Historic city Transgender identity has always been a part of India’s cultural discourse

In ancient times, transgender community members were often integrated into religious and community life, while in the medieval period their roles became more complex and sometimes politically significant. Transgender individuals were included in religious ceremonies, temple service, and broader cultural practices. As always, understanding the historical recognition of gender diversity – especially when it comes to the third gender – is essential to situating the contemporary debate on transgender identity in India.

Transgender recognition in ancient India

Virendra Mishra, in his work Transgenders in India, highlights that early texts such as Kama Sutra and Manusmriti mention Tritiya Prakriti, or “third gender”, with Pamas-Prakriti (male) and Stree-Prakriti (female), while acknowledging gender diversity. According to Manusmriti, the sex of the child is believed to depend on the relative amounts of male and female ‘seeds’ at the time of conception. It was believed that a larger proportion of male seed would produce a male child, while a larger proportion of female seed would produce a female child. If both were present in equal amounts, the result was considered to be either a child of the third gender or the birth of male and female twins.

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In Brahmanical and Buddhist thought, gender was understood through the presence or absence of specific primary and secondary sexual characteristics, as well as the ability to reproduce. As noted by Leonard Zwilling and Michael J. Sweet believes, individuals who lacked reproductive capacity – often referred to as eunuchs – were classified as nepaumasaka, a category understood as a third gender.

Jains view gender differently from Brahmanical and Buddhist traditions. According to M Michaelraj, it differentiates between Dravyalinga (biological gender) and Bhavalinga (psychological gender). While Dravyalinga refers to physical sexual characteristics, Bhavalinga describes the internal or psychological nature of a person. Zwilling and Sweet further state, “As early as the fifth century AD the Jains themselves used terms such as trituya (“third”) and trairasika (“third heap”, after an archaic Jain heresy) to refer to persons of the third gender. The class of transvestite singers, dancers, and prostitutes known as hijras are both men of earlier times and contemporary representatives of the third gender.

Hindu mythology reflected ideas of gender fluidity through figures such as Ardhanarishvara (a fusion of Shiva and Parvati), Shikhandi (a trans man and the killer of Bhishma from the Mahabharata), and Mohini (an incarnation of Krishna), presenting non-binary or fluid gender identities as part of the divine order and contributing to their social recognition. According to a popular legend, when Rama left for exile, he requested the men and women accompanying him to return home. Returning 14 years later, he found a group still waiting at the border. He explained that since his instruction was addressed only to men and women, and did not belong to any category, he chose to remain there. Impressed by their devotion, Rama is said to have given the power to bless transgender persons on auspicious occasions such as births and marriages, a tradition that continues today, known as Badhaai.

Eunuchs in the Middle Ages

If we focus on a particular sub-classification, the term Hijra is believed to have come into common use in the Indian subcontinent via Urdu during the Mughal period in the 16th century, although scholars such as Jessica Hinchey question the lack of evidence capable of comparing the term with the Oriya Machiya or the Telugu Kojja.

Nevertheless, historical records show that transgender individuals held important positions under the Delhi Sultanate and then the Mughal Empire, often serving as trusted members of the royal household. A prominent example of this is that of Taj al-Din Izz al-Dawla, better known as Malik Kafur, a prominent general under Alauddin Khilji who led campaigns against the southern kingdoms and the Mongols in the 14th century. The trust that Khilji expressed in Kafur was deeply criticized by historian Ziauddin Barani. However, according to Abraham Eraly, Barani’s “attributions are not at all reliable, for he was deeply prejudiced against Malik Kafur, whom he always described as an ‘evil fellow’, probably because he was not a Turk but an Islamized Hindu and a eunuch”.

For example, under the Mughals, ‘Ain-i-Akbari’ written by Abul Fazal provides a detailed description of the roles played by eunuchs in the Mughal administration, where they served as guards of the royal harem, artists, and sometimes even diplomatic envoys. Many served as guards of the royal courts and guardians of the harem, while some became close associates of the queens and influential figures within the court. Known as Khwaja Sira, they were considered loyal and trustworthy, allowing some to accumulate considerable authority, wealth, and prestige. In some cases, they rose to prominent roles as administrators, political advisors, teachers of the royal family, and even military commanders.

This does not mean that no abuse occurred. As Gavin Hambly has discovered in his study of the Ain-i-Akbari and 16th- and 17th-century European sources, the province of Bengal was a major source of eunuchs for the Mughal Empire, particularly Ghoraghat and Sylhet. He claims that while the demand for eunuchs had existed for centuries, it was a practice that gained particular prevalence under Firoz Shah Tughlaq, “whose policy was to send slaves to Delhi in return for revenue”. The Mughal emperor Jahangir detested this “eunuch tribute” and made efforts to ban it, but to no avail.

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Another term is that of khwajasaras, or “masculine-presenting slave eunuchs who worked in households and state bureaucracy”, as Hinchey puts it. Many Hijra communities consider Khwajasaras to be an important part of their historical lineage, especially in Pakistan, where Khwajasaras is often the preferred term of identity over Hijra.

Hinchey also highlights historian Lawrence W. Preston’s study of Raja Sahi of Satara (I708–49) and claims that under Maratha rule, a watandar hijra was recognized in each sub-district and given hereditary rights (watan) to collect donations, which passed to his descendants. Eunuchs were also provided with small cash allowances (varasasan) and rent-free land grants (inam), which were usually inherited through the guru-chela lineage. Preston believes that although eunuchs were considered socially isolated, the state created mechanisms to ensure their economic support, a reflection of trends seen in early modern South Asia at the time.

Criminalization under colonial rule

With the consolidation of colonial rule under the British East India Company and later the British Raj, the status of transgender communities in India changed significantly. As Hinchey says, “In 1865, the British rulers of North India resolved to gradually ‘extinct’ transgender eunuchs.” Earlier systems of protection and recognition were gradually destroyed, increasing the marginalization of Hijra communities. Colonial administrators also implemented ethical frameworks influenced by the Victorian era; Viewing gender and sexual diversity with suspicion. Laws such as Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (1860) criminalized homosexual relations, while the Criminal Tribes Act (1871) specifically targeted ‘eunuchs’, requiring their registration, placing them under surveillance and restricting their public activities.

Colonial discourses often portrayed them as immoral or deviant, thereby promoting social stigma. Administrative practices such as census classification, which recognized only male and female categories, further erased gender diversity from official records. These policies significantly reshaped the social and economic conditions of transgender communities, and their impact continued to influence patterns of marginalization even after India’s independence.

Author Valay Singh’s Historicity is a news column about a city based on its documented history, mythology and archaeological excavations. The views expressed are personal.