Gopi Shankar Madurai


Gopi Shankar Madurai is an Indian activist and Indigenist. They are among the youngest people, and the first openly intersex and genderqueer person, to serve on a statutory body in India. In 2016, they were a candidate in the 2016 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election. They founded the Srishti Madurai. In January 2026, Shankar was appointed as the Special Monitor for SOGIESC rights in the National Human Rights Commission of India.
Shankar's advocacy led the Madras High Court to direct the Government of Tamil Nadu to prohibit forced sex-selective surgeries on intersex infants. In December 2017, Shankar was elected to the executive board of ILGA. In August 2020, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment appointed Shankar as the South Regional representative on the National Council for Transgender Persons. They advocated for an "others" option in the sex field on application forms for political parties and central universities, including Jawaharlal Nehru University. Shankar also contributed to civil rights advancements for transgender people, such as pilot licenses for trans men and property inheritance rights for trans women. The Juvenile Justice Committee and POCSO Committee have consulted Shankar on issues affecting infants and children with diverse sex characteristics.

Early life

Shankar was born as Sarvapunya in Sellur slum at Madurai, Tamil Nadu. At the age of fourteen, they started volunteering Ramakrishna Mission. Later they were accepted as a probationer for being a monk at Ramakrishna Math. In 2005, Shankar was given spiritual initiation under the spiritual lineage of Swami Vivekananda by Swami Gitanandaji who is also a disciple of Swami Virajananda. During Shankar's tenure in Ramakrishna Math, Shankar served as the assistant to the editor of Sri Ramakrishna Vijayam Magazine. They were also mentored by Pravrajika Bhaktiprana and Pravrajika Ramaprana the sanyasinis of Sri Sarada Math.
In April 2010 Shankar left Ramakrishna Math to pursue Religion, Philosophy, and Sociology studies at The American College in Madurai. They practiced yoga for over 15 years and taught it as an instructor for five years, offering free classes to more than 5,000 children. Shankar also taught Indian philosophy to Westerners, including renowned Irish musician Tony MacMahon. They freelanced for New Horizon Media Pvt Ltd. In 2017, Shankar received a "Leading Change" leadership degree from the University of Cambridge, awarded exclusively to Queen's Young Leader|Queen's Young Leaders.

Social activism

Shankar founded the Srishti Madurai Volunteer Movement, one of the first inclusive, non-funded pro bono groups in India. It engages academics, independent scholars, human rights activists, environmentalists, animal rights advocates, and LGBTQIA+ and genderqueer activists to protect indigenous traditions. In October 2011, Shankar launched India's first helpline for genderqueer and LGBTQIA+ people in Madurai. In June 2013, the helpline expanded to 24-hour service under the tagline "Just having someone understanding to talk to can save a life". Shankar organized Asia's first Genderqueer Pride Parade in Madurai and introduced LGBTQIA+ courses into the curricula of several schools and universities. Shankar served as a panelist and chair at University Grants Commission and Indian Council of Social Science and Research -sponsored national seminars. They conducted more than 85 seminars and interactive sessions on gender and sexuality for 8,000 students in Madurai. Shankar coined Tamil terms for genderqueer people and authored Maraikkappatta Pakkangal, the first Tamil book on gender variants. In April 2015, they were invited by Tiruchi Siva to witness the passage of the Rights of Transgender Persons Bill, 2014 in the Rajya Sabha. For contributions to gender minorities in Hinduism, Shankar received the "Young Hindu Award" from writer Aravindan Neelakandan and Joe D Cruz at the 6th Hindu Spiritual Services Fair.
Shankar petitioned state and central governments on behalf of Asian Games medalist Santhi Soundarajan, who was stripped of her medal after a gender test. They filed complaints with the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and National Human Rights Commission and launched the "Justice For Santhi Campaign", which helped secure her a permanent position as an athletics coach with the Tamil Nadu Sports Development Authority in December 2016.
Shankar spoke at the WorldPride Madrid Summit in 2017, co-chairing a session with former Director-General of UNESCO Federico Mayor Zaragoza, former United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues chairperson Myrna Cunningham, and Zanele Muholi, contributing to the Madrid Summit Declaration.
The State Council of Educational Research and Training consulted Shankar for inputs on sex, gender, and sexuality studies for the 2017 New School Curriculum Development Committee, aiming to include the LGBTQIA+ community in school curricula. They also contributed to the panel for a Theological Reader on Gender & Sexuality for the National Council of Churches in India.
Shankar is a founding member of Intersex Asia, the first regional collective for intersex individuals and organizations. In July 2019, they organized India's first state policy briefing on intersex human rights.
In 2020, Shankar was a lead petitioner in the Delhi High Court case Abhijit Iyer Mitra & Ors v. UOI, seeking recognition of non-heterosexual marriages and same-sex unions under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.

Transgender activism

Shankar through Srishti Madurai helpline rescued several trans women from forced sex work and begging. They also mentor the "Transgender India" forum, India's first 24/7 holistic help and support discussion forum for intersex and transgender people, as well as their families.
Shankar and trans woman S. Swapna staged a protest in Madurai collectorate on 7 October 2013 demanding reservation and to permit alternate genders to appear for examinations conducted by TNPSC, UPSC, SSC and Bank Exams. Later, Swapna successfully moved the Madras High Court in 2013 seeking permission to write the TNPSC Group II exam as a female candidate.
As the south regional representative of National Council for Transgender Persons Gopi ensured justice for transgender persons on various civil and human rights related cases. They ensured inheritance rights for Transgender people and invoked Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 along with The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Act, 1989 in several cases dealing with sexual abuse of gender non-conforming children in the southern states of India.
In March 2022, newspaper The Hindu reported that Shankar resigned from the post of the south regional representative of NCTP, citing bureaucratic harassment and insensitivity. The newspaper quoted Shankar saying that the 'ceremonial' position was not serving the needs of the transgender community. Shankar later stated that they would not resign until the end of the tenure and would continue to serve in the body.

Death threats and attacks

In 2016, during their election campaign, Shankar faced sexual and verbal harassment and death threats from a member of a political party. The Tamil Nadu Police provided three security officers for their protection during campaigning. Shankar criticized homophobia and transphobia in the Tamil Muslim community after the youth wing of the Indian National League accused LGBTQIA+ people of being "cultural terrorists". Posters calling for the "death sentence under section 377" and warning of terror against the community—claiming homosexuality was "against Tamil culture"—appeared a day after the Orlando nightclub shooting.
In January 2022, Shankar was threatened by members of a certain political party in Mamallapuram.
In November 2022, Shankar was attacked by an unknown group of six people in New Delhi. The attackers first demanded money, and when they were refused, they abused and physically assaulted Shankar. This was the fifth instance of violence that ze suffered.

Protection for intersex people in India

In 2015, Shankar urged the Parliament of India to include intersex people in transgender rights legislation. They filed a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission to ban forced sex-selective surgeries on intersex infants and ensure their constitutional rights; the NHRC directed the Union Health Ministry to respond within eight weeks.
On 22 April 2019 the Madras High Court passed a landmark judgment and issued direction to ban sex-selective surgeries on intersex infants based on the works of Gopi Shankar, the court took note of the issue of the rampant practice of compulsory sex reassignment surgeries performed on inter-sex infants and children. The Court also expressed its gratitude to Shankar, noting that their work has had been a "humbling and enlightening experience for the Court".
In September 2019, Shankar submitted a report to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities committee on LGBTQI+ people with disabilities, focusing on intersex persons in India. The committee issued strong recommendations to the Government of India.
In October 2020, the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights appointed Shankar and Anjali Gopalan as expert advisors on an intersex human rights case. Based on their recommendations, the commission urged the Delhi government to ban unnecessary medical interventions on intersex infants and children.
In addition to supporting Santhi Soundarajan, Shankar has advocated for female athletes with intersex traits, including Caster Semenya, Pinki Pramanik, Dutee Chand, and Imane Khelif. They have shared their stories in print media and co-platformed with them at events to raise awareness.
In April 2024, Shankar filed a public interest litigation, Gopi Shankar M. v. Union of India, in the Supreme Court of India. The bench, comprising Chief Justice D. Y. Chandrachud, Justice J. B. Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Misra, sought responses from the Union government and the Central Adoption Resource Authority regarding provisions for recording births and deaths of intersex persons, their inclusion in the census, and issuance of identity cards distinguishing sex and gender.

Awards and accolades

Shankar was also awarded the Diversity Leadership Award 2016 by the World HRD Congress and featured in 'India's 8 LGBT role models under 30' by Gaysi for voicing intersex rights in India. Out Leadership recommended Gopi Shankar as one of the expert and openly advocating leaders on LGBT+ issues along with minister Arun Jaitley and human rights activist Anjali GopalanIndia Times listed Shankar as one of the 11 Human Rights Activists Whose Life Mission Is To Provide Others With A Dignified Life They were the first and only intersex person officially invited to the swearing ceremony of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June 2024 In February 2021 Senior DMK Political Party Leader and Member of Parliament Kanimozhi hosted a feast in Madurai for Shankar to discuss the issues pertaining to Intersex persons
YearAwardHonouring bodyNotes
2016The Commonwealth Youth Worker AwardThe Commonwealth, LondonAwarded for using arts and sports as a social tool to empower young people with positive alternate space

Media and Books

GOPI a Brazilian/English Documentary movie on Shankar's life directed by Viviane D'Avilla was premiered at Festival do Rio 2018 have won multiple awards.
Shankar appeared on Living Foodz Dakshin Diaries to curate the gender specific sacred spaces of Indigenous gender-variants of ancient India.
Singer Chinmayi produced a three part YouTube video series with Shankar to support Intersex Human Rights in Tamil Nadu.
National Award winning Journalist Sohini Chattopadhyay penned a brief timeline on Shankar's life and activism in her book
The Day I Became a Runner: A Women's History of India through the Lens of Sport published by Harper Collins in 2023

Author

  • Maraikappatta Pakkangal Unedited Version, Illustrator Julian Wrangler, Germany, Srishti Madurai., 2014,.
  • Maraikkappatta Pakkangal: Paal - Paalinam - Paaliyal Orunginaivu- Gopi Shankar, 296 Pages,, Publisher: Kizhakku Pathippagam, 2017.

Contributor

Definitions- Understanding Gender, Sex, and Sexuality. A Theological Reader on Human Sexuality and Gender Diversities: Envisioning Inclusivity -. Publisher: ISPCK and National Council of Churches in India. 2017Biological basis of Bigender identity and its medical potential: Frontier Vistas in Modern Biotechnology-. Publisher: Department of Immunology & Microbiology, The American College, Madurai. 2013