 NJ, MAY
26 - India's eunuch community is demanding a two per cent
reservation in schools, colleges, hospitals, government
offices, etc. and insist on a ‘dharamshala’.
Transgender communities have existed in most parts of the
world with their own local identities, customs and rituals.
They are called baklas in the Philippines, berdaches among
American Indian tribes, serrers in Africa and hijras,
jogappas, jogtas, shiv-shaktis and aravanis in South Asia.
The hijra community in India, which has a recorded history
of more than 4,000 years, was considered to have special
powers because of its third-gender status. It was part of a
well-established `eunuch culture' in many societies,
especially in West Asia, and its members held sanctioned
positions in royal courts.
Over the years, things have changed in for the Hijras
- Eunuchs in India.
“We are the unwanted part of the society. We don't have
social life but if we are allowed to vote and pay taxes then
why aren't our basic necessities satisfied and why can't we
have a dharamshala?" questions Ragini Naik, 'guru' of the
All Maharashtra Hijra Samaj Sena Sangh (AMHSSS), Mumbai.
The Indian eunuchs complain that though there are shelters for
underprivileged children, women and senior citizens but
eunuchs are neglected and kept outside the society. They are
neither allowed in the social activities (places of worship,
workplaces, entertainment avenues) nor are they admitted in
educational institutions.
"Apart from the educational
institutions or social activities, we have people judging us
even as we are walking on the road. We are not even allowed
to stay in a residential colony where the 'others' stay.
They treat us as if we are born from the dirty 'nallah'. But
when it comes to collecting vote and tax, the government
decides to include us. In spite of paying tax we are not
given the basic facilities," said Gopi Naik, a member of (AMHSSS)
Gopi Naik, reported Afternoon of Mumbai.
The eunuchs are demanding a place in society wherein their
basic needs can be taken care of, Farid Naik of AMHSSS
explained, "When one of us die we don't have the system of
informing everybody for the funeral. Our cremation is done
secretly. But our guru performs a ceremony, 'pintdaan' as we
call upon the people of our community from across the
country. For such occasion we need a place where we can get
together. Only a place like a dharmashala can help us in all
these situations.
India's Hijra Community were lucky enough this time to get the
opportunity to get the permission to use the a
municipal school ground in Mumbai for our nine-day festival
"but we don't know what fate has for us next year," said
Gopi.
Farid Naik, a member of the community
said there was little enjoyment for them during the
festival, "We had few ceremonies where people like us adopt
whoever we like or whoever care for us as our sons or
daughters."
Naik then broke the conversation, and started dancing on the
tune that her friend played on the tabla. Farid said, "For
us, entertainment is singing, dancing and playing musical
instruments after the ceremony is over. We also had little
stalls having selling things that usually our community uses
the most." The stalls sold shinny Shalwar-Qameez, Sarees,
Shawls, artificial hair, accessories and artificial breasts!
The annual nine-day festival
started on May 14 and ended on May 23. Around 5000 eunuchs
from all over India came together and
shared their views and problems.
Being a Eunuch
By Siddarth Narrain
"Ever
since I can remember, I have always identified myself as a
woman. I lived in Namakkal, a small town in Tamil Nadu. When
I was in the 10th standard I realised that the only way for
me to be comfortable was to join the hijra community. It was
then that my family found out that I frequently met hijras
who lived in the city. One day, when my father was away, my
brother, encouraged by my mother, started beating me with a
cricket bat. I locked myself in a room to escape from the
beatings. My mother and brother then tried to break into the
room to beat me up further. Some of my relatives intervened
and brought me out of the room. I related my ordeal to an
uncle of mine who gave me Rs.50 and asked me to go home.
Instead, I took the money and went to live with a group of
hijras in Erode."
* "My
name is Sachin and I am 23 years old. As a child I always
enjoyed putting make-up like `vibhuti' or `kum kum' and my
parents always saw me as a girl. I am male but I only have
female feelings. I used to help my mother in all the
housework like cooking, washing and cleaning. Over the years
I started assuming more of the domestic responsibilities at
home. The neighbours started teasing me. They would call out
to me and ask: `Why don't you go out and work like a man?'
or `Why are you staying at home like a girl?' But I liked
being a girl. I felt shy about going out and working.
Relatives would also mock and scold me on this score. Every
day I would go out of the house to bring water. And as I
walked back with the water I would always be teased. I felt
very ashamed. I even felt suicidal. How could I live like
that? But my parents never protested. They were helpless."
- From the Peoples Union of Civil Liberties (Karnataka)
Report on Human Rights Violations Against the Transgender
Community, released in September 2003.
More on Hijras
 Hijras
trace their origins to myths in the Ramayana and the
Mahabharata. Rama, while leaving for the forest upon being
banished from the kingdom for 14 years, turns around to his
followers and asks all the `men and women' to return to the
city. Among his followers the hijras alone do not feel bound
by this direction and decide to stay with him. Impressed
with their devotion, Rama sanctions them the power to confer
blessings on people on auspicious occasions like childbirth
and marriage, and also at inaugural functions. This set the
stage for the custom of badhai in which hijras sing, dance
and confer blessings.
The legend in
the Mahabharata is that Aravan, the son of Arjuna and
Nagakanya, offers to be sacrificed to Goddess Kali to ensure
the victory of the Pandavas in the Kurukshetra war. The only
condition that he made was to spend the last night of his
life in matrimony. Since no woman was willing to marry one
who was doomed to be killed, Krishna assumes the form of a
beautiful woman called Mohini and marries him. The hijras of
Tamil Nadu consider Aravan their progenitor and call
themselves aravanis.
The hijra
community is divided into seven houses, each headed by a `nayak'
who appoints gurus or spiritual leaders to train their wards
or `chelas' in badhai and protect them. Hijras in South
India do not have the same cultural role as their
counterparts in North India and most of them take up sex
work as a means of earning a living.
Kothi is a term
used to describe male homosexuals who take on the female
role; they are largely from a non-English-speaking lower
middle-class background. Many kothis marry owing to family
pressure but continue to have same sex relationships. There
is a symbolic relationship between kothis and hijras, which
has been strengthened because of the lack of other support
systems for kothis in cities and smaller towns.
For many hijras
and kothis, sex work is the only option because no one is
willing to employ them because of their gender identity.
Even as commercial sex workers, hijras are the most
vulnerable group as they are placed right at the bottom of
the hierarchy of sex workers. This results in their having
little bargaining power and being unable to ensure that
their customers practice safe sex. They are also at risk of
violence both from customers and the police.
(DesPardes News Report) |
Articles/Opinions
Classifieds
MAY 16 - Sacked Indian diplomat Harish Dogra is still
refusing to return to India and is apparently applying
to stay in New Zealand, says media reports. Dogra, whose
visitor's visa expired two weeks ago, was reportedly in
contact with the immigration department through a
lawyer. He was stripped of his post as India's high
commissioner after Indians in New Zealand complained
about his performance. Dogra caused a diplomatic stir by
refusing to go home and remained in his official
residence for some days even after a successor arrived
in New Zealand. 
MAY
6 - Orissa state police have taken Budhia Singh, the
four-year-old wonder boy famed for his marathon runs,
for a medical check-up despite his coach, Mr Biranchi
Das's protest. The women and child welfare department in
the state has accused Das of exploiting his ward for
pecuniary gain. Budhia last week got a place in the
Limca Book of Records, the Indian equivalent of the
Guinness Book of Records, by running a distance of 65km
non-stop in just seven hours and two minutes.
MAY
4 - International advertising major Saatchi and Saatchi
has secured the marketing rights for Indian cricketer
Sachin Tendulkar (caricature) for US$40 million,
officials and media said yesterday. Sachin, who has
scored a record 35 Test and 39 one-day centuries during
a remarkable 16-year career, enjoys fanatical fan
following in India and across the cricket world. His
10,469 Test runs put him in fourth place behind West
Indian captain Brian Lara and Australians Allan Border
and Steve Waugh in the all-time scorers' list. 
