November 26, 2003	Wednesday	Shawwal 1, 1424

BHOPAL: Political parties in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh are faced with a tough electoral challenge from scores of eunuchs, marginalized for centuries, in the Dec 1 provincial polls.

A total 108 of them are trying their luck in the arena of state politics, where Shabnam Mausi in 1999 became the first eunuch to secure a seat in the legislature.

The grouping is campaigning under the curiously named “Already Won Party!”

Eunuchs in India are ostracized by relatives and society and earn their living by entertaining guests at weddings and other parties or through prostitution and begging.

Many eunuchs, or “hijras” as they are known as in India, are not actually castrated, but are transexuals, transvestites or hermaphrodites who enter the community after being rejected by their families.

They insist on using feminine identities and wearing women’s clothing.

Many Indians believe that unless they give eunuchs money after a birth or marriage, they will have bad luck.

After Shabnam Mausi (aunty), another eunuch, Asha Devi, became mayor of the town of Gorakhpur in northern Uttar Pradesh state, winning a landslide victory as an independent candidate.

Locals here say Shabnam Mausi has done a lot of good work for her constituency.

Pushed by the success of Mausi, the 108 eunuchs from all over Madhya Pradesh are now organized and are posing a challenge in key constituencies.

Surraiya, who like most eunuchs uses one name, is one such colourful contestant who kicked up a ruckus in the meandering bylanes of the state capital Bhopal from where she is campaigning for the “Already Won Party”.

“We called our party so because wherever we were going, people were saying, ‘Oh, why are you asking for votes, you will get it anyway’,” she said.

Her poll symbol is a book and she stresses the need for education.

A Muslim, Surraiya’s votebank are the squalid sections of Bhopal where open drains, potholed roads and clustered houses are common.

“You have tried men and women, now try me,” she tells voters, mainly giggly housewives peaking from behind half-closed doors.

“They (politicians) have only betrayed you. Now you try me and see what I can do for you. I have always lived with you. I have no children; I cannot have any children. Whatever I do, it will be for you.”

Dressed in bright yellow and artificial jewellery and makeup, Suraiiya is a draw and as her caravan enters the lanes, children rush to see the “half-woman-half-man” entity. Adult males usually watch from a distance while women often ask her to bless their children as eunuchs are considered auspicious here.

“You see, if I had my way, I would want only eunuchs to rule this state,” Surraiya said. “Politicians are all good for nothing.”

After Shabnam Mausi’s controversial election, India’s Election Commission has accorded eunuchs a choice to contest either as male or female but with riders that they must choose either gender for electoral identity.—AFP