TRANSGENDER LITERATURE IN INDIA: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF I AM VIDYA AND A GIFT OF GODDESS LAKSHMI

India is a multicultural country which hosts different cultures and ideologies. In India, transgenders have a very ancient history. They used to enjoy a good position and adorned different official posts in pre-colonial India. Colonization in India bought a lot of change in the lives of transgenders. They were named and treated as criminals and different laws were brought against them. This resulted in the marginalization of transgenders in society. However, the recent developments in India are a ray of hope for transgenders. The 2014 verdict of the Supreme Court recognizing transgenders as third-gender and providing reservations to them seems promising. The present paper compares the first transgender autobiography of India by Living Smile Vidya “I am Vidya” and biography of India's First Transgender Principal Manobi Bandyopadhyay “A Gift of Goddess Lakshmi”.