The English version of ‘The Truth about me’ by A Revathi, an autobiography by a Indian Hijra (transgender community), is a rich addition to the literature on the same and a first of its kind by an Indian transgender. The book takes us into the often traumatic and terror filled life of Revathi who was born a male (Doraisamy) in a upper caste Gounder family in a small village near Namakal town (Salem dist. Tamil Nadu) in 1970.
As Revathi begins to grow, he starts to develop feminine ways such as playing games played only by girls, trying on his sister skirt or feeling shy to go to boys toilet in school & so on. And this does not go unnoticed, Revathi had to endure scolding & beating by his school master, parents & brothers for no fault of his own & also had to face taunts by his fellow class mates as ‘number 9’ or ‘girl boy’, even having his pants forcibly removed to check whether he was boy or girl.
By 15 years of age, unable to bear the burden of a female trapped in a male body, Revathi runs away with a group of fellow travelers like herself (trapped in male bodies) to be eventually inducted into the Hijra community as a chela (disciple) to a gurubai (head). Revathi also describes in some detail the complex relationship within the Hijra community with the different houses of Hijras, its hierarchies, its rituals & the performing of nirvanam (sex change operation).
Virtually treated as outcasts, the life of an Hijra in India is not easy as their only source of livelihood is either demanding money from shops, in trains, in traffic signals or doing sex work. After initially begging on the streets of Delhi for sometime, Revathi soon realizes her growing need for a sexual relationship with a man, which lands her into doing sex work near train stations of Mumbai.
The book describes in moving detail the daily travails faced by Hijras of braving police & rowdies by constantly bribing them or face violence in their hands & even threat to their very lives. She also describes the intense competition within Hijras themselves for clients & the exploitation suffered in the hands of gurubais often leading to fights among one another. Despite the various problems within the different groups of hijras, it should be noted that there is no caste or religious differences observed among Hijras, with most of them on par with one another.
Disowned by society at large including their family & relatives, having virtually no rights whatsoever & even criminalized by law, the book tells us that the desires of hijras are no different from the rest of us, of wanting to lead normal lives, running families & households & going to work as rest of us do. Written in a simple, jargon free style describing every aspects of her private life (including sexual), this book is not only about the life of Revathi, but about the most marginalized & most stigmatized communities in India. Nor is it just a narrative but also a critique of the dominant stereotypic culture & attitudes of the ruling elite.
The turning point in Revathi’s life occurs when she shifts to Bangalore to join a hamam (bath house), where after an initial period of facing the same problems as elsewhere, she is introduced to the sexual minorities NGO – Sangama & eventually leading her to join the NGO as an office assistant. Here, she is introduced into the world of rights, denials of basic rights (including option of sex change operation in public health care) & discrimination faced by sexual minorities & they too can stand up for their rights (all within the limitations of an NGO framework).
One might conclude that Revathi was lucky in a way of having landed into an NGO job & later success story through her acting & writing career, but if one were to picturize this with the entire hijras population at large or even sexual minorities, their life continues to be same as before. Nor does the troubles haunting Revathi since her childhood end by her joining the NGO, which continues to manifest itself but in qualitatively different forms, leading her even to contemplate thoughts of suicide. But despite all odds staked against her, she realizes the need to continue her struggles & decides to write an autobiography of her life.
While HIV/ AIDS may have brought the issue of sexuality into the wider public domain in India & there are some attitudinal shifts towards sexual minorities even at policy level with the Delhi High court order revoking article 377 last year or provision of third gender column for Hijras in Tamil Nadu or the recent govt. order in Karnataka granting transgenders Other backward Classes (OBC) status, all of which has come after years of struggle.
But it should be remembered that none of these changes will be of any use as long the issue of bread & butter remains unresolved, with the vast majority of the people in India continue to be oppressed under capitalism & landlordism. This is especially so if the demands of sexual minorities remain within the framework of capitalist society, which itself goes against the very norms & attitudes established under capitalism.