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While the acąuirement of feminine speech is not necessarily central to Sharma’s discussion, Sinha goes so far as to base his definition of the hijra on this very acąuisition. Distinguishing between jankhas [‘new entrants to the fraternity’] and hijras [‘fuli members of the social group or fraternity of a hijra’], he explains that while the former will always wear masculine dress and refer to them-selves in the masculine, the latter will always wear feminine dress and refer to themselves in the feminine (1967: 169). If we accept Sharma’s and Sinha’s obseryations as valid, we must also entertain