Article K
I can’t say that I have a huge audience of readers in my bag. However, I’m surrounded with a bunch of kind hearted intellectuals, who tolerate my lectures by reading, and which is why I consider myself a bit blessed. They like to read whatever I throw at them, (as I don’t write on any one subject) and on the other hand I do satisfy their greed for newer subjects. In this beautiful relationship of reader-writer, there are few potholes! (Alike most of highways in India!). There are few subjects which according to my readers are much provocative and bold to read. You see, reading nowadays, particularly in my case has become two way street. I write and my readers read, that is one way; but there is second way where I always expect a reflection in return from my readers. That’s how the bonding between me and my readers grows stronger. However, as I said, there are few topics which are weak in bringing reflections, one of those topics is “Kinnar” (Transgender community). That topic is so nerve wrecking that nobody wishes to know about it, nor wishes to talk about it. Talking about Kinnar samaj is ginormous taboo.
So recently I wrote about Kinnar samaj, and as I was confident about, I received the least responses from that article. There was not only one reason behind it, much like any conspiracy. Let me share few response from the tip of my fingers.
1. “It’s a Taboo, and a negative subject, don’t want to talk about it”
2. “I don’t know anything about them, so what to reflect?”
3. “The article is in Gujarati, which I can’t read (although generations of my ancestors are born and raised in Gujarat only)
4. “Why do you talk about them? Why do u sympathise with them? You are not one of them, don’t write on such topics, I won’t read”
5. “They’re thieves, and demanding, unfit to society and full of negativity, I don’t think about them, nor want to read about them.”
“Strange!” that’s the word you’re looking for right? Yes it is 2020, it’s been two thousand and twenty years since Jesus was born and approximately 2076 years according to Hindu mythology of the creation of this world; and yet here we are, calling ourselves advanced civilization while wearing a tiara of hypocrisy!
Anyways, so I Translated my article into English, so that one of the reasons from above list can be eradicated, and may my voice can reach to few more kind hearts.
So it was the day of Rathyatra (one of my favourite festival of the year!) and as my annual tradition, I sat in front of the TV and set the Doordarshan on, to watch Rathyatra broadcasting from different parts of India. Every year I used to watch huge number of masses dancing in ecstasy in front of the chariot of Bhagwan Jagannath. Among them was unavoidable Transgender community. The core of their existence is that they cannot be left unnoticed, wherever they’re they are always the centre of attraction. This year it struck me a bit differently. Have a look at it …
Kinnar
“Look at his Mugat, look at his shringar! How adorable! He’s wearing a Nathni (nose ring)! ‘Coz bhagwan is beyond gender bifurcation and fuss regarding to it!”
The commentator spoke on TV. This was a lightning in my brain. If God is beyond this fuss of gender, why are we still stuck in it? God says we are part of him, and Aatma is supposed make efforts to become parmatma, than why are we obsessed about fuss of gender? And specially why do we dislike the people who do not fit into this binary gender system?
I would say usage of word “dislike” would be a rather juvenile act. The reality is much harsh than we can think of. We just not dislike, we hate! We discriminate and abuse the people with third gender. We are so intoxicated with the fundamentals of binary gender system that it seems like we resist the existence of another gender, as if it is going to steel the thunder, as if it may disrupt the harmony of this binary opera! It’s like the sun and the moon, that’s it, we don’t care about the rest of the universe! The two has become the eternal for us, everything to break the two is evil, neither one nor third!
I witness we have come much further into the trend of globalization. We love to dress ourselves in international brands, Armani, ZARA, GUCCI, GAP, H&M, Forever 21, etc. Our tummies can no longer digest simple Roti Sabji every day. It demands (like a typical girlfriend!), newer and newer cuisines, Pasta, Enchiladas, Burrito, Steaks, and what not! The general disposable income has been raised. From the mobile phone covers to buying a house or even choosing a career, we are flooded with options, options, and options! The only sector where we are not given any option is gender! Born male, die male! Born female, die female! According to biology, our bodies are transformed every ten years. We get options to modify our bodies with cosmetic surgeries, and tattoos, however, gender is something which we are forced to stick with. Modern day science has established a strong theory of gender being mental than physical, however in our universe of The Great Indian Culture, gender is like another body part, which u cannot change or remove, and if you’re born without that body part, you are considered deformed, unfit and thus designated to outcast.
If you ask a five year old in India, what is Kinnar? They may not recognise the word in the beginning, so you will have to translate it them and ask again, “Beta, what is hijra?” 8 out of ten may not even know what that term mean, but 5 out of those will revert you with, “wo to gaali hai!” (That’s a slang!). To the knowledge of general population Kinnar, Hijara, is a slang, and not a term used for special kind of humans. In a way, we can say third genders, transgender people are not even humans for them. For them, humans are either male or female, beyond that is just animal kingdom. Isn’t that an ironic approach, where God is considered beyond gender and humans are urged to be like god and assimilate with him, and on the contrary, gender is limited to two types only!(wow!)
What happens when you see a transgender on street? Observe the people around you,
1. The first response from the people around you would be to hide themselves; to avoid any communication or contact and be spared from the glance of transgender. Most of them would flee from there. (More like hiding from a dragon in a fairy tale! “Don’t come in its vision!”)
2. The second reaction would be to avoid any verbal communication with them. (Much like avoiding stray animal or beggars!)
3. Third would be to give them some money, and gain your freedom! (Much alike any wealthy person does to any tax officer!)
4. The fourth is bargaining. (According to people it’s an adventurous approach! Because they believe transgender have the power to curse.)
[The fifth and the sixth is very intense and sort of happens with the males who has a giant hat of a male ego on their empty heads.]
5. Fifth is usage of abusive language. (To such males, acting like that, is a display of manhood. It pumps their blood more than any other Viagra!)
6. And the sixth is to beat the transgender! Which serves them a victorious feeling like a Knight! (Exactly like they beat any stray animal, who they find as stubborn one!)
To our strange, this is to be considered a normal, a routine thing in a transgender life and also in a life of an urban Indian. It is considered very much okay. Like having a tea, to disrespect, insult and humiliate another human being is a routine. It is also perfectly normal to beat that human being if required. (Much like a biscuit or toast with that tea!) And such practice is not scarce, rather often. Such behaviour may be considered inhumane or anti-social in textbooks, however on the streets of The Great Indian Culture it is considered, being human. Talking/greeting transgender with respect as another human being, being friendly with them, is a big No! The general phenomenon does not end there, it requires you to hate the transgender, not looking at transgender with hatred is considered inhumane and mentally unstable; also an act to make you recipient of frowning faces from everyone around you. Such psyche is not the problem, the root of the problem is that there has been no effort to change such psyche. Biology textbooks do not consist of any other gender than male or female. In general social science textbook there is no mentioning of Kinnar samaj or their history. This particular topic has been alienated equally like the topic of aliens. Generations and generations are taught to believe in myths, stories related to this community, never a fact or a truth. This community is left aside at the corner of the society like that left over dust, which is so thin that one cannot pick up and throw out, nor it is tiny to be kept in the house. It is like that residue of garbage, which stays there for eternal, untouched and ignored! I know I’m being cocky, but have we ever imagined what would our world look like if this particular set of human beings would have been included in general society? I’m not a scholar on Hindu mythology, but as very common Hindu, I never came across any mythological stories which has any incident of negative behaviour towards transgender. Which makes me curious about how this phenomenon, of hating and humiliating another human being on the basis of gender, evolved?
I feel the core to this psyche would be kids. The general unawareness of kids towards this community. In my most articles, the solution I sought is the education. To me Education is the key to a better future, and a good life. Thus I believe, the core of this issue is the issue in our contemporary education and the solution is rectifying the mistake made in education. Kids learn from their elders. What happens when kids have never witnessed anything good or positive behaviour towards transgender? We would be inheriting this negative psyche to our kids! (The same way we gift them the hatred towards other nation, which nowadays is modern-day patriotism!) The young generation is not taught in right direction regarding this community neither they’re allowed to talk about it! All they’re left is with the choice of continuing the tradition of above 6 actions. I remember few mothers of my acquaintances teaching their children to be scared of transgender. Scaring them with their character. Telling the age old negative stories related to that community. I do not blame those mothers for infusing negativity in their children, because those mothers also were not taught to respect the transgender! Those mothers were also left with no choice but to continue the negative tradition. Somewhere in some Hindu Shashtra I read, “Agyan takes over, in absence of Gyan”. And that’s exactly what has been happening to generations. In absence of any knowledge of that community people weave, and believe and spread all the negative myths and stories, (Just like they do for ravana or any other asur) even though there are not much evidence or incidents of transgender community practicing anything which would harm the society. They are not rapists, nor thieves, nor they are murderers, yet a general criminals get better care than them. Criminals are taken care in society funded prisons, with food to eat and place to live, on the contrary transgender are left on their own to survive by either begging or being involved in immoral activities. They are deprived from the right to work for survival even. I don’t consider society as a square cube, or any other shape, to me society is like a cloud, however there seem to be no corner for this community in that shape. We dress our boys as Krishna, make him wear everything, the dhoti, the kamarband, the long hair, the earrings, the necklace, the head gear, everything but the nose ring! Because nose ring would make him look like not so male. Being a male kid, it would make him look like a transgender. We want our Krishna to be male, not transgender, isn’t it? (On the other hand we also believe that Parabrahma Parmatma is beyond gender!)
I remember a small kid of my relative, who used to be afraid of every new toy or game. He used to cry like anything when he is given a new toy or game, eventually his mother gradually made him acquainted with new toys and games, and eventually the kid learned to adapt the new change of toys. According to me, our approach towards transgender has been much like that only. We are afraid of everything which is new from our routine. Such as we are afraid of aliens in contemporary times, and once we sued to be afraid of social media, cell phones, internet, rockets! I remember we used be afraid of Doctors and modern-day science also! The case of transgender is much like that. We are afraid of them in a way because they’re different from us, same as we are afraid of any foreign traveller. We are born and raised in an environment which is surrounded by binary gender system, (after all, third gender people are outcaste and forced to live in exile). Thus transgender struck us as an off track or out of the notes. No wonder the encounter on streets with someone out of the routine is rather dealt with such inhumane behaviour. There is a saying in Shashtra, “Agyan hi bhay ka karan hai”, which means Ignorance, or lack of knowledge is the cause of fear! Our fear and eventual negative reaction to that fear, is rooted in the ignorance and lack of knowledge for this community. Our routine has been narrowed down in a strict, stiff, tight box of binary gender system, anything breaking that boundary is dealt like an intruder.
In India, male hermit is called “Sanyasi” and a female hermit is called “Sanyasini”, what about the hermit who is not male nor female? To some such do not exist, but you see there are people who are neither male nor female yet they follow this,
a. Leave their homes and family,
b. Live under the guidance of their guru and stricktly follow “guru-shishya parampara”,
c. Live without work and survive by begging,
d. Live peacefully while worshipping the god and be a devotee,
e. Do not be involved in any antisocial activity, or do nothing to harm the society.
These are recognition of a Sanyasi, and these are all the traditions to be followed by transgender community as well, then why are transgender not respected as a Sanyasi? In fact they are believed to have the power to bless and curse, much like any sanyasi; and yet to quite opposite, they live like a garbage bin of society for hatred and anger. Quite interesting curiosity! Looking at the contemporary times, respect from society is a farfetched fantasy. The toxicity of binary gender system seems quite strong. (Much like cancer!) Thus respect for transgender community seems too much to ask. However do you think asking a humane behaviour towards transgender, being accepted and treated as another normal human being is also a farfetched fantasy? I have witnessed a new trend in urban areas of India to have a pets. (Which are mostly bought with real money and rarely adopted! It’s a giant underground market for that!). Prior pets were a luxury, but not anymore. In fact, nowadays it is a general practice of treating the pet as a family member and much like a human. Their dresses, fashion trends, their grooming, their spa, their photoshoots are a routine household practice. Pets have their social media accounts also! We are in “Mohobbat” (insane love) to treat animals as humans, while we are also habitual and strictly trained to treat a set of humans, like animals, just because they do not fit in the narrow spectrum of binary gender system!
Quite a spectacular, speechless display of Irony!
Well,
Who did this? We did.
Who will rectify this? We will.
How will we do it? By teaching next generation, that Gender is not binary and every human being is designated to be treated as a human being regardless of their gender! Gender is not the definition of humanity, so it should not be the core of it.
When will we do this? If we can read an essay of 2888 words, we are mature enough to know when! ASAP!
Thank You.
P.S. I had to present this article with a changed title in order to disguise the topic and had to add some extra text in the beginning, because talking and reading about these topics is a taboo, it would have been easily skipped, you know!
