“Deo Bhaiyya deo. Bhagwan bhala karega,” attempting a musical tone in a strong southern accent. My colleague slithered to the other side of the vehicle, his discomfort visible at the sight of the eunuch, an unwanted menace. I, however, felt slightly sorry for her, and also apprehensive at the same time as they were known for attempting unwanted gestures, and with some difficulty, managed to take out my wallet and hand her a note. She left us and went to the other stationary vehicles, to earn a few more bucks before the traffic light turned green. My friend regained his composure (finally!) before he started chiding me for encouraging the menace of the so-termed hijras. As our vehicle started it’s journey again, I started pondering.

The third-gender, hijras, eunuchs, chhakkas - or whatever numerous names they go by, are essentially a part of our society whom we encounter almost every day at railway coaches, bus stands, shopping escapades and not to mention, the great leveller called traffic signals. And yet, we try to deny their existence. Their sight makes us shudder in disgust, spew out hatred and even evokes fear in some cases. Some of us try to escape them by shelling out some spare change, others turn their faces away. Some complain that such able-bodied people should be self-dependent rather than blackmailing beggars on the streets. And that is where the million dollar question lies. They are physically and mentally capable and yet there is a stigma towards them. No government employment program or self-employment scheme thinks of ever considering them. That is what leaves them with no other choice but to beg, borrow or steal.

In a world of sexual black and white, the third gender is an unwanted exception for which they have to bear a heavy price. Those who manage to dump their dignity come out into the open as beggars. However, they fail to draw the sympathy of onlookers and hence, they are forced to resort to cheap tactics, performing sexual gestures and mouthing abuses to those who refuse to pay them even some spare change. The rest end up as tools for the nocturnal sense of gratification of perverts of the civil society which turns away from them and their problems in open daylight. Few also end up as drug addicts, drug peddlers, human traffickers and pimps. A life of crime is what lies in the destiny of the eunuchs, the helpless ‘other sex’ of our society. Period.

In a country like ours, which has an acute shortage of human resources in certain vital roles like firefighters (reports say that India has only 66000 firefighters for a billion population!), can we really afford to ignore a part of a highly potential workforce? IT workforce, medical personnel, scientists, police officer, politicians; given a choice and a chance, eunuchs can perhaps carry out any job with equal élan as their male and female counterparts. So, why don’t we try to shed our inhibitions and stigmas and try to include them amongst us? Our apprehension of the eunuchs extends so far that even the forms that we fill up, be in banks, examinations, or interviews attempt to shun them. Apart from the new passport form which has an option ‘E’ (for eunuch) in the Gender field, the rest of them provide only ‘M’ and ‘F’ as the gender options. ‘Hijra’ is a rather popular abuse all over the country, one that connotes cowardice and inability to take actions, and considered quite insulting. Another partly successful attempt of our cultural morals that tend to ignore or shun whatever they do not fully understand or that makes them uncomfortable. Partly successful, because it ends up being the proverbial boomerang-one that follows the principle of ‘whatever goes around, comes around’. And we encounter them in our everyday lives, thereby incorporating them as a part of our lives, however much we do not want to. The third gender.