Something About the Author

 Life is a journey from cradle till grave embraces someone. But what comes in a journey is not always by someone’s choice, and still we live our lives with our own set of goals. We are triumphant at very many times, and then sometimes there are trials and errors that make us learn to do something else that was not in our personal set roadmap. It is called learning from events, life lessons and the experiences that shape our personalities. Ask us to be strong, confident, learn new things, and then an individual is all settled to swim in the deep oceans. One thing that goes for me from my childhood is trying to learn new and innovative things. If you give me a book then I don’t need to have any social activity or media to shadow me with loud and dramatic sounds.

Well, I am not in any way anti-social in any way if you assume from my earlier description. I love to interact, communicate, read, and write blogs, articles, poetry, music, movies and social media. Off course, reading and writing wear and still are my passion from the childhood. I did my first Masters Degree in Business Administration. It was something of a dream by the youth of 90s. It was really interesting to go through such diverse subjects, and to come to know about new theories and concepts. My majors was in Marketing. It was all fun to study but the craving to read and more than that to get a degree in literature was in my veins, pushing me to move for another degree, and the one I always love to attain! So, there I went with an admission in Masters in English Language and Literature. It opened my eyes to a new world. Full of ideas, thoughts, thought provoking philosophies by different authors and poets.

I guess that was the point in my life when I felt that I must be a writer and to have my own book by my side one fine day. My hunger to read more of world’s literature didn’t stop me top English only. I read the cream of Urdu literature, Russian, Brazilian, French, Latin, German, American and Chinese literature. There I feel my outer and inner eyes got a wider opening, and I could sense the human nature and psychology to a greater depth. I moved with people and cultures and tried to understand human miseries, sorrows, joys and generic emotions. Literature helped me be a better, sensible, calm, silent observer, to understand the value of integrity and self-esteem which are my prime focus where I am living or working. So, these things are not compromised otherwise I am a very compassionate person.

Even I try to forgive and forget the typical professional politics and other such games. Being professional and keeping yourself to your own tasks, and within your comfort zone is mostly up to you. I studies and learnt it from proper professionals who were my mentors at different stages of personal and professional life. I got my third degree in Philosophy as anybody who thinks quietly or loudly is a philosopher in my opinion. The study of philosophy made me realize the fact “Grass in Not Green for Everyone”. So, all we need to do is to keep on moving with our own goals, and with our best pace.

To never lose motivation and optimism for the sake of some people or experiences. Who actually came in my way to teach something new and how to be a part of the bandwagon of obsessive cult of people who can bulldoze anyone for the sake of saving their jobs or to make points? I am a simple, normal and a sane person who loves to do what he is assigned to do, and then there is my comfort zone that is out of my job and daily chores. I am self-blogger and a love to read, write, watch movies and travel if get chance and fine time.

To never lose motivation and optimism for the sake of some people or experiences. Who actually came in my way to teach something new and how to be a part of the bandwagon of obsessive cult of people who can bulldoze anyone for the sake of saving their jobs or to make points? I am a simple, normal and a sane person who loves to do what he is assigned to do, and then there is my comfort zone that is out of my job and daily chores. I am self-blogger and a love to read, write, watch movies and travel if get chance and fine time.

British Colonial Rule Made Transgender a Subaltern Community in India

Transgender Rights Protests in India

The rule of law changed when the great Mughal Empire collapsed and the whole sub-continent was taken over by British authorities. The result was a disorientation and exploitation of so many classes of the society. The eunuchs did not enjoy the same positions as they had in the Mughal times. The colonial power had so much hatred against the transgender community as they introduced a separate act of law against these folks. It was called Criminal Tribal Act (CTC). It was necessary for all eunuchs to get a registration, and their movements were restricted and controlled. Some historians are of the opinion that colonial power was afraid of the valor and power that Transgender community had enjoyed in the earlier times, and they found it vulnerable to their own existence.

What was the Criminal Tribal Act, and how it affected the status of Transgender community?

       The Criminals' Tribal Act (CTC) was introduced to restrict the activities of the eunuchs in the society. It was pre-supposed that the transgender community was actively involved in kidnapping of kids, castration of male children for their own purposes of begging, and sodomy was an active state of their daily lives. The facts were quite different as they owned not just the royal pensions, places to live but agricultural lands to grow and earn. It was taken over by the British Empire.

       Under the act of CTC, men who were crossdressers and pretended to be like women were subject to legal punishment

“Under the CTC, wearing female clothing was a punishable offence for men. According to this law, “any eunuch ... who appears, dressed or ornamented like a woman, in a public street or place, or in any other place, with the intention of being seen from a public street or place, or who dances or plays music, or takes part in any public exhibition” could be sentenced to up to two years of imprisonment plus a fine. Moreover, the CTC criminalized “all persons of the male sex who admit themselves or on medical inspection clearly appear to be impotent”.

       The Colonial law rundown eunuchs to let go of their basic sources of generating income, and they were deprived of all public and civil rights. The Black Law didn’t favor anyone or anything but pushed the transgender community into deeper level of poverty and social isolation. The English people could only comprehend human beings having just two sexes, male or female. Even homosexuality was a punishable state as per British law and perception. The result was the separate living and the secret ways of earning like begging, theft or the prostitution. 

British Colonial Heads were Afraid of Power Enjoyed by Transgender Community

       Historians have reported that the British authorities desired to obliterate the Hijras as a clear and distinctive socio-cultural community, and having a separate gender identity. But the matter of fact was that they could not find success in their deliberate efforts, and the result was that many leaders had picked up the real psyche of the colonial power. They could not save the transgender community from desolation and deprivation but accepted them as a third gender in their circles. The colonial psyche prevails in India even nowadays, and many conservative leaders oppose the Hijra rights in India and even in Pakistan. The subaltern minds are still captivated by the new colonial power, and that is Hindu Extremist rule in India. The Hijras had no special or mentionable place in the Hindu Mythology. This is what Roy is her novel under discussion mourns of.

Theresa May – British Prime Minister Apologized about Colonial Black Laws

        Recently, we have heard and read British Prime Minister “Theresa May” taking a big setup to recognize and to put an apology in front of the former colonial states where the British ruled. She has admitted that British colonial rule had left many marks of marginalization and producing so many subaltern communities due to the black laws that were implemented in South East Asia, Middle Eastern and African countries under the British Empire. She has proved to be a civil enough to understand and speak about the strange and discrimination based laws like the CTC in Sub-continent.

        Well! Nothing can change the course of history but a recognition of a prime and measures to protect the world from further damages is a positive mindset. Not, it is time for the local rulers of India, to recognize that they could not follow suit the wrong legacy of the foreign powers that ruled over them, and keep such large number of Indian society out of bound for the sake of difference of languages, castes, faith, gender identities, and economic factors. The current Indian elections have not proved to be a sign of progress and change of subaltern mindset.

       As in the words of Arundhati Roy “Making another Hindu Colony is the aim of the ruling party and its alliances”. People like hers are ray of hope to continue to struggle for the rights of people like Anjum, Tilo, Sadam Hussain, Musa Yeswi, Revathy, Udaya aka Miss Jabeen, Msulims of India, People fo Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, and many more like them. Otherwise, things seem to be moving towards the older concept renewed by BJPs past five year rule, and their agenda to make India “Pavittar”, by converting it into Hindu India. Rashtriya Savek Sangh’s Ideology (the ancestor and sister organization of Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) in India). 

Muslims have Become Marginalized and under Hindu Extremist BJP Party Rule

Muslims have never gained that real freedom in India that Congress, Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru along with Muslim leaders of the same part claimed. The genocide, mass rape and kidnapping and stealing of assets of 1947 is part of documented history. The statement doesn’t end here as there was always a class difference while dealing with Muslims of higher ranks in India. The results of the subjugation is visible in Arundhithi Roy’s novel under discussion named “The Ministry of Utmost Happiness”. 

It is not a writing by a Muslim otherwise the fundamental Hindus must have labeled it as a biased opinion. She is Half Hind and half Syrian Christian, and she is depicting a clear picture of suburbs of red Fort and Jama Masjid of Dehli. It was an ancient walled city built be Mughal Emperor Shahjahan. So, the name is still chanting there as Shajahanabad and Roy has used it as the same.

 Here we meet Mulaqat Ali, his wife Saeeda begum, their transgender son Aftab/Anjum, the teacher, musician and the other characters. They are the predecessors of Mughal Royal family but they live a marginal life. They live in smelly, dirty and filthy old small alleys. They do not enjoy the luxuries of modern life and they are offered with little of what a capital of a multi-community country like India must have offered.

The recent CAB law by Modi government has proved that Hindus either want to do a complete genocide andethnic cleansing of Muslims or want to convert them into Hindus like Queen Isabelle and Emperor Ferdinand did in Muslim Spai (Andlusia). Whole India is on riots and even the positive minded Hindus and Sikhs have stood with Muslims, and the attacks of Jamia Delhi or Aligarh University are highly condemned by world community.  There is light and sound show on regular basis, and the state activities are performed in Red Fort as well but the surrounding area and people are marginalized, not by white colonial rulers as Gayatri Spivak keeps on pointing. But the colored ruling elites who either belong from the same city or at least from the same country.

Urdu – A Diminishing Language Only as it Represents Mughal and Muslim Presence in the Sub-Continent

Urdu is vulnerable to get diminished as people have stopped using it, considering it a language of Muslims of India. In Mughal era it was a public, educational and literary language of whole Sub-Continent that includes India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Now the language spoken by Anjum in the novel and the great heritage of Mir Taqi Mir, Mirza Ghalib and rest of Urdu poets will no longer be cherished by Indians, being a language of Muslims. Narrative of extremist Hindus whose representative is the present government in India. Roy has shown her own grief of the situation in her current novel.