Transgender community to appoint its own Shankaracharya to tackle `Kinnar Jihad': leader

The transgender community is facing ''Kinnar Jihad'' and would appoint its own 'Shankaracharya', 'Mahamandaleshwars' and 'Mahants' on coming Mahashivratri to tackle this threat, a leader of the community said on Thursday. The anointment ceremony will take place on February 15 in Lalghati area of Bhopal, said Rishi Ajay Das, the 50-year-old founder of India's first Kinnar Akhada. The identity of the chosen 'Shankaracharya' will be disclosed during the event, he told PTI over phone. ''Around 250 transgenders in Bhopal will reconvert to Hinduism on that day,'' he added. Das, a post-graduate in science who formed the Kinnar Akhada during the 2016 Simhastha Kumbh Mela in Ujjain, alleged that the community is facing ''Islamisation'' and exploitation. Dwelling places of transgenders have become secure zones for ''Jihadis'' as the general public and police avoid these places, he said. Transgender leader Kajal Thakur, who is part of the initiative, had recently alleged that Hindu transgenders were being forced to convert to Islam, and certain individuals within the community had links to terror funding in Pakistan and Bangladesh. According to community insiders, the group has decided to establish a 'peeth' (seat) at Pushkar in Rajasthan, which will serve as the permanent seat of their 'Shankaracharya'. Pushkar was selected as it houses the only temple dedicated to Lord Brahma. A group of protesters supported by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad had on Tuesday submitted a memorandum to Bhopal collector alleging that a local transgender leader was involved in ''Kinnar jihad'' and forcible conversions.