The Making of the ‘Ungovernable’ Hijras in Colonial North India during the Second-Half of Nineteenth Century

in Published Volumes

Author:

Apurba Ghosh
Research Scholar
Department of History
University of Kalyani
Kalyani,West Bengal,India

Email: apurbahist24@klyuniv.ac.in

Abstract::Abstract:During the colonial period, particularly in the second half of the 19th Century in north India –
especially in the North Western Provinces (NWP) – a kind of panic and discomfort emerged within the
British administrative system regarding the hijra community. Various narratives were constructed at the
administrative level about the hijra group. A stereotype developed portraying them as ‘ungovernable’.
Multiple narratives also evolved around why they were considered ‘ungovernable’. This article primarily
attempts to uncover and analyze those narratives through an examination of archival records.
Key Words::British Colonizers,Colonial, Government, Hijra, Sovereign, Ungovernable etc.