India passes limiting trans protection bill that redefines who qualifies as trans
Person holding a trans pride flag (stock image via Getty Images)
The Lok Sabha, also known as India’s House of the People, has passed a new bill that limits the rights of transgender people in the country.
Passed on 24 March, the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill 2026 makes amendments to the previous 2019 law that pertains to the rights and wellbeing of trans people.
The amendments redefine who qualifies as trans people and therefore who is protected by the law, and also introduces a new system for identity certification and stricter punishment for offences against the trans community.
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Under the new bill, a medical board will be formed to determine identity with district magistrates issuing new ID cards to the trans people that qualify.
Punishments for those that cause harm to the protected trans people will also be graded for different offences, with the maximum jail term for the most serious offences increasing from two years under the 2019 bill to 14 years.
Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Virendra Kumar explained that the rewriting of the bill was to ensure that “only those who face social boycott due to biological issues” were protected, according to India Today.
He said: “To ensure that transgender persons can avail themselves of the benefits of this Act, it was necessary to provide a precise definition.”
Through the bill, the Indian government has insisted that trans identity cannot be based solely on “personal choice or claimed self-perceived identity” in case it is misused beyond its original intent.
The new bill has come under fire from opposition parties, which have argued that the amendments undermine the right to self-identification as recognised by the country’s Supreme Court.
India Today reports that Samajwadi Party MP Anand Bhadauria said: “If the bill is for their welfare, why are they opposing it on the streets?” referencing the fact that it is being protested by members of the trans community.
Other opposition politicians have called the amendments “draconian”, “regressive”, and “a brazen attack on the Constitutional rights and identity of transgender people”.
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