been enacting laws in consonance with the NALSA judgement. However, lack of social acceptance remains a major drawback for which gender equality still has not been translated into substantive equality. A major strategy has been adopted by most trans persons to gain confidence and acceptance from the mainstream. They take active part

Interrogating the Major Paradigms of Human Rights 119 in various programmes and functions organised by the mainstream, for example in religious festivals such as Durga Puja or important events like the Poila Boishakh celebrated by the Bengalis. In this way, the trans community has become engaged in creating a culture of social inclusion that will help them to be recognised as part of the mainstream. Many trans persons have clearly pointed out during their interviews that they want to be recognised as part of the mainstream by virtue of their position in society and not just as transgender persons. They are vigilant and aware of the discrimination that takes place in the state and society with regard to other vulnerable groups and community. From time to time, they have raised their voices against these injustices. So whether it is a student movement like Hok Kolorob, a term signifying polyphony or noise (a student protest movement at Jadavpur University) or the Panchishe Boishak (Rabindranath Tagore’s birth anniversary, a cultural celebration that takes place in West Bengal throughout the month of May), trans persons have actively participated in and raised their voices on different occasions. This has helped them to forge closer ties with the rest of the mainstream in enjoying and sharing the acceptance and recognition of themselves, their lives, their voices and their talents. They have realised that legal changes can work only when they will be accompanied by vast changes in the social attitude. To this end, ATHB director Ranjita Sinha has initiated a project known as prakriti, where famous Odissi dancer Alokananda Roy will teach and guide them to dance with the tune of Tagore songs. The time has come for us to accept the reality that unless there is social acceptance of all members of this marginalised community as individuals, as human beings, as themselves there cannot be any major change in society. Following Charles Morris who wrote in his celebrated work The Open Self it can pointed out that it is all about acceptance of individuals and social differences. Only acceptance of differences would make the self an open self and the society an open society (Sengupta 1999: 51–52). In this context, I am reminded of a question that still looms large. This I faced from an eminent academician who is also a trans person during a boi-mela (book fair) at Nandan near Rabindra Sadan in Kolkata. She was not convinced of the fruitful outcome of this research work. What good will this book do the local people and the community around us? She sighed heavily and said we will always be remembered as (trans.) – artist, actress, principal, writer, director, banker, mayor, police and host of other nomenclatures. As I came back home a familiar dialogue from the film Chitrangada by Rituparno Ghosh kept ringing in my years in which the protagonist of the film Ghosh says to Rudra, who opts for sex change: ‘Nothing is permanent on this Earth – possessions, love, things we own, even our own bodies. Why then do we cling to things like gender and identity with such fierceness?’

120  Interrogating the Major Paradigms of Human Rights He also asks Rudra how he wants to be remembered in this world after his death, as a vivacious dancer and by his creations or by his transformed gender? The answer to this question was obtained soon after the untimely death of this great beloved actor and director. TV channels, programmes and media which announced the death of ‘gay’, ‘trans’ director Rituparno answered a lot of seemingly unasked questions. The question of how we obliterate these differences remains. Which society should we build? A society of innumerable minorities, or a society that negates the sense of minoritisation and is engulfed by a greater sense of oneness? I am sure Rituparno Ghosh will smile a sigh of relief if his struggles culminate in the liberation of thoughts even years after his death.

Conclusion

COVID-19 Pandemic: Some Afterthoughts and the Tasks Ahead of Us The COVID-19 pandemic that gripped the world in fear, panic and helplessness since the beginning of 2020 has compelled us to bring our attention back to the marginalised or the most vulnerable communities. It cannot be denied that though the situation had been tough for humanity globally, for the marginalised community in India it had been harsher. This is largely because of the already excluded position of the third gender in society. Their systematic exclusion has had a great impact on their livelihoods and income and has acted as a major constraint in developing the capabilities that can enable them to live a life of their own choice with dignity. Inaccessibility to opportunities has been the major roadblock leading to loss of income and position in society. A section of community members and individuals shared that this lockdown was nothing new for them. In an informal discussion with a transgender friend, she pointed out, ‘Social distancing is nothing new for transgender persons. We have faced this social distancing from the time we are born and as far as our memory goes. People have distanced themselves from us and we are devoid of any human touch.’ After a pause, she added that people must have realised how it feels to be lonely and without any friends. The third-gender community was denied the opportunity to be a part of mainstream development. It is these differential experiences of the community that call for a deeper discussion and analysis. During the pandemic, the traditional hijra community suffered a huge setback related to their livelihood and were virtually without any earnings. A large section of the community who beg at traffic signals and are engaged in prostitution was without any income during this period. The central government took initiative and sanctioned an amount of INR 1500 to the third-gender community. As a welfare state, the government is expected to provide relief to people in these situations. Respective state governments also took the initiative to deliver basic rations to persons without earnings. DOI: 10.4324/9780429243851-9

122  Conclusion In Kolkata, the arrangement for special beds for trans persons was organised by the state government in state hospitals. A  reputed state government hospital in South Kolkata, came up as the city’s first COVID-19 hospital. Approximately ten isolation beds were reserved for transgender COVID patients there. One of the very reputed private hospital in South Kolkata also took great initiative in arranging special beds for the third gender in Kolkata. The state, even with limited infrastructural capacities, was trying to provide the greatest good for the greatest number, thus reflecting a truly utilitarian principle as advocated by Bentham. Both the central and state governments extended all possible assistance in terms of providing food, shelter, and healthcare within limited infrastructure obliterating ideological differences and intersectional identities. However, a commendable initiative was undertaken by leading nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) and community-based organisations (CBOs). While the plight of the third gender is almost the same throughout India, certain CBOs, for example ATHB in West Bengal, have played an exemplary role in addressing it. Director Ranjita Sinha, in a phone interview, stressed the need to visit those persons and third-gender community members who are without earnings and food. Ranjita and her teammates, including members from the cisgender community, travelled from Kolkata to Barasat and other places outside the city to deliver basic necessities to these people. The roles of individuals and private enterprises were also visible. In Kolkata, both have extended their support and cooperation. For example, under its banner BARI (Bengal Amphan Relief Initiative), the Kutchina Foundation played a huge role in supporting financially the families who lost their homes in the disastrous Cyclone Amphan which had hit Kolkata during the pandemic. These instances have clearly brought into focus that society has a huge role to play in redressing structural inequalities embedded at various societal levels. Though it is true that the state is the only agency that can take initiative in introducing laws as an instrument for change, sweeping changes will become visible only when there is cooperation and assistance from the mainstream. To this end, bureaucrats, police personnel, medical professionals and common people need to have knowledge about the problems that thirdgender persons face in life and should be sensitive to these in their dealings with the marginalised and vulnerable community. The central point therefore is that incorporation of laws and framing of policies are not enough and that a lot depends on how they are implemented, which arises from the ground level. The movement is not just a political and legal battle but essentially a social, cultural and economic struggle that needs to be addressed in a holistic manner. Certain confusions have been cleared up during this period. Even though the government has played an important role during the pandemic, we

Conclusion 123 cannot leave everything to the government. Without social cooperation, it is not possible to address gender inequality and issues related to social exclusionism. The government cannot address the day-to-day struggles or meet the crises that arise in the lives of third-gender persons with regard to their families and social life. During this pandemic, a multi-stakeholder approach has been visible. Apart from national and local government, other stakeholders such as the CBOs, NGOs, media, private sectors, business entrepreneurs, academia, medical practitioners, and lawyers have extended their support and cooperation towards the relief work for this community. This has indeed been a major achievement, as it fostered social trust and contributed immensely to developing solidarity. This holistic approach imbibing social, cultural and economic factors reflected the overall development which is also the core principle of human development as propagated by the United Nations Development Programme in 2018. Importantly these organisations can work at a crucial level, for example in settling conflicts within families, providing shelter, mediating with family members of the victims in cases of gender-based violence and trying to resolve conflict between the victim and their families. The CBOs organised programmes through Facebook and other online sites for uplifting the psychological morale of the members of the community. They performed this in collaboration with their allies and other cisgender persons. This initiative provided an opportunity to remain connected with the mainstream and develop a bond that infused within them a sense of relief and caring that their lives are so frequently devoid of. It had emerged during this crisis that trans persons’ families had been the major site of discrimination, involving beatings and other forms of domestic violence, physical and mental torture and even humiliating and tormenting acts such as corrective rape by their brothers and sisters. During COVID-19, Ranjita Sinha, along with many others, initiated a project in which a shelter home named Astana was established in South Kolkata. The main objective of this project has been to offer a safe haven for transgender persons who have been abused by their families. Cisgender persons and allies including myself have supported the cause and provided various kinds of assistance. In an online interview with Ranjita, she ­acknowledges that this was a long-felt need for the community. Hence, through this initiative, she has drawn the attention of the public and the government. Later with the help of financial assistance from the central government she opened a shelter home known as Garima Greh, the first of its kind in Kolkata. In this sense, I firmly believe that these organisations have been working as pressure groups in society, a major accelerator that seeks to bring in changes and strike a balance between individual needs and political agendas.

124  Conclusion Lately however the role of the government in initiating major laws and policies has been questioned by a section of both community members and the general public. As this group believes, governments are more eager to introduce populist measures that cater to their broader electoral agenda than to focus on the specific needs of the community of third-gender persons. The government should take substantive measures related to trans persons’ education as the primary tool for social change, health and livelihood issues. Systematic inclusion of all these will invariably ensure their empowerment and the capability to live freely and in their own ways of choosing. The government should be sensitive in viewing how laws are being framed. In many cases, such as the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, the government failed to sensitively address the needs of the community. In these instances, laws have tended to act more negatively instead of delivering legal justice. The laws should be framed after consultation with the core group which should consist of representatives from the community. For example, in the case of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, the bill was in contravention of trans persons’ needs and failed to deliver legal justice. Later it was moderated and partially changed to suit the interests of the community. The government should abandon its one-size-fits-all policy and instead try to accommodate multiple and diverse representations instead. To this end, the government should have a free and open dialogue with community members from all the states of India to obliterate all ideological differences. There is an urgent need for the government to take strong measures to include the third gender in its health schemes and policies. The recent inclusion of transgenders in important policies such as Ayushman Bharat will prove to be beneficial. It was pointed out that transgender persons were hopeful that this scheme would cover their plastic and reconstructive surgeries. For many trans persons, these surgeries are of utmost importance, as it gives them the chance to reconstruct their bodies and live a life of their own choice in their preferred gender. This surgical procedure is very expensive, and most third-gender persons who are unable to bear this cost, suffers from a sense of helplessness. As a result, many undergo this procedure with non-skilled persons, which is dangerous to both their health and their lives. According to some members of the community, many third-gender persons undergo sex reassignment surgery (SRS) under social pressure. Anuprabha member of Prantakatha, an NGO engaged with the development of youth, reveals in an open discussion on Gender Equality: LGBTQ + Rights on Facebook that in this patriarchal society marriage and reproduction are given utmost importance. Those who cannot fulfil these parameters, especially trans persons, are still treated with so much disgust. According to Anuprabha, these societal behaviours often compel third-gender parsons to undergo these processes of SRS to make them acceptable as a man or woman in society, which often saves them from being humiliated in public.

Conclusion 125 On the question of gender equality, many third-gender persons do demand equity measures and reservation in jobs and educational institutions that will reduce the gender gap and enable them to achieve gender equality. They are often against being called ‘third sex’, as that reinforces patriarchal domination, but have no objection to being categorised as third gender and as a separate category, as that will ensure their access to various areas of life and help them in receiving certain rights which they have been denied for so long. However, community members should be vigilant about their rights. Reservation policies may fall into the trap of political mobilisation and the effort of development will again be lost. The emphasis therefore is more on the development of skills and capabilities rather than making them more vulnerable by treating them as a disadvantaged group. The government needs to undertake sustainable programmes for this community and a lot more emphasis needs to be given to skill development and capacity building. Many efforts to generate skills have been undertaken by individuals and private associations but the performance of and initiative taken by the government till now has been negligible. The central governments’ clarion call of atmanirbhar (‘atma’ meaning ‘self’ and ‘nirbhar’ meaning ‘reliant’) should actually be realised so that trans persons are not forced to earn a living through means which are not of their own choice and sometimes less than dignified. They should truly become self-reliant and become engaged with work of their own choice. Recent trends of populism need to be sharply reviewed. Governments have announced several policies and programmes but have failed to take adequate steps for translating them into practice, which has been severely criticised by a section of community members. The government also needs to provide financial aid to young entrepreneurs of the community and help them to set up their own businesses. The Sustainable Development Goals 2030, which India strives for, should be included in various programmes that are enacted by the government to promote the well-being of the marginalised section. To this end, the government should conduct programmes to test the required skill and capability and promote growth in that sector accordingly. A  space for constant dialogue should always be kept open, and community members should be consulted before making any policies and programmes. They should be considered core members of the different committees that are formed by the government. The community has also been suffering from a range of contradictions. Many of the community spokespersons are often swayed by the ideologies of particular political parties and have raised their voices on their behalf. In these situations, the thrust for human rights issues often gets diluted. My suggestion to the progressive intellectuals who are spearheading the third-gender movement is to look beyond partisan politics and identify the sole objective of the movement. They need to realise that there is no right or left phobia and that all kinds of phobia are needed to be handled collectively

126  Conclusion to usher in social justice and for the well-being of the community. The interest of the community should also be addressed by cutting across partisan, class, caste, religious and other identities. The pandemic has cleared up these confusions quite well. During the pandemic, the community suffered as a whole. Transgender youth across the country committed suicide and the lack of availability of resources has tremendously affected the community. In this time of crisis, support from other disadvantaged groups or the mainstream could barely be seen. Interestingly, since independence hardly any mainstream leader has come forward with the objective of elevating the condition of the third gender or has taken active steps in promoting the cause for support of this community. Though in recent times the third gender has often voiced their grievances during disturbances such as on issues of women’s rape and gender violence, very few steps have been taken by mainstream feminist groups or other disadvantaged groups to speak in favour of third-gender communities. There is a subtle line of discomfort between the third-gender community and the larger LGBTQI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex) group. This is indeed a point of concern, as it raises the question of why a significant section of the mainstream population is still not aware of the trans community’s problems. Are they still not accepted in society? Is there a lack of acceptance? What may possibly be the reasons for this apathy? One reason might be that for a very long period the mainstream failed to connect with them, a result of which being they know very little about them. It is difficult for mainstream persons to comprehend the complexities of these problems. During my study, many people from the mainstream failed to distinguish between hijra and transgender individuals. For many of us, the non-binary gender is still synonymous with the hijra profession. But the question remains unanswered for those who are working with other groups such as women and other marginalised groups. A hostility towards members within the same LGBT groups is also noticed. Through conversations it has often surfaced that transgender individuals represented as (T) within the LGBT category have felt neglected and insecure and believe their normative assertions should be addressed separately. The strange fact that exists even today is the curiosity of people towards the bodies and sexualities of the third gender. This is one reason why transgenders in recent years have too frequently been featured in media. It cannot be denied that sexuality has a huge demand in the market, and stories regarding trans bodies did attract a lot of attention. However, serious issues concerning human rights have come forward and people now realise that they live even outside the hijra profession, as individuals on their own merit, and have the capability to take lawful recourse for ensuing justice. Lately, trans persons’ demand for legalization of their marriage and ­parenthood are being discussed. One cannot ignore the craving for universal

Conclusion 127 emotions present in all human beings. How the state will respond to it and society will embrace it is still an issue that needs to be largely discussed. The time has come to acknowledge trans persons’ contributions to both the national and the state-level economy. This is possible only when attempts are made to study their problems from the perspective of humanity at large rather than focusing on their bodies and sexualities. World-renowned directors along with writers, film personalities, teachers, and activists have proved that given the opportunity they have the talent to deliver the best. They can speak about their problems and can articulate their pains in their own language. The only thing we still need to be prepared for is how to keep our ears tuned to catch the voices that come out from the depths of the experiences of their lives.

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Bibliography 131 Roberts, P. and Sutch, Peter. 2005. An Introduction to Political Thought: A Conceptual Toolkit. New Delhi: Edinburgh University Press. Roy, S. 2003. ‘From Khush List to Gay Bombay: Virtual Webs of Real People’, in Berry, C., Martin, F., and Yue, A. (eds), Mobile Cultures: New Media in Queer Asia. Durham: Duke University Press. Sahu, S. 2015. Gender, Sexuality and HIV/AIDS: Exploring Politics of Women’s Health in India. New Delhi: Sage Publications. Sen, A. 2010. The Idea of Justice. London: Penguin Books. ———. 2011. ‘Gender Inequality and Theories of Justice in Bina’, in Bina Agarwal, Jane Humphries and Ingrid Robeyns (eds), Capabilities, Freedom and Equality: Amartya Sen’s Work from a Gender Perspective. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. Sengupta, L. 2014. ‘India’s Third Gender at Crossroads: A  Human Rights Perspective’, Journal of Politics and Government, 3(2–3), 75–85. ———. 2018. ‘From the Margins to the Mainstream: Looking into the Challenges and Possibilities of Inclusion of the Third Gender in Urban Kolkata, West Bengal’, Asian Studies, January–December, 183–194. ———. 2022. ‘Breaking the Barriers: Exploring the Changing Landscape of the Third Gender Movement in Contemporary India’, in K. Rajkumar (ed), South Asia: Issues, Challenges and Prospects. New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers. Sengupta, S. 1999. Science, Society, and Secular Humanism. Kolkata: Renaissance Publishers Pvt Ltd. Shah, C., Merchant, R., Mahajan, S. and Nevatia, S. 2015. No Outlaws in the Gender Galaxy. New Delhi: Raj Press. Shah, S. P. 2013. ‘ “True Sex and the Law”, Prostitution, Sodomy, and the Politics of Sexual Minoritization in India’, in S. Srivastava (ed), Sexuality Studies. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. Shahani, P. 2008. Gay Bombay: Globalisation, Love and Belonging in Contemporary India. New Delhi, Sage. Sheikh, D. and Narrain, S. 2013. ‘Struggling for Reason: Fundamental Rights and the Wrongs of the Supreme Court’, Economic and Political Weekly, 48(52). Sinha, D. 2014. Development Narratives: Walking the Field in Rural West Bengal. New Delhi: Orient Blackswan. Song, S. 2007. Justice, Gender and the Politics of Multiculturalism. New York: Cambridge University Press. Stonewall International, The Sustainable Development Goals and LGBT Inclusion, www.stonewall.org.uk/our-work/international-work (accessed on 17 Jan 2023). Study on Human Rights of Transgender as a Third Gender. A Report submitted to National Human Rights Commission by Kerala Development Society, February, 2017. Janakpuri, New Delhi. Sundar, P. 2010. Foreign AID for Indian NGOs: Problem or Solution. New Delhi: Routledge. Tagore, R. (1402, Bengali Year). Rabindra Rachanavaoli, 6th Part, Kolkata, Viswabharati. Taylor, Charles. 1994. ‘The Politics of Recognition’, in Amy Gutman (ed), Multiculturalism and the ‘Politics of Recognition’. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ———. 1995. Multiculturalism and the Politics of Recognition. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

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Index

Note: Page numbers followed by ‘n’ refer to notes.

badhai 2, 7n2, 14, 15, 73, 81 Baker, Gilbert 107n7 Bandhan 51 Bandopadhyay, Manobi 75, 84 Banglar Chalchitro (1405, Bengali Year) 72 – 73 Bangla Samaj o Sahitye Tritiyosatwa Chinha (2012) 75 – 76 Basu, Niloy 15 begging 15, 115 – 116, 118 Bhabha, Homi 8 Bhaduri, Chapal 69, 70 Bharater Hijre Samaj 15 Bula-di campaign 107n5

City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi (2004) 12, 77 civil society 5 – 7, 43 – 62, 95 civil society organisations 6, 43 clean water 104 colonial period 12 – 16 community 2, 3, 12 – 14, 26, 34, 37, 45, 90, 94, 96, 109, 113, 115, 118, 121, 124 – 126 community-based clinics 92–93, 95 community-based organisations (CBOs) 3, 4, 6, 22, 26, 43 – 58, 98, 102, 104, 106, 122, 123 community development 104 – 106 community living, India 111 – 113 constitution 2, 5, 13, 20, 26, 29, 31, 32, 34, 35, 110, 115 constitutionalization 31 – 42 continuum 4 COVID-19 pandemic 121 – 127 Criminal Tribes Act 12 cultural inclusion 118 – 120

capabilities 66, 100, 116, 118, 121, 125 Chakraborty, Swapnamoy 76 Changing Contours of Lives 1 – 5 Chitrangada, The Crowning Wish (2012) 66 – 69 cinema 63 – 64 cisgender persons 123 citizenship 2, 7, 33, 60, 104, 109, 113

Dalrymple, William 12, 77 Dasgupta, Rohit 117 Dattani, Mahesh 78 decriminalization 35, 46, 56 – 57, 97 ‘Decriminalization as Deregulation? Logics of Sodomy Law and the State’ 16 Delhi High Court Judgement, 2009 32 – 33, 34

agencies 2, 6, 46, 71, 97 – 99, 102 Agnes, Flavia 49 Amitié Trust 52 – 53 Ardhanarishvara 10 ATHB (Association of Transgender/ Hijra in Bengal) 18, 26, 39, 44 – 47, 102, 104

140 Index Digital Queer Cultures in India 117 dignity 2, 3, 15 – 17, 28, 29, 32, 33, 35, 50 – 51, 71, 85, 100, 108, 116 discrimination 3, 5 – 7, 36, 38 – 41, 43, 45, 48, 50 – 51, 53, 56 – 57, 60, 94, 96, 99, 101 Doniger, Wendy 10 Durga Puja 24, 59 – 61, 114, 119 eminent personalities 58 – 61 employment 3, 5, 18, 22, 24 – 25, 34, 41, 46, 55, 82 empowerment 34 – 36, 59, 60, 63, 98, 99, 124 encouragement 45 Engel, Stephen M. 7n1 entitlements 2, 4, 88, 106, 118 equality 50 – 51 eunuchs 11 – 15, 33, 54, 55, 65, 76, 77 exclusion 13, 16, 17, 51, 95, 101, 121 Fields, Belden 110 fluidity 49, 64, 89 Foreign Aid for Indian NGOs: Problem or Solution? 43 Foucault, Michael 13 Fuller, Bampfylde 12 gaining visibility 113 – 117 gender-based violence 5, 103, 123 gender dysphoria 88, 89, 92, 93, 102 gender equality 7, 13, 29, 103 , 108, 118, 124, 125 gender identity 49, 50, 53, 71, 75, 89, 91, 92, 99, 101, 103, 106, 111 Ghosh, Rituparno 49, 59, 64, 67 – 70, 119, 120 Gift of Goddess Lakshmi: A Candid Biography of India’s First Transgender Principal, A (2017) 84 – 86 global agencies 97 – 98 global civil society 7, 87, 95; human rights, impact 95 – 96 global conferences 98 – 99 global funds 97 – 98 global information: access to 89 – 95

globalisation 6, 35, 87 – 107, 114; health and human rights, impact 93 – 95 global seminars 98 – 99 global symbols 97 good health 102 – 103 harassments 5 – 6, 22 – 23, 27, 29, 39, 49, 93, 104 heteronormativity 88 heterosexual 10, 69, 88, 109 hijras/transgender community 2, 11 – 16, 23, 45, 46, 51, 64 – 66, 73, 74, 80, 81, 83, 98, 99, 126; cultural and entertainment sector 22 – 25; education and employment 18 – 22; gender discrimination, sports 28 – 29; health and security 25 – 26; legal and constitutional positions, India 117 – 118; Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India 36 – 37; right to vote/ inclusion, passport/census 17 – 18; sex reassignment surgery (SRS) and 27 – 28; violation, human dignity 28 – 29; violence, lives of trans persons 28 Hinduism 10, 12, 14, 77 Holde Golap (2015) 76 – 77 human dignity 17, 28, 34, 35, 71, 100, 108 – 110, 115 human rights 3 – 5, 7, 8, 17, 26, 28, 29, 38 – 39, 41, 43, 49, 53, 108 – 110, 115, 116; activism 43 – 62; issues 56, 125; paradigms, interrogating 108 – 120; realisation 31 – 42; violations 17 – 30, 38, 39 Human Rights Law Network (HRLN) 53 Idea of Justice, The 54 identity politics 6, 32 Indian Penal Code 6, 13, 16, 31, 32, 35, 50, 97, 110 Indian society 5, 32, 44, 54, 71, 77 Internet 87, 90, 91, 96 Invisibles, The 15

Index  141 Jaffrey, Zia 15 jatra 69 – 71 judicial activism 32 judicial interventions 31 – 42 Kamasutra 9 Kolkata 4, 19, 21, 25 – 27, 47 – 49, 52, 53, 56, 58 – 59, 60, 93, 95, 102 – 104, 122 Kolkata Rainbow Pride Festival (KRPF) 50 – 51 LGBTQI 3, 13, 31, 33, 35, 38, 46, 60, 89, 97 – 98, 109, 113, 115, 126 liberal tradition 111 – 113 literature, Bengali 71 – 72 Living in the Shadows: Eunuchs and Gender in Byzantium 11 Location of Culture, The 8 Mahabharata 9 – 11 mainstream 3, 6, 14, 15, 19, 20, 23, 36, 47, 59, 61, 97, 114, 119, 126 Majumder, Ajoy 15 marginalisation 3, 13, 48, 52, 72, 77, 95, 98, 100, 114, 116 marginalised communities 22, 25, 33, 41, 81, 100, 105, 115, 119, 121 marginalised section, society 31 – 32 media 50, 53 – 58, 61, 64, 94 – 96, 98, 99, 120 Me Hijra, Me Laxmi (2015) 82 – 84 Mitra, Subrata K. 32 NALSA Judgement, 2014 33 – 34 NALSA judgement, Kolkata 39 Nanda, Serena 14 narrations 4, 5, 29, 101, 108, 113 narratives 17 – 30 National human rights institutions (NHRIs) 38 – 39 National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) 1, 33 – 35, 39 – 41, 45, 46, 111, 114, 115, 117, 118 National Legal Services Authority v. Union of India 33

Naz Foundation v. Government of NCT of Delhi 33 Naz Foundation v. Union of India 32 Neither Man Nor Woman: The Hijras of India 14 new age of rights 87 – 107 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) 43, 44 – 58 non-heteronormative individuals: in ancient India 9 – 16 non-marital sex: criminalisation of 12 – 16 non-procreative sex: in ancient India 9 – 16; criminalisation of 12 – 16 online media 58 participatory 41, 104, 109 participatory approach 104 – 106 patriarchal 3, 14, 65, 78, 80, 82, 106, 116, 118, 124, 125 patriarchal societies 3, 14 personal narrations 101 – 102 Politics in India: Structure, Process and Policy 32 post-globalisation scenario, India 113 – 117 poverty: in all forms, end 101 Pratyay Gender Trust 48 – 49 prostitution 15, 77, 116, 118, 121 Puri, Jyoti 16 quality education 103 queer/queer community 28, 31 – 33, 52, 58 – 60, 88 – 90, 95 – 97, 113 Ramayana 11 Ranade, S.N. 15 Rao, Raja 33 Reddy, Gayatri 12 Rethinking Human Rights for the New Millennium 110 rights activism 58 – 61 Rights of Transgender Persons Bill, 2014 34 – 35 Ringrose, Kathryn 11 Roy, Alokananda 107n13

142 Index royal dynasties: medieval period and patronisation of 11 – 12 Saathi 51 – 52 sanitation 104 Santap (1993) 74 – 75 self-identity: assertion of 17 – 30 Sen, Amartya 54, 100, 104 Seven Steps Around the Fire (2000) 78 – 80 sex reassignment surgery (SRS) 27 – 28, 34, 36, 39, 47, 48, 56, 57, 88, 91 – 93, 95, 124; solutions, Kolkata 47 – 48 sexuality 2, 3, 44, 46, 48, 50, 52, 75, 76, 87, 88, 94, 96, 126, 127 sexual minorities 4, 44, 51, 52, 81, 90, 96 sex work 26, 31, 81 – 83 Shabnam Mausi (2005) 65 – 66 Sinha, Ranjita 51 social exclusion 13 social inclusion 118 – 120 social justice 8, 31 – 32, 34 – 37, 60, 98 – 100, 108, 111, 126 social rejection 110 – 111 societal pressure 13, 27, 111 Splitting the Difference 10 Srivastava, Sanjay 16 state governments 34, 36, 37, 118, 122 stereotypes 6, 15, 34, 39 – 40, 61, 71, 88, 116 stigma 2, 3, 6, 36, 50, 51, 94, 95, 97, 99, 103, 109, 111 Studies of Indian Life and Sentiment 12 Sundar, Pushpa 43 Supreme Court Judgement, 2013 33 Supreme Court judgement, 2018: decriminalisation of section 377, Indian Penal Code 35 sustainable development 7, 99 – 101, 125 sustainable development goals, 2030 99 – 101

taboos 6, 44, 54, 57, 61, 89, 110 Tagore, Rabindranath 27, 47, 66, 73, 76, 105, 114, 119 Tamanna/‘Desire’ (1997) 64 – 65 Taylor, Charles 112 technological revolution 89 – 95 technology 2, 87, 96 third gender 3, 5 – 9, 11 – 13, 15, 16, 20, 21, 23, 28, 29, 34, 44, 118, 126 third-gender movement 97 Tougher, Shaun 11 transgender 3, 20, 23, 26, 34 – 39, 40, 45, 46, 48, 49, 55 – 57, 59, 61, 84 Transgender Development Board 37, 52, 75 transgenderism 36, 91 transgender mother 57, 58 transgender movement 3, 25, 57, 97 transgender rights 13, 32 transgender women 48, 49, 58 transphobia 39 transsexualism 48, 91, 92 Tripathy, Laxmi Narayan 82 tritiya prakriti 9 Truth About Me: A Hijra Life Story, The (2010) 80 – 82 ‘undesired, unsocial animal’ 73 – 74 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) 26, 108, 115 Vatsyayana 9 violence 13 visibility 6, 16, 18, 43, 47, 89 – 91, 96, 97, 113–117 visual media 56 – 58 well-being 102 – 103 West Bengal transgender persons development board 37 – 38 Will to Knowledge: The History of Sexuality, Volume 1, The 13 workplace 6, 7, 20, 22, 25, 38, 60, 75, 101, 108, 109