COVID-19 and the (smart) city: Capturing the ‘lived-in’ pandemic experiences of the hijra communities in bhubaneswar and New Delhi

Hijras, a non-normative sexual minority, routinely experience an array of risks, stigmas, and exclusions in their everyday lives and livelihoods which intensified during COVID-19. The present study explores perceptions and lived-in experiences of hijras during the pandemic in two Indian Smart cities – Bhubaneswar and New Delhi. Data was collected through in-depth interviews, FGDs, and non-participant observation from a sample of 84 hijra respondents via snowball sampling. Using thematic analysis, study findings have been conceptualized into economic challenges, healthcare challenges, and discrimination, that reflects how hijras in New Delhi were relegated to the urban margins, as compared to those in Bhubaneswar.