Was Proud community! isn't it sad?
Members of the third gender have played a prominent role in Indian culture and were once treated with great respect. They find mention in the ancient Hindu scriptures and were written about in the greatest epics Ramayana and Mahabharata. In the great epic Mahabharat ‘Shikhandi’, was a transgender. In medieval India too, they played a prominent role in the royal courts of the Mughal emperors and some Hindu rulers. Many of them rose to powerful positions.
Covetous nature started by us, our ancestor had best Sagacity.
Their fall from grace started in the 18th Century during the British colonial rule when the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871 categorised the entire transgender community as "criminals" who were "addicted" to committing serious crimes. They were arrested for dressing in women's clothing or dancing or playing music in public places, and for indulging in gay sex. After Independence, the law was repealed in 1949, but mistrust of the transgender community has continued. Even today, they remain socially excluded, living on the fringes of society, in ghettoised communities, harassed by the police and abused by the public. Most make a living by singing and dancing at weddings or to celebrate child birth, many have moved to begging and prostitution. In 2003, the Hon`ble High Court of Madhya Pradesh upheld the order of an Election Tribunal which nullified the election of a Hijra, Kamala Jaan, to the post of Mayor of Katni, on the ground that it was a seat reserved for women and that KamlaJaan, being a ‘male’ was not entitled to contest the seat. It is submitted that all the citizens of India have a right to vote and to contest elections. But in the electoral rolls only two categories of the sex are mentioned – male and female. This is unfair to the third sex of India as they are deprived of their statutory right to vote and contest elections.
In a landmark judgement in April 2014, the Supreme Court of India observed that “The transgender community, generally known as “Hijras”, are a section of Indian citizens who are treated by the society as “unnatural and generally as objects of ridicule and even fear on account of superstition”. In its judgement, the Supreme Court passed the ruling that “In view of the constitutional guarantee, the transgender community is entitled to basic rights i.e. Right to Personal Liberty, dignity, Freedom of expression, Right to Education and Empowerment, Right against violence, Discrimination and exploitation and Right to work. Moreover, every person must have the right to decide his/her gender expression and identity, including transsexuals, transgenders, hijras and should have right to freely express their gender identity and be considered as a third sex.” Thus, today the transgender people in India are considered to be the Third Gender.