Decolonizing Transgender in India demands dismantling Western-centric frameworks of identity, upending scalar hierarchies that relegate local gender variants as “merely local,” and fostering democratic, material transformations in activism, policy, and community scholarship.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Decolonizing Transgender in India emerges as a critical imperative to challenge the unexamined universalization of “transgender” by international funders, the state, and development sectors. Rooted in the collaborative reflections of Aniruddha Dutta and Raina Roy, this concept exposes how global transgender categories can both liberate and constrain South Asian gender-variant communities. It calls for a radical reimagining of identity politics—one that honors regional epistemologies of gender variance and severs the colonial legacies embedded in transnational activism.
Decolonizing Transgender in India: Historical Contours
The Colonial Legacy of Scale
“Decolonizing Transgender in India” uncovers how the scalar hierarchy between global and local emerged not organically but through definitional politics. When the UNDP’s 2009 regional consultations defined transgender as an umbrella term—including kothi, dhurani, and hijra—they imposed cross-cultural binaries that overshadowed centuries-old South Asian gender epistemologies (SAATHII 2009). This process echoes colonial administrative tactics that rigidified fluid social identities into bounded categories.
HIV-AIDS Funding and Identity Politics
The late 1990s and 2000s witnessed pivotal shifts in India’s National AIDS Control Program. Under NACP-II (1997–2007), kothi communities were interpellated as MSM, while transgender remained undefined. NACP-III (2007–2012) reclassified hijras as “transgender” and subsumed kothis under an overarching TG rubric (NACO 2007). Project Pehchan’s 2010 consultations cemented this terminology, erasing “kothi” from official discourse and compelling CBOs to identify solely as TG or MSM, thereby igniting the imperative to decolonize transgender in India.
Local Epistemologies vs. Transnational Categories
Kothi and Hijra Communities
Central to decolonizing transgender in India is reclaiming the autonomy of kothi and hijra identities. Kothis—feminine male-assigned persons—navigate fluid transitions between kodi (male attire) and bhelki (feminine attire), challenging linear transition models. Hijras, with institutionalized clans and ritualized professions, defy binary gender by inhabiting a “third gender” that is neither man nor woman [image:1].
Transregional Networks
Contrary to assumptions of local confinement, kothi and hijra networks span across Bengal, Delhi, Nepal, and beyond. Subcultural languages like meti, dhurani, and koena permeate regions, illustrating that these communities are neither singular nor exclusively local—underscoring the urgency to decolonize transgender in India by validating these transregional connections.
Critique of Universalizing Transgender Frameworks
The Umbrella Term Problem
The UNDP’s definition of transgender as an umbrella term reflects a scalar subsumption of diverse gender practices into a homogenized global identity. In eastern India, myriad identities—kothi, dhurani, boudi, gandu, and chakka—became footnotes under a universal TG rubric, reinforcing hierarchies that devalue regional epistemologies (SAATHII 2009).
Binary Transitional Models
Official narratives emphasize biologically essentialist transitions—male-to-female or female-to-male—marginalizing gender-variant subjects whose identities resist singular categorization. Kothis who oscillate between masculinized and feminized presentations, or hijras who reject social passing as women despite corporeal feminization, challenge the very notion of fixed gender identity.
Toward Decolonizing Transgender in India: Theoretical Foundations
Decolonization as Critical Praxis
To decolonize transgender in India is to cultivate spaces for questioning and rejecting hegemonic definitions. This praxis involves decentering Western identity paradigms and foregrounding local knowledge systems, enabling communities to engage transnational categories on their own terms.
Scalar Geography Critique
Scale is not natural but constructed. Decolonizing transgender in India requires dismantling the presumed superiority of transnational discourses and recognizing that local and regional gender variances are equally valid and often interlinked across vast geographies.
Intersectional Materialism
Effective decolonization must address class, caste, and linguistic barriers. Only a fraction of gender-variant cohorts have the English fluency or digital access to navigate global TG discourses. True equity demands material redistribution—funding, leadership roles, and scholarly platforms—to grassroots CBOs and Dalit activists.
Policy and Legal Imperatives
Beyond Certification Committees
Recent Supreme Court and Ministry of Social Justice directives in India endorse male, female, and third-gender categories but tether identity to expert committees or medical tests (SC 2014; MoSJE 2014). Decolonizing transgender in India advocates for non-ontological rubrics—access to services without rigid identity validation.
Embracing Unstable Identities
Policy frameworks must recognize temporal and situational fluidity of gender identity. Instead of enforcing singular, consistent self-identifications, legal instruments should allow multiple, overlapping designations—male, female, other—reflecting lived realities of kothis and hijras.
Community-Led Strategies for Decolonizing Transgender in India
Collaborative Ethnography and Reflexivity
Dutta and Roy’s partnership exemplifies decolonizing methodologies: collaborative, reflexive, and attentive to power asymmetries between academic and activist knowledge producers. Such co-authored inquiries can subvert unidirectional knowledge flows.
Dismantling Centralized Funding Structures
Decolonizing transgender in India necessitates flattening hierarchies in NGO and donor ecosystems. Metropolitan NGOs and Western funders must share decision-making authority with local CBOs, enabling regionally rooted strategies and leadership.
Linguistic and Cultural Translation
Efforts to decolonize transgender in India should invest in translation hubs that bridge subcultural languages (e.g., kothi, bhelki) with policy discourse—ensuring that funding instruments reflect local terminologies and logics rather than fitness into pre-packaged global categories. You may also read Supriyo vs Union of India 2023
FAQs
u003cstrongu003eQ1: What does “decolonizing transgender” mean?u003c/strongu003e
It refers to dismantling Western-centric identity frameworks and recognizing local, regional gender-variant epistemologies in India. It demands structural changes in activism, policy, and scholarship to empower grassroots communities.
u003cstrongu003eQ2: Why can’t we use “transgender” as a universal term?u003c/strongu003e
u003cbru003eUniversal TG models often ignore centuries-old South Asian gender categories like kothi and hijra, subsuming them under binary, Western definitions and erasing local practices and languages.
u003cstrongu003eQ3: How does HIV-AIDS funding relate to this discussion?u003c/strongu003e
u003cbru003eShifts in NACP guidelines and u003ca href=u0022https://www.undp.org/u0022 data-type=u0022linku0022 data-id=u0022https://www.undp.org/u0022u003eUNDPu003c/au003e consultations during the 2000s reclassified kothi and hijra communities under TG or MSM categories, triggering scalar hierarchies that marginalized local identities.
u003cstrongu003eQ4: What policy changes are needed?u003c/strongu003e
Legal frameworks should allow multiple, fluid gender identifications without mandatory surgeries or expert certifications and decentralize decision-making to include local CBO leadership.
u003cstrongu003eQ5: How can grassroots organizations participate?u003c/strongu003e
By forming federations of local CBOs, engaging in collaborative ethnography, developing translation networks, and advocating for shared governance with national and international funders.
Conclusion
Decolonizing Transgender in India is not merely an academic exercise but a transformative movement demanding epistemic justice, policy innovation, and grassroots empowerment. By challenging scalar hierarchies, embracing intersectional materialism, and fostering democratic exchanges between local and global actors, India can pioneer a gender justice framework that truly honours its rich tapestry of gender-variant traditions and liberates communities from colonial legacies.
