Aishwarya Ruthupalma Pradhan is India’s first transgender civil servant. She is currently working as the director of Goods and Services Tax at the Odisha Department of Financial Services (ODS).
Wiki/Biography
Aishwarya was born on Saturday, November 12, 1983 (36 years old in 2019) in the village of Kanabagiri in the Kandhamal district of Odisha. Her star sign is Scorpio. Aishwarya, whose name was Ratikant Pradhan at birth, started to feel in eighth grade that although she had all the male organs, she was definitely not a boy. Living in a conservative tribal society in the 90s, transgender people did not have any legal status in India and were despised, so it was difficult for her to declare her gender publicly. So she decided to wait and continue with her formal education. During this time, she studied hard and obtained a Masters in Public Administration and a one-year diploma in Mass Communication and Journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Dhenkanal.
appearance
Height (approximate): 5′ 8″
Hair color: Black
Eye color: Black
Family and caste
Aishwarya comes from a Hindu family.
Parents and siblings
She is the second child of Balila Pradhan (father), who is a retired military man. Apart from this, she has not revealed much information about her family.
Relationships and Children
Aishwarya is currently dating a man whom she plans to marry after the Supreme Court approves the legal relationship. She said in an interview,
All of us are eagerly waiting for the implementation of the special marriage law or the new law for the LGBT community. I have a boyfriend. We hope that we can get married soon. We will wait for the Supreme Court to rule in this favour. I dream of starting a happy family with my life partner. I have decided to adopt an orphan girl after marriage. ”
Profession
After graduating with a diploma in mass communication, she worked for a national daily for a while. She also worked as a clerk in Syndicate Bank. In 2010, without any formal training, she fought her way through the Odisha Public Service Commission (OPSC) examination and was selected as an Odisha State Financial Services Officer. She now works as a Commercial Tax Officer in Paradip, Odisha.
Facts/Trivia
- Besides being a government servant, she is also one of the founding members of a voluntary organisation working to empower the transgender community in India.
- On April 15, 2014, after the Supreme Court of India granted a “third gender” status to transgender people, she legally changed her gender from male to transgender and changed her name from Ratikant Pradhant to Aishwarya Rutuparma Pradhan. She said,
The Supreme Court’s ruling on April 15, 2014 recognizing transgender people as a third gender category and guaranteeing their constitutional rights was a huge boost for me. I made up my mind to choose the third gender identity over male and wrote to the state government. Just last year in 2017, I was officially identified as a transgender in all official records.”
- She also has her name ‘Aishwarya’ tattooed on her forearm.
- She is with her childhood friend Bhumika, who is also a transgender person. Bhumika has always been by her side and has always been a pillar of support for her no matter what difficulties she faces. Aishwarya said,
“She is my childhood friend. We both went to the same school in the village and still trust each other. I went through a humiliating journey in finding my identity and Bhumika was always there for me.
- Due to constant abuse from classmates and social harassment during college, she once decided to give up her studies, but Bhumika saved her and gave her the courage to continue her studies.
- Recalling her college days, Aishwarya said,
During my college years, kids were curious to know “what I was like inside”. I was often harassed by my classmates. At that time, there were no separate dormitories for students of the third gender and I was placed in the boys’ dorm by default. I was physically abused and attacked many times and I couldn’t even file a complaint due to the lack of a framework at that time.”
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education