A fresh row has erupted over the recently-tabled Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill, 2026, which activists claim reduces the scope of the current law that protects the rights and benefits of transgender persons in India.
The bill, introduced by Union Minister Virendra Kumar, aims to introduce changes to the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, but activists say it restricts the law to a limited group of transpeople who belong to certain socio-cultural communities.
The concern is that the bill moves away from the basic principle of self-identification of gender, excluding people who may identify as a man or a woman, and also those who identify as non-binary or genderqueer.
Activists have raised concerns over the absence of discussion before the bill was introduced and demand that it be withdrawn completely.
