India: Hijra = TS, 21st Century

[Jim Beaux]

This is to look at how India views its TS population as at Oct 2008.

Exerpts from an article on a crackdown on begging during Diwali, a 5 day (6 day?) festival of light/marking of good triumphs over evil/end of harvest festival.

Point is it's about 5/6 days. Article gives 1,000 hijra arrested in same festival last year.

And note the article swaps seamlessly from hijra to transgender to eunuch to 3rd sex.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?sectionName=HomePage&id=7d2d7f7d-a1c4-443e-b00e-5db8e335b198&&Headline=Authorities+to+check+activities+of+Eunuch s

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Hindustan Times, India


Authorities to check activities of Eunuchs during festivals

Ashwini Shrivastava, Press Trust Of India

New Delhi, October 26, 2008


Eunuchs, who often harass people in public places, especially during
the festive season demanding money, will now face the wrath of
authorities with measures being taken to check their activities.

The Railway and Delhi Police have decided to take on such persons who
are found extorting money from people as complaints against eunuchs
keep increasing with every passing day.

Many people cough up money when confronted by transgenders, who often
resort to hurling abuses and taking off their clothes to extort money
from their victims.

"We have sent an advisory to Zonal Railways, RPF and GRP staff to be
extra vigilant during festive season. They have also been told to keep
a check on anyone found harassing passengers," a senior Railway
official said.

Last year around 1,000 eunuchs were arrested under different sections
of the Railways Act for allegedly harassing passengers demanding
money.

In the capital, eunuchs are often seen at parks, cinema halls,
railway/metro stations, historical monuments, raising a ruckus and
harassing people if their demands are not met.

The third sex, also known as 'Hijra' in Hindi, earn their living by
singing and dancing at weddings, birth anniversaries and other major
family events.

[Jim Beaux]

The simplest explanation I've seen is Panthi tops, Kothi bottoms, and Doubledecker = versatile. Panthis and Kothi change according to language used in India, doubledecker seems to be a constant.

Now it starts to get a little more complex. Men on men sex - kothi bottoms. OK. But how to translate kothi into English? It's like nailing jelly. In this article the pronouns used for kothi go female inbetween male with total ease.

Please check the link. It has the full article text. PLUS interesting pictures!http://www.deccanherald.com/Content/Nov52008/metro-wed2008110498816.asp

Article text follows, simply in case is gets wiped from the original.

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They are not welcome in restaurants; auto drivers don't take them;
passengers refuse to sit near them in buses; walking down the street
is tough; getting a passport or opening a bank account is almost
impossible and they are randomly picked up by the police and beaten
mercilessly. Their crime — not fitting into the gender roles society
has determined. Metrolife met up with Jasmin, a web designer; Akkai,
a Carnatic vocalist; Revathi, a soon-to-be-published Penguin author;
Rex, a consultant and fashion designer. They all live in Bangalore.
Except for Rex, they have been physically and mentally tortured since
they were children and forced to perform the most degrading sexual
acts just to survive. Sangama, a human rights organisation that helps
sexual minorities, has given them decent employment and acceptance


I was born Jaganath but my name now is Akkai. I am an inter-gender
individual which means I don't limit myself to the male or the female.
I always loved feminine fashion and naturally walked, talked and
expressed myself like a girl. It felt perfectly normal till my
classmates, neighbours, teachers and even my family didn't think so
and started getting angry with me. I became the butt of physical abuse
that escalated into severe beatings and verbal abuse. It was a free
for all and I was mocked and spat at freely. Neighbourhood kids would
pelt me with tomatoes, eggs and stones on the street. I managed to
graduate from school somehow and joined a 3-year technical training
course but had to quit after 6 months as the other students made it
impossible," says Akkai. She has an expressive face and a dazzling
smile. She is a 'Kothi', which in transgender terminology means, a man
born to be a woman. A Kothi shies away from other women preferring men
to share a relationship with who is referred to as a 'Panthi'.

'Shemale Jasmin', a web designer, is also a DJ in her spare time. She
was born as Shailesh in Amritsar. Hers is also a familiar story of
torture and abuse at the hands of the police, family members and
strangers. She managed to work in Dubai for 5 years till draconian
laws made her return to India. Bangalore seemed like a place where she
could live her life on her own terms, she says. She loves the colour
pink, rock, hip hop and trance music. ''I was a sex worker as no one
would give me a job till I joined Sangama,'' she says. She removes her
jewellery, long manicured nails, impeccable make-up and every trace of
her femaleness, when she visits her folks in Andhra Pradesh, a process
she finds hurtful and degrading but necessary.

Revathi was named after MGR, the icon, but her life has been anything
but iconic. Forced to fight for her survival, battered and bruised by
the very people who should have protected her, she expresses herself
well. "I studied the legal system as it applies to transgenders,
started in Sangama as an office assistant 10 years ago and now I
proudly carry the title of 'Director of Collectivisation' and all the
responsibility that goes with it. I have written a practical guide for
living a transgender existence which Penguin will publish soon. I
write poetry and have acted in two films," she says.

Tall, almost regal, a beautifully modulated speaker, Rex refers to
himself as a Kothi whose childhood memories are happy ones. "My family
was pretty cool. I was always feminine and they didn't make a big deal
of it. Career wise, I was successful as I had good education. There
is a big class divide among transgenders. The rich one can live life
the way they choose because they have the means that the poor lack.
People never see the talented, warm people we really are, who have
been pushed to a corner forced into degrading professions like begging
or sex work simply because no one will give us a decent job," he says.
Rex was in an 11- year-old relationship with a Panthi that ended when
he got married. "Panthis are like gigolos. They prey off Kothis who
lavish gifts and money on them then invariably go off and get married.
It's another reality we have to deal with," he smiles ruefully.