Under the blinding light of colonial ideology: The (re) formation of the tritiya prakriti in Late Modern India

During the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, British linguists translated significant Sanskrit and Pali texts, laying the foundation for much of the legal system in colonial India. Notably, several nonbinary groups, which were collectively referred to as ‘eunuchs’, evolved to represent the tritiya prakriti, or India's third gender. Current scholarship addresses the tritiya prakriti through a cultural lens, distinguishing it from the institution of eunuchism. It analyses this group's historical context, professional roles, sexuality, and unique gender traits, while drawing a comparative analysis with harem-bound eunuchs. The study argues that eunuchs were historically created for specific occupational roles and are unlikely predecessors of the contemporary tritiya prakriti. However, the colonial disbandment of harems and the subsequent censuses of eunuchs changed gender classifications. While categorising the third gender groups into specific castes, these censuses inadvertently established the status of a distinct social group that predates the contemporary tritiya prakriti community. By situating the tritiya prakriti at the cusp of the eunuch framework, current research lays the groundwork for further exploration into the history of third-gender communities in India, which may contribute to addressing contemporary challenges related to inclusion and gender equality.