Author:

Tanaya Rooj
Independant Research Scholar
Department of History
Presidency University
Kolkata,West Bengal,India

Email: tanayarooj@gmail.com

Abstract::Abstract:Eunuch or hijr s are transsexuals. They belong to the third gender in our society. People
are generally thinks that eunuchs are sexually inactive or passive. The general perception is that they
lack sexual desires and are incapable of having sexual intercourse. During Mughal Period, they
enjoyed a certain degree of respect and dignity. They served the administration under the Mughals,
and could rise to the rank of senior officials, ministers or companions, escorts, and guardians of
harem ladies. In the Mughal harem they were distinguished as ‘Khwajas’ or ‘Nazirs.’ As attendant to
rulers, they could get very close to them to serve as reliable informants, as testified by accounts left by
foreign travellers. We can call them as go-betweens of the public and the private sphere. Other than
the members of the royal clan, they were the only persons who enjoyed access to the harem. However,
our knowledge of their sexuality and their alleged sexual relations with the harem woman is at best
sketchy. There also seems to be a lack of clarity on where they should be situated in LGBTQ
community. I will try to probe whether sex played any role in the upward mobility of eunuchs in the
administrative hierarchy. Were their sexual relations with the harem women seen as a safety valve
and thus overlooked by the men of royal family? How their existence really mattered in public,
political, cultural, and private domains which will be the primary concern of my proposed study.

Key Words::Company, Emperor, Hierarchy, Mobility, Mughal Harem, Upward etc.