Unveiling the Lived Realities of Transgender Identity in Contemporary India through Mahesh Dattani’s Seven Steps Around the Fire

Author(s)	Dr. Arockia Anto Anita S, Mr. Ayush S
Country	India
Abstract	other terms) occupies a unique and historically significant, yet often ostracized, position within the social fabric. Despite their ancient presence and spiritual reverence in some contexts, they frequently face systemic discrimination, prejudice and violence. To examine how Indian literary works represent transgender individuals, this paper analyses the play Seven Steps Around the Fire and explains how the author, Mahesh Dattani, portrays their social, emotional, and psychological struggles. Additionally, the study examines the role of traditional institutions, particularly marriage and family, in shaping or hindering their lives, while investigating the societal prejudice, discrimination, and violence faced by the transgender community and contributes to the broader discourse on gender identity and human rights in India.
Keywords	Transgender, Human Rights, Identity, Gender Studies, Queer
Field	Sociology > Linguistic / Literature
Published In	Volume 8, Issue 2, March-April 2026
Published On	2026-03-15
DOI	https://doi.org/10.36948/ijfmr.2026.v08i02.71571

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