The 'Hijras' of India

I just finished reading a book titled "THE TRUTH ABOUT ME" ( A Hijra's Story) by A. Revathy.Originally written in Tamil and translated to English by Ms. Geetha.

This book narrates the heart-rending true story of a human being, born a son to his parents and named Doraiswamy, in a village named Namakkal in Tamil Nadu state of south India. As the he grows he feels himself a female inside ( mind and body) while externally looking male. The story takes the reader through all the jeering and negative comments of villagers and siblings that Doraiswamy suffers and then to adulthood where he/she is torn between the inner need to be a woman in the body of a healthy man.

Eventually Doraiswamy runs away from home and joins other Hijra communities in Chennai,Bombay and Bangalore in succession. Along the way he undergoes surgical operation to remove the non-functional male organs including internalised testicles. Thereafter she looks, walks, dresses like a woman and finds some happiness of becoming what he/she always wanted to be. She then changes the name to Revathy with the help of a Senior Guru Hijra. However in India the life of a Hijra is pure hell in every way.

In the narration, Revathy asks with deep emotion the questions : " what have i done to be born like this ?" ; "What sin did i commit in my previous life due to which God made me a Hijra ?"

Revathy describes many situation to show the stark discrimination Hijras face. The following are examples...

# When she/he applies for a Scooter driving license, the Road Traffic Officer (RTO) refuses to even accept the application saying he is authorised to accept form only from male or female applicants. The form does not have a third option on it !

# When she/he walks on the street she is booked by the police and taken to lock-up with accusations of begging or soliciting clients as sex worker or considered plain 'suspicious' characters.... and beaten up.

Revathy returns several times to Namakkal after suffering either humiliation at the hands of police, or fellow-Hijras for solace and involves herself in the business of her father: transporting milk cans to the co-operative in the town nearby in the family owned trucks and in other house-hold work. Even here she would rather do cooking, cleaning and other domestic work by helping her mother like any girl-child rather than clean trucks or load milk cans on to them.

Her brothers quarrel with her, abuses her physically for her 'funny behaviour' and accuses that perhaps devil has got in to her to make her behave like a woman while Doraiswamy was a boy ! The father quietly hears out the sons and mother about the 'abnormal' behaviour of Rvathy(his youngest and dearest and handsome son, Doraiswamy) and siletly sheds tears and keeps mum. On occasions he holds his/her hand and gives heart-broken looks with bewilderment. After the surgery, Revathy regularly wears Saree and Blouse though people do guess that she is a Hijra due to her manly walk, though she develpoed and breats and smoother skin eventually and the beard softened out and almost disappeared.

Later in life after long months of begging on the streets (as many Hijra's do in India), and other odd jobs as personal servant of other elderly Hijras in their community living quarters,as well as sex work, in Bombay, Delhi and Chennai she gets introduced to members of in an NGO called "Sangama" in Bangalore having regular office and PR initiatioves with the sole purpose of getting recognition for Hijras etc.

After the long suffering and ignominious life now Revathy actually works for "SANGAMA" in Bnaglore. After a long fight to get her ather's house registered in her name after promising in writing to look after the father and mother in their old age ( they had thought she would give away the house to the Hijra community). This, despite the fact that she contributed to expanding and maitaining the house with her meagre income and the fact the house as per normal situation should have gone to her any way as per custom since he/she was the youngest 'born male' of her father.

I recommend that this book be read by all Indians.


**** ****** **** ******* ******** ******** ******** *****
My personal comments.

India has millions of Hijras ( some people insultingly call them "No.6" or "Chhakkas") and they are never enumerated in Census; not admitted to schools; not allowed to write male or female in any aplication form; nobody employs them while their blessings are considered good by shop-keepers and general public based on a dubious mythological story which goes thus :-

......When Laxman was going in to the forest for meditation he asked the multitude following him to go home. He said: " all you men women and children please fo to your homes". After many years when Ram came out of the forest he found Hijras still waiting at the spot. When he asked why they waited so long they replied: " you said men & women to go home but since we are neither, we waited. So Ram blessed them with the power to bless any one whom Hijras wanted to bless and the the same would come true.Such is the 'double-standard' when it comes to these unfortunates.

Hijras are a curse to their family and a laughing stock for the rest of the world !
Interestingly the upper cast Indian society considers sighting a Hijra first thing in the morning as AUSPICIOUS ! But then sighting a dead body is also auspicious here; while if a Priest of any religion comes across one in the morning, that is pure bad luck and one might as well stay home as calamity would be on its way !


I undertand that in the latest Census of India which just conluded on 28th Feb 2011, there is a provision to include Hijras as THIRD GENDER. Karnataka State Govt has included a sum in it's new 2011 budget, for the welfare and training of Hijras in suitable skilled and semi-skilled jobs.

In my personal opinion Hijras are able-bodied human beings who can be empoyed for Security Watch, as Drivers, Plumbers, Electricians and even as Police Staff. The Moghuls used to employ them as guards of their Harems etc. Mind set of the India general public and particularly those in power has to become positive towards Hijras. After all it is not their fault that they were born Hijras. Now with most Indian girls wearing western attire of Trouser and top, Hijras can wear them too and not look like men in women's attire which is the main reason for open ridicule.

I understand that many so called respectable families as well as others hand over their new-born babies of 'doubtful sex' based on 'deformed' genitals, under cover of night or in connivance with the Midwife or Nurse or Doctor and close relatives, to Hijras along with some meagre pocket money so that the ignominy of a Hira offspring is obliterated in the bud. The hijras of course bring up the baby as their own. Our society therefore owes a big debt to Hijras. We must respect them and integrate them in to our Indian Society which boasts of great things that it did in the past.