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India will get its first transgender college principal on June 9 when Manabi Bandopadhyay takes charge of Krishnagar Women's College in West Bengal's Nadia district.
In a bid to empower the third sex, the West Bengal government has appointed Manabi Bandopadhyay, a transgender teacher, as the principal.
"She is a wonderful human being, a great teacher and also a fine administrator," Kalyani University's vice-chancellor Rattan Lal Hangloo said on Wednesday.
The girl's college which offers undergraduate courses in various streams is affiliated to the Kalyani University.
Manabi, who now teaches Bengali at the Vivekananda Satavarshiki Mahavidyalaya in West Midnapore district, is expected to take up her new assignment in the second week of next month.
"I have been teaching for so many years. Getting this recognition is special for me because it proves that my gender identity did not became a barrier," Manabi, who had undergone a sex-change operation a decade ago, said.
The VC said her appointment was a proud moment for the transgender community in India.
"This will empower her community. It is a part of social inclusion process for the entire community," Hangloo said.