India’s parliament has passed the 2026 Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill, a move widely criticized as a serious setback for transgender rights in the country. If signed into law, the bill would reverse key protections previously secured by transgender communities, particularly by changing how transgender people are legally recognized and removing the right to self-identify.
The amendment significantly alters the more inclusive 2019 law by narrowing legal recognition to certain historically recognized socio-cultural groups such as hijra and kinner, along with intersex individuals. As a result, people who identify as trans men, trans women, or non-binary would no longer be explicitly recognized under the law, excluding many transgender persons from legal protection and state support.
A major concern is the bill’s requirement for medical certification to obtain legal gender recognition. Critics say this directly undermines the landmark 2014 Supreme Court ruling in NALSA v. India, which affirmed the right of transgender people to self-identify their gender. Human rights advocates argue that international standards support self-declared gender identity as the basis for access to social protections, benefits, and legal recognition.
The impact of this change could be far-reaching, especially given that access to identity documentation remains limited. Although India’s last census recorded 487,803 transgender persons, only around 32,500 have been issued identity cards so far, which are essential for accessing social security schemes and other government entitlements.
The bill was reportedly pushed through both houses of parliament by the BJP-led government despite protests from transgender communities and criticism from opposition lawmakers, who had called for the proposal to be reviewed by a parliamentary committee. Activists and rights groups say the process lacked proper consultation with the people most affected by the legislation.
Another highly controversial provision introduces new criminal offenses, including penalties of up to life imprisonment for “coercing or alluring” someone to be transgender. Rights groups warn that this language is vague and dangerous, and could be misused to criminalize transgender support networks, community structures, and advocacy efforts. Critics have compared it to colonial-era laws that targeted transgender people for their identity and expression.
Transgender rights advocates have urged India’s president not to sign the bill into law. They argue that instead of adopting a regressive and exclusionary legal framework, the government should engage in broad, meaningful consultation with transgender communities and focus on expanding, rather than restricting, their rights and protections.
