Pages

Saturday, May 30, 2015

India's First Trangender College Principal

 
Manabi Bandopadhyay – a transgender from West Bengal – will make history when she takes charge of Krishnagar Women's College in Nadia district on June 9,2015
"For me, it’s a long battle against ignorance. There was a time when I and even my father were threatened with (dire) consequences as I am a transgender. I spent my childhood in Nadia and it’s a comeback to my home with pride and dignity after a long battle," Bandopadhyay told Hindustan Times.
This is not the first time Bandopadhyay, currently an associate professor in Bengali at the Vivekananda Satobarshiki Mahavidyalaya, has created history for the transgender community.

In 1995, she published the country’s first transgender magazine, Ob-Manab (sub-human). The magazine, despite a very low circulation, continues to be published.
"I was the first transgender professor in West Bengal and the first transgender to complete a PhD. Despite getting my due honour, I have always faced threats and insults," said Bandopadhyay, who completed her PhD on transgenders in 2005.
She did her MA in Bengali and joined the Vivekananda Centenary College in Jhargram sub-division as a lecturer in the late 1990s. But she faced challenges from her colleagues in her very first assignment.

Manabi underwent a series of operations in 2003 and 2004 and became a full-fledged woman. In 2004, I became Manabi (which means beautiful woman in Bengali) from Somnath (her given name)

Note
India is estimated to have about two million transgender people.

2 comments:

  1. How can I apply for the admissions in the Santipur College for the B.Ed stream. Please tell me the complete eligiblity criteria for the same.

    ReplyDelete