ABSTRACT
In the twenty-first century, the applicability of the term “transgender” for the hijra community has been questioned by numerous Indian critics, including Akshay Khanna, Aniruddha Dutta, and Akhil Katyal. Given the Eurocentric origin of the expression “transgender,” the dominant image of a transgender individual is attuned to the Global North, and, consequently, members of the transgender community in the Global South appear as marginalized within this community. In contrast, Susan Stone and Kate Bornstein have insisted on the inclusive capacity of the term “transgender,” which allows it to speak of culturally diverse positions. The rise autobiographical narratives from the hijra community in India in the twenty-first century has brought to light the cultural, religious, and sexual practices, roles, and beliefs owing to which the overriding notion of “transgender” is inadequate for comprehending hijra identity. Consequently, the chapter insists on the decolonization of the notion of “transgender” in order to make it more appropriate for identities that require more academic and social attention. The chapter investigates the history of transgenderism in India in order to come up with terms, such as trairasika and tritiya prakriti that may serve as equivalents to the global idea of “transgender.” Through the autobiographies of writers such as A. Revathi (The Truth about Me: A Hijra Life Story and (with Nandini Murali) A Life in Trans Activism), and Laxminarayan Tripathi (Me Hijra, Me Laxmi and Red Lipstick: The Men in My Life), we see how today’s hijra community asserts its historical continuity in India, keeps alive the practices that makes it a unique community of individuals, and also modernizes itself in order to connect with the global community of trans individuals. Our study of these autobiographies aims at dispelling of stereotypes regarding hijras in India, recognizing their integral position within Indian society, and exploring those untapped areas of trans studies that the hijra narratives offer. The hijra individuals are still subjected to social discrimination in spite of the growing acceptability and legal representation. This critical endeavour would contribute to the progressive movement by bringing social recognition and validation to the trans individuals of India.
