Her name in Bengali means ‘woman’, but there is nothing routine about Manabi Bandopadhyay becoming principal of a girl’s college in Krishnanagar in West Bengal’s Nadia district.
When the little known professor of Bengali Literature takes charge as the head of the Krishnanagar Girl’s College on June 9, Manabi will create history as the country’s first ever transgender to hold such a prestigious position.
Nothing routine
In fact, nothing seemed routine in life for this 51-year-old academic, born as Somnath to a middle class parents in Naihati near Kolkata.
Conforming to the norms of the gender she was born into for several years, Manabi underwent a sex change operation between 2003 and 2006. She has since been idolised by the state’s sexual minorities for breaking out of the fetters of traditional thought. “She has been teaching in a college for more than 20 years,” Dipak Kumar Kar, head of the state education department panel that chooses principals, said.
“She has all necessary administrative experience and was chosen through the usual process,” Kar added, without laying too much of an emphasis on Manabi’s identity.
By contrast, the rest of the world and fellow academics hail Manabi’s appointment as significant since her transgender identity did not come in the way of her record and popularity as a teacher.
Hard time
Things, however, were not easy ever since she became a woman and rechristened herself. Authorities refused to accept her sex change and she had troubles getting pay hikes. There were also constant taunts and jeers from colleagues at workplace.
The turnaround in terms of acceptance happened from 2010 with improving awareness about the rights of sexual minorities. The acceptance was complete in 2014, when the Supreme Court recognised sexual minorities as the third gender and ordered the government to provide reservations in jobs and education.
While celebrations are on and congratulatory messages are pouring in from across the world, nothing seemed to perturb Manabi. She is relieved for the opportunity to take care of her elderly father who lives in a place just a short commute away from her college.