Laxmi Narayan Tripathi

India’s Supreme Court recognised a third legal gender in 2014. Laxmi Narayan Tripathi was one of the people who petitioned for it. She later founded a religious order, to lead prayers at the Kumbh Mela.

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Laxmi Narayan Tripathi: Petitioner, Then Priest

From an early HIV/AIDS activist to a Supreme Court petitioner, to a Hindu religious leader.

13 Dec 1978

Born in Thane, Maharashtra

Later trains in Bharatanatyam, a classical Indian dance form.

2007

Founds Astitva

An organisation for the welfare of sexual and gender minorities.

2008

Addresses the UN

First transgender person to represent Asia Pacific at a UN assembly.

15 Apr 2014

The NALSA judgment

A petitioner, as the Supreme Court recognises a legal third gender.

2015

Establishes the Kinnar Akhara

Becomes its Acharya Mahamandaleshwar, or spiritual head.

From courtroom to Kumbh: The Kinnar Akhara, which Tripathi established a year after the NALSA judgment, made its debut at the 2016 Ujjain Simhastha Kumbh Mela — a first for the transgender community at one of Hinduism’s largest religious gatherings.

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📑 Contents

1Timeline
2Must Know
3Good to Know
4Test Yourself
5Great to Know

Timeline

13 December 1978: Born in Thane, Maharashtra.
1990s: Among the first activists to demand hijras be recognised as a separate category, in India’s national HIV/AIDS programme.
2007: Founds Astitva, an organisation for the welfare of sexual and gender minorities.
2008: Becomes the first transgender person to represent Asia Pacific at a United Nations assembly.
2011: Appears as a contestant on the reality television show “Bigg Boss.”
15 April 2014: A petitioner in the NALSA case, the Supreme Court judgment recognising a legal third gender.
2015: Establishes the Kinnar Akhara, a Hindu religious order, and becomes its Acharya Mahamandaleshwar.
2016: The Kinnar Akhara makes its debut at the Ujjain Simhastha Kumbh Mela.
2020: A transgender team she supported becomes the first to summit Friendship Peak, in the Himalayas.

Must Know

Laxmi Narayan Tripathi is a transgender rights activist. She also leads the Kinnar Akhara, a Hindu religious order, as its Acharya Mahamandaleshwar.
She was born on 13 December 1978, in Thane, Maharashtra.
She was a petitioner in the NALSA case, decided by the Supreme Court in 2014. It recognised transgender people as a legal “third gender.”
The judgment was delivered on 15 April 2014. It also upheld the right to self-identify one’s own gender.
In 2015, she established the Kinnar Akhara. She became its Acharya Mahamandaleshwar.
In 2008, she addressed a United Nations assembly. She was the first transgender person to represent Asia Pacific there.

Good to Know

She trained in Bharatanatyam, a classical Indian dance form. This came before her activism career.
India faced an HIV/AIDS crisis in the 1990s. She was among the first activists to demand a separate category for hijras, in the national AIDS programme.
In 2007, she founded Astitva. It works for the welfare of sexual and gender minorities.
She wrote an autobiography, called “Me Hijra, Me Laxmi.” It was first published in Marathi, in 2012. An English translation followed in 2015.
The Kinnar Akhara made its debut at the 2016 Ujjain Simhastha Kumbh Mela. This came one year after its founding.

Test Yourself

Great to Know

The NALSA judgment built on other Indian rights cases. One example is the 2017 Puttaswamy judgment, on the right to privacy. See Polity0105 — Right to Privacy and the Puttaswamy Judgment.
A related case is the 2023 Supriyo verdict. It addressed same-sex marriage rights, but stopped short of legalising it. See Polity0106 — Same-Sex Marriage and the Supriyo Verdict.
In 2011, she appeared on the reality television show “Bigg Boss.”
In 2020, a team she supported made history. It became the first all-transgender group to summit a Himalayan peak, Friendship Peak.
The Kinnar Akhara now takes part in the Kumbh Mela. It stands alongside traditional Hindu monastic orders, a first for the transgender community.
The NALSA judgment’s legal recognition later fed into concrete welfare policy. The 2022 SMILE Scheme funds shelter homes, scholarships, and skill training for transgender persons. See IndSoc0055 — SMILE Scheme: Building a Bhiksha Vritti Mukt Bharat.
See also IndSoc0058 — Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019.