Accepting Their 'Fate'

In the article “Transgenders and the Mainstream” (EPW, 28 November 2015), G Karunanithi has referred to the efforts to ensure civil rights for transgenders in Tamil Nadu and pointed out that it was due to the joint efforts of the state government and the transgender community that had led to some commendable results. The author has also mentioned how the transgenders have made efforts to move out of the lesbian, gay and bisexual fold and generate an independent identity for themselves.

In West Bengal, a majority of members of the transgender community get their livelihood through begging or performing rituals, particularly in houses where a new baby is born. They live in groups under a guardian, the senior-most member called barama. Some people make fun of the transgenders but overall there is a good-natured rapport between the latter and society in general. Some of the orthodox Hindus think that the transgenders are thus due to their karma in a previous life. The transgenders themselves believe that they are under a curse and that they are suffering divine punishment. Some of them mentioned that mainstream society treated them well.