Manabi Bandyopadhyay

Manabi Bandyopadhyay (born 1964/1965)[1] is the first openly transgender Indian college principal.[2]

Career

Bandyopadhyay served as an associate professor of Bengali and philosophy at Vivekananda Satobarshiki Mahavidyalaya.[1][3]

She became the Principal of Krishnagar Women's College on 7 June 2015[3] after a decade of struggling against patriarchy and convoluted notions regarding the third gender. Unlike men who would have applied for the same post, and women, who would have been appointed earlier, she had to garner support by projecting her career spanning over 16 years as a teacher, made possible by the intervention of the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee.[4]

Writing

She has written several books in the Bengali literature, and a biography, A Gift of Goddess Lakshmi, which was co-authored by Jhimli Mukherjee Pandey.[5]

She runs India's first transgender magazine, Abomanob which is now an annual magazine which runs for more than 26 years.

Personal life

Bandyopadhyay is a devotee of Sarada Devi and she was introduced to spiritual life by Swami Atmasthananda. She has an adopted son named Debashish.[3] She underwent gender-affirming surgery in 2003.[1][2]

In 2013 she was a contestant on Bigg Boss Bangla.[4] In 2019 Bandyopadhyay played a role in her debut film Purba Paschim Dakshin directed by Rajorshi Dey.[6]

References
  1. "India's first transgender college principal overcomes taunts and abuse". Reuters. 7 June 2015. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  2. "From Somnath to Manabi". The Indian Express. 27 May 2015. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  3. "India's first transgender college principal starts work". Web India 123. 9 June 2015. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  4. Dasgupta, Priyanka (27 May 2015). "India gets its first transgender college principal". The Times of India. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  5. "India's transgender icon Manabi Bandyopadhyay to pen tell-all memoir". Hindustan Times. 12 December 2015. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  6. "Rajorshi Dey's 'Purba Paschim Dakkhin' to hit the floors from tomorrow". The Times of India. 3 December 2018. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
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