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Writing Otherness: Uses of History and Mythology in Constructing Literary Representations of India’S Hijras

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Writing Otherness: Uses of History and Mythology in Constructing Literary Representations of India’S Hijras Writing Otherness: Uses of History and Mythology in Constructing Literary Representations of India’s Hijras A thesis submitted to the University of Manchester for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Humanities 2018 Sarah E. Newport School of Arts, Languages and Cultures 2 Table of Contents Abstract…………….……………………………………………………………………………………………… 3 Declaration……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 4 Copyright Statement..………………………………………………………………………………………... 4 Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………………………………………... 5 Introduction: Mapping Identity: Constructing and (Re)Presenting Hijras Across Contexts………………………………………………………………………………………………………….... 7 Chapter One: Hijras in Hindu Mythology and its Retellings……………………………….. 41 1. Hijras in Hindu Mythology and its Interpretations…………….……………….….. 41 2. Hindu Mythology and Hijras in Literary Representations……………….……… 53 3. Conclusion.………………………………………………………………………………...………... 97 Chapter Two: Slavery, Sexuality and Subjectivity: Literary Representations of Social Liminality Through Hijras and Eunuchs………………………………………………..... 99 1. Love, Lust and Lack: Interrogating Masculinity Through Third-Gender Identities in Habibi………………………………………..………………. 113 2. The Break Down of Privilege: Sexual Violence as Reform in The Impressionist….……………...……………………………………………………….……...… 124 3. Meeting the Other: Negotiating Hijra and Cisgender Interactions in Delhi: A Novel……...……………………………………………………..……………………….. 133 4. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………………. 139 Chapter Three: Empires of the Mind: The Impact of Colonial Ideologies on Hijra Visibility ……………………………………………………………………………………….……... 144 1. Containing Otherness: British Imperial Ideologies of Sexuality and Civilisation……………………………………………………………...…………………… 148 2. Criminalisation as Containment: The British Administration and the Hijras……………………………………………..………………………...……………. 159 3. Threats from the Margins: Literary Reinterpretations of Hijras Through British Imperial Ideologies……………………………………......……...…... 173 4. Conclusion…………………………………….…………………………………………………… 194 Chapter Four: Third Sex in the City: The Overburdening and Ambivalence of the Hijra Category in Postcolonial India …..…………………………………..…..………… 197 1. Hijras’ Postcolonial Trajectory…………………………………………...………………... 198 2. Literary Hijras in the Present…………………...………………………..………………… 205 3. Looking Forwards: Is There a Future for the Hijras?............................................ 219 4. Making a Future Through New Communities and Identities: The Ministry of Utmost Happiness…………………………………………………...………….. 230 5. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………………. 241 Constructed Otherness: Recognising and Reacting to Hijra (Mis)Representations ………………………………………………………………………………………….…………………………. 244 Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………………………………. 254 Total word count: 87,633 3 Abstract This thesis explores the construction and use of the hijra figure in fictional literature. It argues that hijras are utilised as both symbols of deviance and central points around which wider anti-sociality circulates. In order to contextualise these characters and offer a deeper understanding of the constructed nature of their representations, this thesis works with four frames of reference. It draws respectively on Hindu mythology (chapter one), the Mughal empire and its use of eunuchs, which the authors of fiction use to extend their representations of hijras (chapter two), British colonialism in India and its ideological frameworks which held gender deviance to be a marker of under- civilisation (chapter three) and the postcolonial period, in which hijras continue to fight for their rights whilst attempting to survive in an increasingly marginal social position (chapter four). Examining the literary material through the lens of these four frameworks shows, historically, the movement of the hijras in the public imaginary away from being symbols of the sacred to symbols of sexuality and charts the concurrent shift in their level of social acceptance. In terms of their literary representations, it is seen that authors draw upon material informed by each of the four frameworks, but never in simple terms. Rather, they work imaginatively but often restrictively to produce an injurious or detrimental image of the hijras, and they apply multiple historical frameworks to the same narratives and individual characters, with the result of marking them as timeless figures of eternal otherness. The image of hijras as sacred beings in Hindu mythology is recast as them being terrifying figures who are liable to curse binary- gendered citizens if their extortionate demands are not met (chapter one). The political prominence of Mughal eunuchs and their position as guardians of sexual boundaries and purity become treasonous political manipulation through the enactment of secret plots, often involving sexual violence, to impact on political events (chapters two and three). The criminalisation of hijras as a means of pushing them out of public visibility becomes naturalised anti-sociality and a shadowy existence at the social margins (chapter three). Finally, in a public environment which has both seen a major increase in campaigns for hijra rights and acceptance, but which has met with fierce opposition, the hijras are overburdened with associations which render them as hyperbolic and ultimately unsustainable figures (chapter four). Ultimately, these constructions facilitate sensationalised storylines set in the criminal underworld. Whilst the thrilling nature of these stories has the potential to capture a readership, this comes at the expense of the hijra characters, who are rendered as inherent criminals, sexual aggressors and wilfully anti-social. Campaigns to protect hijras as a third-gender category, guarantee their legal rights and end their criminalisation for the first time since 1860 have been publicly prominent since 2001; these campaigns are now coming before parliament and formal decisions are expected imminently. Examining understandings of hijras outside of their communities is thus politically timely and necessary for disrupting the cycle of overburdening them as society’s gendered scapegoats, contributing to a project of more nuanced understandings necessary for their social integration. 4 DECLARATION No portion of the work referred to in the thesis has been submitted in support of an application for another degree or qualification of this or any other university or other institute of learning. COPYRIGHT STATEMENT i. The author of this thesis (including any appendices and/or schedules to this thesis) owns certain copyright or related rights in it (the “Copyright”) and she has given The University of Manchester certain rights to use such Copyright, including for administrative purposes. ii. Copies of this thesis, either in full or in extracts and whether in hard or electronic copy, may be made only in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as amended) and regulations issued under it or, where appropriate, in accordance with licensing agreements which the University has from time to time. This page must form part of any such copies made. iii. The ownership of certain Copyright, patents, designs, trademarks and other intellectual property (the “Intellectual Property”) and any reproductions of copyright works in the thesis, for example graphs and tables (“Reproductions”), which may be described in this thesis, may not be owned by the author and may be owned by third parties. Such Intellectual Property and Reproductions cannot and must not be made available for use without the prior written permission of the owner(s) of the relevant Intellectual Property and/or Reproductions. iv. Further information on the conditions under which disclosure, publication and commercialisation of this thesis, the Copyright and any Intellectual Property and/or Reproductions described in it may take place is available in the University IP Policy (see http://documents.manchester.ac.uk/DocuInfo.aspx?DocID=2442 0), in any relevant Thesis restriction declarations deposited in the University Library, The University Library’s regulations (see http://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/about/regulations/) and in The University’s policy on Presentation of Theses. 5 Acknowledgements My first and foremost thanks go to my supervisors. Despite the best of my intentions, my thesis could never have truly accounted for the range of texts, contexts and movements that it needed to in order to be the interdisciplinary project it needed to be without the guidance of Dr Tej Purewal (now at SOAS), Dr Anindita Ghosh (University of Manchester) and Dr Anke Bernau (University of Manchester). My utmost thanks go to Dr Anastasia Valassopoulos, who has been my mentor, guided my project, expanded my thinking and guarded my boundaries from the beginning of my MA through to the completion of my PhD. Writing a thesis can be a lonely process and it is easy to get sucked in to a vacuum of your own thinking. Had I not had the chance to engage with the many amazing young minds who attended my seminars, I would not be the same researcher I am now. I thank my students, for showing my why I do this, and those who gave me the opportunity to be in the classroom and the support to make a success of it. I extend my gratitude to Dr Steven Pierce, Prof Laura Doan, Dr David Alderson and Dr Howard Booth, convenors of the undergraduate modules on which I have taught at the University of Manchester. To my fellow PhD students and wonderful friends David Firth and Edmund Chapman, I thank
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