Meet India’s first ever transgender beauty queen

India has held its first ever transgender beauty queen contest – and it was fabulous.

Kolkata’s Nitasha Biswas triumphed over 15 other competitors – each of whom represented different Indian states – to win the inaugural event.

Last year, the Indian government approved a bill to protect the rights of trans people, making a competition like this much more plausible.

The beauty queens were chosen from more than 1,500 applicants from all over India.

In a moving Facebook post, Nitasha said that she was “honoured to be a part of this journey.

“It is an emotional moment made over years.

“This journey would have been impossible without these pillars,” paying tribute to “all my people who have stood up over years and [continued] our endless fight.”

She said to all of these heroes: “this winning moment is ours.”

And, Nitasha added graciously: “All my other 15 contestants – we are the winners.”

The 26-year-old, who is studying to gain a Masters in Business Management in her home state, will now go on to represent India at the Miss International TransQueen in Thailand, in March.