Manabi Bandyopadhyay (also written Manabi Banerjee), born Somnath Banerjee in 1966 in Naihati, North 24 Parganas, West Bengal, is an Indian author, academic, professor, and transgender activist. She is the first openly transgender college principal in India - and widely reported as the first in the world - having taken charge of Krishnagar Women's College in Nadia district, West Bengal, on 7 June 2015 under the patronage of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. She underwent gender-affirming surgery in 2003 and adopted the name Manabi, which simply means 'woman' in Bengali. After the surgery, she fought for years against bureaucratic resistance and institutional discrimination to have her name legally changed in college records and obtain rightful recognition and salary increments as a woman. She completed her PhD from Kalyani University as Manabi Bandyopadhyay and worked for over 16 years as a teacher of Bengali and Philosophy, including as an Associate Professor at Vivekananda Satobarshiki Mahavidyalaya. She founded a collective for Bengali transgender people and launched the magazine Aba-Manab to amplify their voices. Her literary works include the bestselling novel Endless Bondage and the biography A Gift of Goddess Lakshmi (co-authored with Jhimli Mukherjee Pandey). She also served as Vice Chairperson of the West Bengal Transgender Development Board. She lives with her adopted son, Debasish Manabiputro. She entered Bigg Boss Bangla Season 1 in June 2013 - making her one of the first openly transgender people to appear on a major Indian reality television show - and was evicted in Week 3, finishing 14th.

India's (and reportedly the world's) first openly transgender college principal, appointed at Krishnagar Women's College, West Bengal (9 June 2015); bestselling novel Endless Bondage; biography A Gift of Goddess Lakshmi (co-authored with Jhimli Mukherjee Pandey); founding the Bengali transgender magazine Aba-Manab; Associate Professor of Bengali and Philosophy at Vivekananda Satobarshiki Mahavidyalaya; Bigg Boss Bangla Season 1 contestant.

Frequently Asked