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2S is for Two-Spirit. I don't know exactly what it is, but I think I heard it's some sort of double-gender thing that some indigenous people of somewhere, I think, have or had.
Hijras aren't just effeminate, many of them are intersex or have ambiguous genitalia, and it's a tradition in many parts of the country to hand over such children to the local Hijra community shortly after birth, since in earlier times they'd have few prospects for a normal life via the usual marriage route. Less common in urban areas as opposed to rural parts, but it still happens.
There are also plenty who are eunuchs for one reason and another, others who you could call transgender or transvestites. It's rare for a plain old gay boy to end up in their ranks, the usual approach is to just marry them off as normal when they're old enough and see how that plays out.
I have a dim view of them for reasons unrelated to their gender identity, they largely make a living by terrorizing social events and particularly weddings, you have to bribe them to not make a scene and confer you with a "blessing", and they accost travelers on public transports and will not hesitate to insult you or grope you if you don't give them a few coins.
Hijras are a very small minority (albeit they annoy well out of proportion to their number), I would be surprised if there were more than a few hundred or thousand of them in a typical city, though you'll find concentrations in the larger ones
I had previously heard that it was occasionally the case that they would castrate children. I didn't want to malign them more than I already have, so I checked, and it's far worse than I thought:
https://www.indiatimes.com/news/lgbtq-the-truth-about-how-hijras-are-made-in-india-because-they-re-not-always-born-that-way-257525.htmlot-always-born-that-way-257525.html
That's certainly food for thought, you can't just naively transfer Western concepts of transvestitism or transgenderism to other contexts, and these guys victimize each other just as much as they do the general public, and much of the scorn and disdain they get is richly deserved. A 1000 rupees is just 10 USD or so..
India Today is a reputable news outlet, and the NGO making the claims otherwise stands for the rights of hijras and their general welfare. I claim no specific expertise beyond this, but I can't think of a reason either would pen a hit piece.
It's a good thing you consider the overall rate of birth with ambiguous genitalia, that provoked me to search down the rabbit hole.
The stigma is justified enough as is, it's hard to overstate how much of a nuisance they can be, especially if you're a middle class Indian relying on public transport, but I am relatively open minded about gender norms so it's not like I despise them for just presenting as an opposite gender. I certainly don't care about their other source of income, prostitution.
I would still take it with a pinch of salt, but in general Hijras don't deny the existence of castration ceremonies, they just claim it's voluntary. So maybe let a bit of your current stance on gender reassignment in children in the West bleed through I guess, I personally don't think it's all above board leaving aside the difficulty of verifying numbers and the activists who see any criticism of hijras as hostile.
To put vague numbers on it, I'm 80% that such practises are commonplace, but only 50% or less that it happens with such a high frequency.
It's all good, I feel like these claims are outlandish/inflammatory enough that I should pro-actively provide evidence in the first place!
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