In 2019, after a few years of fighting for legal trans rights, India brought in the Transgender Persons Act, which allowed some protections for trans people and defined trans identities as any person whose gender identity differed from that assigned at birth. This definition included a lot of identities. There were still problems for trans people in India, but it was a huge step forward.
At the end of March 2026, new changes were passed that stripped away many of the rights that trans people have had for years in India. Right now, the trans community is mourning. Not just in India, but let’s zoom in on India for the moment.
Third gender identities in India
Hinduism has a long history of trans identities within its mythology. They’ve got Gods swapping genders all over the place, and ancient texts acknowledge the validity and equality of “third gender” people, even if there isn’t clear-cut agreement about what exactly third gender means. Names and definitions vary across the country.
One of the most commonly cited third gender groups are the Kinnar, some of whom have reclaimed the slur, hijra. Intersex people, eunuchs and transgender people all fit under this term, but they tend to be mostly female-presenting and AMAB (assigned male at birth). Group membership is controlled through guru-chela bonds.
And then, through multiple invasions and occupations from outside cultures, conservative approaches to gender and sexuality forced themselves on the people. Homosexuality became a criminal act. In recent decades, India began reclaiming their history and decriminalised homosexuality.
What has changed since 2019?
Realistically, a lot has changed. The pandemic hit, people started feeling safe enough, and also perhaps unsafe enough, to explore themselves without being perceived all the time. Combine that with the rise of fascism, and you get a pretty explosive reaction to suddenly being placed in the same spaces again. The wave of anti-trans violence has been knocking us over ever since.
The new amendment to the bill removes the right to self-determination and also brings in heavy consequences for “forcing someone to be trans”. It was said by officials that the old bill needed clarification, but the 2026 amendments are far more confusing, and the vague language invites creative interpretation.
What does it mean to “compel” someone to outwardly present as trans? If you post about your own trans joy online, is that compelling others to join? If you accept a trans youth who has been kicked out of their home, and care for them without needing them to assimilate into cis culture — is that an offence that will lead to a decade (or more) of imprisonment? With this new law, it could.
Are trans people forced or manipulated into it?
Let’s be clear: to the best of my knowledge, no one is forcing anyone to be trans. Trans people know, often from a very young age, that the binary sex category they were given at birth doesn’t fit for them.
Sometimes they feel the opposite sex would, but not always. There are lots of trans people who
don’t identify as either male or female, and may not fit the requirements to become a member of the Kinnar community, either. Usually, it takes a heck of a lot of bravery to then present as your authentic self in public, because we know it is often not accepted.
There are some claims that people are being forced into human trafficking through transness. However, it may make more sense to acknowledge that society’s judgements of trans people often force them into dangerous circumstances. Many trans people, particularly trans women, end up doing sex work because no other work is available to them. This is a direct result of reputable businesses refusing to hire trans people.
Anti-immigration disguised as a trans woman
In the last year, headlines have been quick to announce that some Bangladeshi illegal immigrants were “hiding as trans women” to evade authorities. But is that really what’s happening? We know that it is illegal to be trans, or even gay, in Bangladesh. We also know that Bangladesh is literally surrounded by India. And it’s not illegal to be trans in India.
Last year, India deported over 2,200 Bangladeshis. That’s a lot. In 2024, it was only 14, and the year before that? Five.
News outlets reported on 5 illegal immigrants who were “disguised as women” aka trans women. Out of over 2,200 people, from a country that criminalises trans people, 5 isn’t a big number to have turned out to be trans. The framing of stories like this makes it sound to the public like trans women are really just criminal men in dresses, but that’s not likely the answer.
Who is this new bill protecting?
Under the new law, trans men don’t count, non-binary people don’t count, trans men and trans women who have not had surgery don’t count, and anyone caught “compelling” someone to outwardly present as trans will be imprisoned for at least 10 years. This shows that there is a long way to go for trans equality in India.
International students from India who are studying in places like Canada and Europe fear returning home. Many went to these countries specifically so that they could live authentically without fear of state persecution. Along with the rise of neo-fascism and anti-immigration sentiments, staying in these countries has become much harder. With fewer options to stay in countries that have more open trans rights, Indian trans people studying abroad are facing deep fear with being forced to return home.
The few trans people who are protected under this law are those who have verifiably undergone medical interventions to “fully transition”. They must have documentation, and they must pass examinations from the authorities. You’re not allowed to be trans until a bunch of men in uniforms say you are.
The violence of proving identity
Recently in the news cycle, we have heard of the activist who was captured when the freedom flotilla was intercepted by Israel and forced to strip down naked against her will. When we hear this, we feel it in our guts. No one should be made to strip down against their will for authority. Especially when the stakes are high.
This new bill means that trans people will be forced to strip down for authorities to “prove” who they are. This is deeply horrific. And insulting. And it should never happen. Yet, this is what the Indian government has condemned trans people to experiencing.
Because trans people no longer have the right to self-determination, they are forced to prove their identity to someone who likely has no idea what it feels like to be trans. No idea about the level of vulnerability involved in not even feeling at home in your own body. And then how deep the violation goes when you’re forced to put that alien body on display for others to judge even more harshly than you judge it yourself.
It’s deeply violent.
A community in pain
Last year, 24 trans people in India were rushed to the hospital after consuming phenyl, an ingredient in floor cleaner, the day after an official complaint was filed. Two individuals claiming to be journalists had blackmailed, raped and beaten a trans woman. Though the penalty for raping a cis woman is 10 years in prison, this new bill states that if someone rapes a trans woman, it is only worth 2 years of prison. Rape is a deep violence, no matter what body is violated.
The community had been facing threats and abuses with escalating violence. Some reports suggested that this was a mass suicide in protest so that they could finally be heard. An investigation is reportedly to take place soon, but much is left unanswered for now.
As this excellent article states, “Real justice means more than arrests or investigations; it means ensuring that no transgender person feels so powerless that death seems like the only way to be heard.”
South India: a trans haven
A few weeks ago, over 100,000 people celebrated Koovagam, a festival in Tamil Nadu where trans women come from all over the country for 18 days to ritually marry and mourn a mythical husband.
It is a reenactment of the story of Aravan, who agrees to be sacrificed under one condition: that he will marry before he dies. Krishna, a generally male god, takes the form of a woman and marries Aravan, because no one else would. In her female form, Krishna mourns her husband’s death, and so, too, do the many trans women who participate. Once a year, trans women across India get to publicly marry and publicly mourn, in relative safety.
“We come here and feel like we can just be,” Yashoda says. “No one is asking us to prove anything.”
Change takes time
A decade ago, India decriminalised homosexuality under the assertion that sexuality is a private matter. In the time since, the laws have gone back and forth like a tide. Where the law is now, is not the end of the story. Right now, a great resistance is rising and preparing for the next battle.
This bill will not be allowed to stay as it is for long.
Perhaps it was naive for us to believe that the 2019 bill would last. But it won’t last until everyone understands why it is necessary. As of now, many people still don’t understand the great diversity of sex and gender expression that naturally exists in humanity. Many people have reacted to the pain of gender-based violence by reinforcing the structure.
That is what this bill is: an attempt to maintain the oppressive structure of gender while allowing some small amount of freedom, hoping this would satiate enough of us to give up fighting.
None of us is free until all of us are free.