And how! For one, state-sponsored sex-change is  without precedent anywhere in the world, except for Cuba and Brazil. It’s also the only instance in which the state targets not merely the consequence of discrimination (lack of access to education, jobs etc.), but the cause of discrimination itself. It’s a bit like the government paying for the lame to get limb-correction surgery. With one difference. Being transgender is not just a disability; it’s also an identity. The sex-change scheme might not fit into traditional ideas of affirmative action, but as transgender activist Priya Babu gushed, “it’s wildly popular amongst us.” This is perhaps because the scheme understands that unlike caste and class identities, ‘aspiration’ to change one’s physical gender is at the heart of being a eunuch. To be sure, the scheme only pays for genital surgery — not hair transplants, voice change, and hormone-pills (which at a couple of lakhs each, are too expensive for most eunuchs to afford). But by honestly trying to fulfil the desire to “want to become”, the scheme is wildly successful amongst transgenders.  

Special schemes of this kind are not always popular with transgenders. As this newspaper reported (IE, March 9th 2009), the Chennai Municipality’s decision to build transgender-specific toilets faces opposition from many eunuchs. It’s that rare instance of a government benefit which some of the direct beneficiaries don’t want. The reason: separate toilets ignore another crucial aspect of the transgender identity — its transient, fluid nature. Many eunuchs consider themselves as women, and don’t want a separate identity. This creates a paradox: targeted government measures, by the very act of identifying transgenders, go against their fluid identity.   

... contd.